以象徵互動論看台灣塗鴉文化

Abstract

自有書寫以來就有了塗鴉的存在，但到了20世紀60年代末，因為城市青年競相以極盡時尚的方式在紐約各處留名，這種新的現象開始逐漸受到矚目。美國其他城市的年輕人隨即展開效仿，自此，塗鴉開始正式走向全球。有時作為城市藝術受到歌頌，有時作為破壞主義受到媒體和當局譴責。對於世界各地的許多年輕人而言，塗鴉也是收獲名望和地位的途徑、自我表達的管道、逃避眼前壓力的方式和一種反叛的手段。塗鴉文化在20多年前傳播到台灣，同樣吸引了在地青年因自身的種種理由、難題與想傳遞的訊息而進行書寫。雖然在許多英語系國家中已詳細研究過塗鴉文化，但我們有機會在台灣這個截然不同的社會中進行深入探索。台灣的塗鴉寫作如何與國際塗鴉世界連結？台灣獨特的文化在哪些方面影響了塗鴉文化的發展？台灣青年從參與塗鴉文化中獲益多少？本論文試圖通過符號互動主義的角度來探討這些問題。

Graffiti has existed as long as writing, but towards the end of the 1960s a new phenomenon began gaining attention as urban youth competed to write their tags all over New York and as stylishly as possible. Soon other youth in American cities began emulating them, and from there it went global. At times celebrated as urban art, and at others lambasted by the media and authorities as vandalism, for many young people around the world, graffiti has also been a path to fame and status, a means of self-expression, a way to escape the pressures young people face, and a means of rebellion. Graffiti culture spread to Taiwan more than 20 years ago, and has similarly attracted young people here who have their own reasons for writing, their own problems, and things they want to express. While graffiti culture has been studied in many English speaking countries in great detail, in Taiwan we have the opportunity to explore it in a significantly different society. How is graffiti writing in Taiwan connected to the international graffiti world? In what ways has Taiwan’s unique culture influenced the development of graffiti culture here? And what do Taiwanese youth gain from participation in graffiti culture? This thesis is an attempt to address these questions and more through the perspective of symbolic interactionism.