WOMEN IN MILITARY DRAMA SERIALS: GENDERED NATIONAL IDENTITY IN SINGAPOREAN AND TAIWANESE TELEVISION FICTION

Abstract

Military-themed edutainment is frequently utilised to inspire nationalistic pride, positive feelings towards a country’s armed forces and a collectivistic sense of belonging to a culturally-bound State. Noting the relatively limited research on military-themed television drama serials originating from Asia—and in particular, from countries that implement active conscription programmes—this thesis examined the national identity narratives presented in Singaporean serial When Duty Calls and Taiwanese serial Always Be With You. The serials were studied using in depth textual analysis, with particular emphasis being placed on examining the relationship between gender ideology and national identity narratives, as existing literature showed that narrativised representations of a people are often gendered. It was found that When Duty Calls and Always Be With You are generic hybrids, allowing them to include more progressive female representations in the traditionally masculine-coded military drama genre. However, the serials being State-commissioned also limited the extent to which dominant gender ideology can be subverted - portrayals of the “model citizen” are inevitably gendered and continue to be constructed upon prevailing gender narratives. Finally, it was found that both serials are driven by values and meta-narratives historically embedded in Chinese culture, resulting in ideologically similar presentations of national identity despite originating from different countries.