Aboriginal rights activists yesterday criticized a government-produced short film promoting a festival of Aboriginal art, saying that the portrayal of a female Aborigine and a Caucasian suitor conformed to discriminatory ethnic and gender stereotypes.
“It makes us especially heartbroken to see such a work of discrimination come from one of our very own Aboriginal government agencies,” said Chen I-chen (陳以箴), an Aboriginal rights advocate from the Makatao people.
The clip, produced by the state-run Indigenous Peoples Cultural Foundation, was made to promote the Pulima Art Festival, a national art event featuring fine art and performance art by Aboriginal artists.
The film showed a blond Caucasian man encountering an Aboriginal woman near an MRT station. Apparently attracted by the woman’s beauty, he followed her into the station, where she performed a dance routine alongside traditionally dressed Aboriginal children.
The clip ended with the man saying he would like to get to know the woman, and the woman responded by handing him a Taipei Easycard, which then doubles as a ticket to the festival.
Critics said the film promoted stereotypical views of female Aborigines as “exotic objects of lust” sought after by Western men.
“This film has no cultural depth at all,” Hualien county councilor candidate Kawlo Iyun Pacidal said. “It’s saddening that so many Aboriginal artists have poured their heart and soul into the work featured at this festival, yet they are completely unrepresented in this advert.”
Kawlo, of the Amis people, added that the “stalking behavior” of the man in the clip made her feel uncomfortable, since it reinforced the stereotype that female Aborigines are exotic trophies.
The advocates demanded a thorough review of the production process of the film, as well as an apology from the foundation.
The clip was taken down from YouTube late last night “to respect different views,” Indigenous Peoples Cultural Foundation marketing division deputy manager Chuang Che-jen (莊哲人) said.
He added that the the writer and director of the film are Aborigines.
Civil society groups yesterday protested outside the Legislative Yuan, decrying Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) efforts to pass three major bills that they said would seriously harm Taiwan’s democracy, and called to oust KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁). It was the second night of the three-day “Bluebird wintertime action” protests in Taipei, with organizers announcing that 8,000 people attended. Organized by Taiwan Citizen Front, the Economic Democracy Union (EDU) and a coalition of civil groups, about 6,000 people began a demonstration in front of KMT party headquarters in Taipei on Wednesday, organizers said. For the third day, the organizers asked people to assemble
Taipei is participating in Osaka’s Festival of Lights this year, with a 3m-tall bubble tea light installation symbolizing Taiwan’s bubble tea culture. The installation is designed as a bubble tea cup and features illustrations of Taipei’s iconic landmarks, such as Taipei 101, the Red House and North Gate, as well as soup dumplings and the matchmaking deity the Old Man Under the Moon (月下老人), affectionately known as Yue Lao (月老). Taipei and Osaka have collaborated closely on tourism and culture since Taipei first participated in the festival in 2018, the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism said. In February, Osaka represented
POOR IMPLEMENTATION: Teachers welcomed the suspension, saying that the scheme disrupted school schedules, quality of learning and the milk market A policy to offer free milk to all school-age children nationwide is to be suspended next year due to multiple problems arising from implementation of the policy, the Executive Yuan announced yesterday. The policy was designed to increase the calcium intake of school-age children in Taiwan by drinking milk, as more than 80 percent drink less than 240ml per day. The recommended amount is 480ml. It was also implemented to help Taiwanese dairy farmers counter competition from fresh milk produced in New Zealand, which is to be imported to Taiwan tariff-free next year when the Agreement Between New Zealand and
IDENTITY SHIFT: Asked to choose to identify as either Taiwanese or Chinese, 83.3 percent of respondents chose Taiwanese, while 8.4 percent chose Chinese An overwhelming majority of Taiwanese, 71.5 percent, think that Taiwan should compete in international competitions under the name “Taiwan,” a Taiwan Brain Trust survey published yesterday showed. Referring to Taiwan’s victory last month at the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s Premier12, the survey results showed that 89.1 percent of respondents said that Taiwan’s exceptional performance in sporting competitions furthers national unity. Only 18.8 percent of respondents supported Taiwanese teams’ continued use of the name “Chinese Taipei” in international sporting competitions, the survey showed. Among Taiwan’s leading political parties, the name “Team Taiwan” was supported by 91.1 percent of self-identified Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) supporters,
RSS