How does Hou Hsiao-hsien engage with popular memory? National allegory, language and family story in Good Men, Good Women (Hou Hsiao-hsien, 1995)

Abstract

Abstract This article engages with popular memory in Good Men, Good Women in order to explain the history of Taiwan before and after the Second World War. It deals with the themes of national allegory, language and family in the film. First, I will discuss the patriotism of the Taiwanese during the Sino-Japanese War. In these turbulent times, there was a group of Taiwanese, including Chiang Pi-yu and Chung Hao-tung, that refused to support Japan in the Sino-Japanese War (1937–45) and instead went to Mainland China to help the Chinese fight the Japanese, in a demonstration of their patriotism. In the film, Good Men, Good Women, the phenomenon of a certain group of people’s patriotism in Taiwan is very well explicated. But the language and cultural barriers between Taiwan and China made it difficult to realize their ‘patriotism’. This article discusses the difficult situation that the Taiwanese faced before and after the Second World War using Hou Hsiao-hsien’s Good Men, Good Women and written documents from my family. By doing so, I explain how Hou Hsiao-hsien engages with popular memory in terms of national allegory, language and family stories.