A Re-presentation of a Taiwanese Folklore Belief Across Cultural Boundaries: The Cultural Significance of the HBO Original Series, The Teenage Psychic
The Teenage Psychic is HBO Asia's first Chinese-language original series. It received favourable reviews and commercial success in 23 Asian countries and is regarded as a watershed moment in folklore representation. It has not only allowed international collaborations in Taiwan's drama production industry but also introduced Taiwanese folklore to a large cross-cultural audience via streaming services. How did The Teenage Psychic create an image that appeals to people of various nationalities and cultures? How did the characteristics of Taiwanese folklore resonate across all of these countries while meeting commercial and ratings expectations? This paper will present The Teenage Psychic's archetypes and plot structure as well as analysing the creation of a cultural platform that represents folklore, including folk belief, superstition, and contemporary legends. Taoist temples and high school campus are the two main settings in this drama. The plot is discussion-rousing and filled with opposing ideas such as life and death, social versus political conflicts, and superstition versus rationality. As streaming services such as Netflix and HBO become more open to Asian-oriented projects, this paper aims to demonstrate the value and role of domestic film productions in the promotion of Taiwanese culture and folklore across different countries, as well as to discuss the significance and influence of such localized folkloresque on the construction of Taiwanese cultural autonomy.