Documentary Representations of Morakot post-disaster reconstruction

• Main Authors: Hui-Wen Chang, 張滙文
• Other Authors: 邱貴芬
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2017
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/5m3994

碩士 === 國立中興大學 === 台灣文學與跨國文化研究所 === 105 === The naturalization of natural disasters is one of the persisting environmental issues in Taiwan. Whenever a great natural disaster befalls, it is always followed by a trial of perseverance for the victims and the government alike: the post-disaster recovery and reconstruction efforts. In 2009, Typhoon Morakot devastated central and southern Taiwan, reaching a rainfall of over 2000mm on August 8th. The heavy rain also induced a multitude of subsequent disasters, taking approximately 700 human lives, as well as causing an estimated agricultural loss of over NTD$19,500,000,000; the severity of the Morakot Disaster even surpassed that of the one caused by Tropical Storm 081 in 1959 previously. At the onset of the disasters, the Executive Yuan immediately set up a Morakot Post-Disaster Reconstruction Council, while the central government also promulgated “The Post-Typhoon Morakot Reconstruction Special Act” and began post-disaster recovery and reconstruction efforts that lasted well up to 4 years. It is worth noting that, the areas which suffered the most from the disasters were primarily remote villages or aboriginal tribes in the mountains with a lower social vulnerability index to begin with. Different from how the victims of the 1999 Jiji Earthquake were able to begin recovery efforts on-the-spot, the victims in the affected areas this time around were forced to migrate to specifically designated zones due to landform damages, as proposed by the government, for the purpose of “forestry recovery.” This paper analyzes the following 3 documentaries and 1series of reports with the aim to bring attention to the stories overlooked by the mainstream media: Devastation of Xiaolin Village, Part 1: The Father’s Day Present (爸爸節的禮物--小林滅村事件首部曲), and Devastation of Xiaolin Village, Part 2: Gift from the Heavens (天上掉下來的禮物--小林滅村事件二部曲), directed by Luo Xingjie (羅興階) and Wang Xiuling (王秀齡), 2011, 2012; After the Flood: 12 Short Stories about Home (大水之後：關於家的十二個短篇), Xu Huiru (許慧如), 2011;and Kaaluwan (嘉蘭報告), Buliblosan Report Documentary Team (嘉蘭報告紀錄小組), 2009-2012. The directors and citizen journalists of the films personally conducted long-term surveys in the affected areas of the disasters on-site, and provided their own visual dialectics on the actual efforts taken place when the reconstruction policies and resources were executed and used by different local governments. Analyses and discussions are made based on the contents of the films, aided by further analyses in terms of content type, filming direction, and aesthetics to provide an explanation for the reasons of intervening in the reconstruction efforts, aside from providing eyewitness accounts for history and oversight on the execution of the policies. Furthermore, attempts are made to illustrate the messages or suggestions the films wish to convey.