臺大外文系學術演講

NTU DFLL Faculty Colloquium

Title: Liveness and the Digital Uncanny in The Eternal Wave / 《永不消失的電波》中的現場性與數位怪怖

Speaker: Yvonne Lin (University of California, Berkeley)

Moderator: Prof. Lilith Acadia王莉思助理教授 (National Taiwan University)

Time: 15:30~17:00, Tuesday, April 24, 2025

Venue: 1F DFLL Conference Room, Gallery of University History, NTU (臺大校史館1樓外文系會議室)

Abstract:

How do 21st-century adaptations of Red Classics 紅色經典 resurrect the socialist past? Based on a true story, The Eternal Wave (Wang Ping, 1958) celebrates two Communist party members who, posing as newlyweds, operate an underground telegraph network in a city under Japanese occupation in 1938. This film was adapted as a dance drama in 2018, re-released as a colorized “4K AI restoration” in 2021, and, finally, re-adapted as a dance drama interspersed with AI restored clips and documentary footage in 2024. I argue that the operative logic of recursion underlying these 21st-century adaptations produces a sense of the digital uncanny through the adoption of different methods of asserting presence, inserting this film in a broader conversation about technology and liveness.

Bio:

Yvonne Lin is a doctoral candidate in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures with designated emphases in Film & Media and in Critical Theory at the University of California, Berkeley. Her research focuses on the aesthetics of pastness in postsocialist Chinese film and media. She is a member of the editorial board of Qui Parle.