Variety Shows: Exploring the Genre of the "Most Local Show" in Taiwan

10.6420/DHJHS.200207.0295

楊芳枝(Fang-Chih Yang)

variety shows ； genre analysis ； textual conventions ； media production ； audience engagement ； Japanese connection ； globalization

東華人文學報

4期（2002 / 07 / 01）

295 - 329

英文

As a response to the ”ideology of mass culture” which underlies much of contemporary criticism on variety shows, this paper uses the notion of genre, reformulated through Gramsci's concept of hegemony, to explore how the production of variety shows is embedded in the larger political, economic, and cultural forces. The three ”moments” that constitute the genre of variety shows are textual qualities, audience participation, and industrial practices. The generic conventions I identify are the centrality of the host and the inclusion of various segments such as music performance, pranks, and Japanese connections. I situate these generic conventions within the site of media production and the context of globalization which shapes local media production. Particularly, I focus on two aspects-the relationships between production company and network TV and the legalization of cable in 1993-to illustrate the recent inclusion of many younger talents in variety shows, the changing themes of the segment such as the disappearance of music performance and the rise of pranks, and the charge of similarity/imitation as proof of variety's low quality. I also discuss the role of audience's engagement in newspapers and internet discussion in shaping the textual strategies of variety shows, including the decline of prank skits, the rise of ”healthy shows,” and the increasing presence of Japanese idols in Taiwanese variety shows. By mapping out the forces involved in the production of variety shows, I also map out the role of cultural criticism in shaping the production of the show and argue for the need of a more nuanced analysis of popular culture that takes into account the ”hidden abode of production.”

1. (1999).Variety Shows Are Sick.Ming Sheng Daily.
2. (1999).Happy Alliances.China Times.
3. (2000).Young Soldier Group.China Times.
4. (2001).When Will We End Our Embarrassing Act of Copying Japanese Variety Shows?.Ming Sheng Daily.
5. (2000).Teenage Soliders Group Claims Wars on Vulgarity.United Daily News.
6. Group Fights are Gaining Popularity in Variety Shows
7. (2000).Taiwan Ichiban Changed Its Face And Stops Playing Tricks.United Daily News.
8. (2001).Copying Foreign Shows Has Made Our Variety Shows The Laughing Stock.Ming Sheng Daily.
9. (1999).All You Can Be Is `Happy`.Star News.
10. (2001).Cooperation Between Japan and Taiwan.United Daily News.
11. (2001).A Funny War Between Jacky and 99VS.United Daily News.
12. (2000).SuperSunday Picks Popular Beauty Teens.United Daily News.
13. Adorno,Horkheimer.,John Cumming. (Trans.)(1993).The Dialectics of Enlightenment.New York:Continuum.
14. Chai, Zhi-ping(2000).Creativity and Production in Variety Shows.Broadcaster.
15. Chao Xuan(2000).City Hunter-"Jacky Show".Broadcaster.
16. The Effects of Variety Show Slang on Teenagers
17. Chiu, Jia-yi(2000).Why Insist On Being Vulger?.The Journalist,674,10.
18. Chiu, Jia-yi.(2000).Dancing With Your Enemy: Three Families Hold Up the Entertainment Business.The Journalist,679,64-67.
19. Chiu, Jia-yi,Yang, Shu-mei(2000).A New Proud and Wild Man.The Journalist,679,49-63.
20. Feng、 Jian-Shan(1995).Taiwanese Social Studies.Taipei:
21. Gendron, Bernard.,Modleski, Tania. (Ed.)(1986).Studies in Entertainment: Critical Approaches to Mass Culture.Bloomington:Indiana University Press.
22. Gledhill, Christine.,Hall, Stuart. (Ed.)(1997).Representations: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices.London:Sage.
23. Hsu、 Ji-Zeng(2000).The Passing Aura of `Stars-Gathering`.China Times.
24. Koichi Iwabuchi.、Lee, Tien-duo(2000).Re-mapping Media Horizons.Taipei:Asian-pacific.
25. Koichi Iwabuchi.、Lee, Tien-duo(2000).Re-mapping Media Horizons.Taipei:Asian-pacific.
26. Who Dares Win
27. Lin, Yan-ling(1999).The Unbeatable Attraction of Prime-Time Series.Broadcaster.
28. Lin, Yan-ling(1999).An Analysis on Specialized Movie Channels and Specialized News Channels.Broadcaster.
29. Lin, Yan-ling(2000).A Study on the Variety Show`s Audience`s Viewing Behavior.Broadcaster.
30. Meehan, Eileen.,Solomon, Williams,Robert McChesney (Eds.)(1993).Ruthless Criticism. New perspectives in US Communication History.Minneanopolis:University of Minnesota Press.
31. Spivak.,Grossberg, Lawrence,Cary Nelson (Eds.)(1988).Marxism and The Interpretation of Culture.Chicago:Illinois University Press.
32. Spivak,Harasym, Sarah. (Ed.)(1990).The Post-colonial Critic: Interviews, Strategies, Dialogues.New York:Routlege.
33. Stabile, Carol.(2000).Nike, Social Responsibility, and the Hidden Abode of Production.Critical Studies in Media Communication,17(2),186-204.
34. Straubhaar、 Joseph.,Lee, Tie-duo (Ed.)(2000).Re-mapping Media Horizons.Taipei:Asia-Pacific.
35. Straubhaar、 Joseph.,Lee, Tie-duo (Ed.)(2000).Re-mapping Media Horizons.Taipei:Asia-Pacific.
36. Turner, Graeme(1988).Film As A Social Practice.New York:Routlege.
37. Williams, Raymond.,Mukerji, Chandra,Michael Schudson. (Eds.)(1991).Rethinking Popular Culture: Contemporary Perspectives in Cultural Studies.Berkeley:University of California Press.
38. Yang、 Chi-feng(2001).Refusing sex and Violence; Promoting Variety shows’ Standard Through Cooperating With Japan.Star News.
39. Yu、 Bao(1997).The Future Trends of Variety shows.
40. Yu, Ting.(2000).Asia`s New Generation-The New Survey Result.Advertising Magazine,110,98-101.
41. A Comparative Analysis Between Japanese and Taiwanese Variety Shows

1. 簡妙如(2008)。觀看與被觀看：台灣真人秀的慾望監控、螢幕機體與偽裝後現代。廣播與電視，28，95-124。