Toward a New Identity: Nativism and Popular Music in Taiwan

Abstract

By examining the music of two popular Taiwanese rock groups, Black List Studio and New Formosa Entertainment Troupe, this article explores the formation of a new Taiwanese identity. Specifically, this article studies the range of languages used by these two groups— Mandarin, Taiwanhua, Hakka, and English—as the primary trajectory of my inquiry into the phenomenon, and predicament, of Taiwan's quest for a new identity. During the first decade after the lifting of martial law in 1987, the relaxation of censorship prompted heated debates on, among other issues, Taiwanese identity, and witnessed the emergence of a Taiwanhua domination, which was reminiscent of the linguistic tyranny characterized by the earlier Mandarin-only policy imposed by the KMT government. To combat such a trend, New Formosa Entertain ment Troupe endeavored to portray Taiwan's multicultural society primarily through linguistic diversity, whereas Black List Studio strove to bring Taiwan out of its cultural cocoon by inserting the world into Taiwan's musical stream. Their move in opposite directions actually comprised a maneuver coming full circle to meet a common goal: that of more broadly representing Taiwanese culture, while avoiding the pitfall of hegemonic, national identity promoted by the KMT regime.