PHOTOGRAPHY:

Photograph 2

The Japanese teacher and his girl students --- deportation of the Japanese residents after WWII. (A: 11:18~11:53): The arrival of liberation from the Japanese colonialism means the departure of the Japanese residents from their ex-colony. In this scene, we see Wen-ching at work as a professional photographer for the first time. The subjects in his studio include a group of junior high school girls and their Japanese teacher. This photographic event has a historical referent. It indicates to early stage of the transitional period from 1945 to 1949 when the Japanese residents in Taiwan were ordered to leave. In addition to its historical reference, this photo encapsulates the ambiguous relationship between the colonizer and the colonized. It implies that to some extent, during the 50 years of occupation, the Japanese also built up genuine relationships with Taiwanese beyond the master/slave prototype of colonial rules. As a result, the monocular vision of looking at all Japanese as necessarily exploitative colonizers is problematic. The photo paves the narrative development for the next several scenes in which this ambivalent relationship is illustrated. The latter part of the sequence reveals the emotional bond between Wen- ching, Hinoe and their Japanese teacher. This inter-ethnic relationship is also shown in the friendship between Hinomi and her Japanese friend, the daughter of their teacher. The end of colonialism breaks these relationships.