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| 布袋戲：轟動武林，驚動萬教 |
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§ Budaixi: Causing a Sensation in the Puppet World § |
Rarely can a traditional cultural art remain as popular today
as it was 200 years ago. Yet, this is what the Taiwanese puppet
art Budaixi has done. According to legend, the craft originated
in the town of Quan Zhou during the late Ming and early Qing
dynasties. As a result of the initial immigration from Fujian
to Taiwan, it was introduced here and took on its own style
becoming what we refer to today as Budaixi. Here it has thrived
and captivated generations of audiences. How has this art been
able to stand the test of time? Budaixi has managed to keep
its following by adapting to the interests of society. This
is especially evident with the introduction of television. TV
not only gave Budaixi a new medium to perform on, but it also
exposed the art to a much larger audience. However, the demands
of such an audience required many changes. Producers began to
use special effects such as animation and pyrotechnics. They
also utilized more elaborate sets creating very realistic and
intriguing backgrounds. The biggest change, however, was in
the story lines. Rather than relying on traditional stories,
producers began to write new scripts that would attract a new,
younger audience. Because of innovations such as these, it seems
that Budaixi will continue to be around well into the next century.
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§ 布袋戲：轟動武林，驚動萬教 § |
現今很少有一種傳統文化藝術能夠保持像兩百年前那樣受人歡迎。不過，台灣的木偶表演藝術布袋戲就做到了。根據民間傳說，布袋戲的技藝起源於明末清初的泉州。隨著早期福建移居台灣的先民，布袋戲也跟著來台，並且開始發展其自己的表演風格而成為我們現在所說的（金光）布袋戲。布袋戲能經得起時間的考驗而在台灣發展壯大且使歷代的觀眾著迷，它究竟是如何辦到的呢？
布袋戲之所以能保有它的戲迷是因為它迎合了社會大眾的口味。這尤其以在電視上播出為然。電視不僅提供布袋戲新的表演舞台，而且還讓這種戲劇藝術呈現在更多觀眾面前。然而這種觀眾群的要求需要很多的改革。製作人開始運用動畫和煙火爆破等的聲光特效。他們還利用更多精心製作的佈景創造出非常逼真且有趣的背景。不過其中最大的變化在於劇情口白部分。製作人不再依賴傳統的故事題材而開始寫可以吸引新一代年輕觀眾的腳本。由於這些不斷推陳出新的改革，看來布袋戲仍會繼續風行至下一個世紀。
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§ PiLi－A Company on the Move § |
Part of the reason for Budaixi's popularity can undoubtedly
be attributed to the PiLi production company. The company is
famous for attracting an avid audience with its innovative performances.
However, high quality productions are not the only reason for
the company's success. PiLi has also engineered an ingenious
marketing plan of souvenirs and puppet paraphernalia that could
even rival what George Lucas did with Star Wars. Furthermore,
the company does not have to worry about satisfying the demands
of television networks because they own their own TV station,
thus giving them more freedom to create the type of programs
that they know audiences will enjoy. One would think that with
so much success PiLi would just sit back and enjoy the fruits
of its labor. On the contrary, the company constantly keeps
its eyes toward the future. This is most evident with the soon
to be released motion picture WuJin Masters──Legend of the Sacred
Stone. The company has poured over a hundred million dollars
into this project and even went so far as to have the movie
dubbed in Mandarin and English instead of just Taiwanese. Their
goal is to have the film shown at various international film
festivals in hopes of creating a market in other countries.
In fact, it won't be surprising if Taiwan's Budaixi becomes
an international favorite like Japanese comics and cartoons
have. |
§ 求新求變的霹靂王朝 § |
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布袋戲廣受歡迎的部分原因無疑要歸功於霹靂製作公司。霹靂以其具有創意的演出吸引熱情的觀眾而出名。然而，高品質的製作並不是該公司成功的唯一原因。霹靂還設計了一套銷售紀念精品及布袋戲木偶周邊產品的聰明行銷計畫，這可與大導演喬治•盧卡斯推銷『星際大戰』紀念商品的手法相匹敵。再者，霹靂不必擔心無法滿足各電視網的要求，因為他們擁有自己的電視台，也因而使他們有更多自由來製作他們所知觀眾會喜愛的節目。
一般人會認為霹靂既已如此成功，那他們大可坐享其成。然而相反地是，該公司卻不斷展望未來。最有力的證明就是他們即將推出電影『聖石傳說』。大霹靂耗資上億元經費在這部影片上，而且甚至大費周張地將此台語片做國語及英語配音。他們的目標是要讓這部影片能出現在各個國際影展上，以期在其他國家中拓展市場。事實上，如果台灣的布袋戲像日本漫畫和卡通一樣成為國際間最受歡迎的寵兒是一點都不奇怪的事。
本文原載於《常春藤解析英語雜誌》第一三八期
第六十七∼七十五頁（民國八十九年一月）
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