Films of the eight largest U.S. filmmakers, on whom the operators rely for their sustenance but for which the rights have not been procured, have all been taken off the shelves. Other unauthorized films not from the eight majors have mostly been swept away by severe confiscations by the relevant authorities. There are only a pitifully small number of old films, whose copyrights have expired, left on the shelves. This is definitely the coldest May ever for MTV operators.
An ordinary Saturday afternoon was usually the busiest time at Gold Laser MTV. The crowd of people browsing through films and selecting which movie to watch made the small 750 square foot main room so jammed that it was hard just to turn around. But for weekends starting in May, there's almost no one to be seen in the main room. If not for the occasional sound of laughter and kidding around among the young attendants working there, one would assume that it won't be long before this place goes out of business.
At about 5︰00 in the afternoon, a few young boys and girls who look like students wander into Gold Laser But they just poke around for a minute, seeing that the shelves which originally had more than 1,000 raserdiscs now have only about 100 left. So they just shrug their shoulders, turn their heads and walk away.
Looking upon the scene, Hsiao Wei, who worked here part-time as an attendant in 1988, seems saddened. She describes the heyday of MTV: "Every Saturday and Sunday, there were so many people that you had to wait an hour just to get a room."
Yesterday's prosperity turned to nothing in the wink of an eye: MTV certainly had its golden days. But under the pressure of "U.S. 301," MTV operators, who show "home use" videos or laserdiscs for profit in "public places," and who have mostly not received legal permission to do so, have become a main target of the 301 surgical knife. In order to demonstrate its determination to protect copyrights, the government has strictly banned operators who have not been granted the rights to the films. Seeing which way the wind is blowing, MTV operators have hastily stored away their unauthorized films. Some have simply "temporarily ceased operation," waiting to see what will happen.
According to unofficial statistics in the media, 20 to 40% of operators are planning to change fields, and those who have remained behind to fight for survival are clearly suffering losses. Liu Chiungsen, owner of the Ying Lu MTV Video Center, one of the oldest around, points out that in this jittery atmosphere, patrons at his center have dropped 70 to 80%, and monthly income has dropped by about NT$600,000. "We won't be able to survive for long at this rate," he says plaintively.
It's not only operators who "can't live without it." Some film-loving consumers have shown equal dismay over this "misfortune" which has struck MTV. Not only do local residents feel this way, even many foreigners who come from the "copyright nations" are steady customers of this "uniquely Taiwanesque" enterprise. One English student, seeing the MTVs so desolate, used faulted but clearly regretful Chinese to sigh, "This is really a shame."
Arts films create a new trend: The MTV parlor is a sight unique to Taiwan; other countries do not have a similar industry. Japan has places that specially show pornographic films, called "private rooms." Only this case is even remotely similar to Taiwan.
It is generally believed that the origins of MTV are related to the showing of violent Japanese wrestling films in shaved ice parlors in the 1970s. In the conservative period of martial law, not only was the showing of violent films illegal, it was also not legal to publicly show most classic films because their "excessive sexuality is not fit for the national situation" or because they were considered politically sensitive. This left most classic film lovers no place to turn.
Some young lovers of arts films, after thinking of some way to get these films in the first place, could only put their money together to rent some office space to show the works to like-minded people. "We could only have two shows a day, but each of them was jammed," recalls Liu Chiungsen, who began operating Ying Lu in 1982. Yu Ta-cheng, now working in the Bureau of Tourism of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications and an avid lover of arts films, points out that "me and my friends would have to go line up at 9︰00 to buy tickets for the midnight show." Yu really misses those days, because that was when he was first able to see the works of great directors Ojima, Bunuel and Kubrick, and "that really opened up whole new perspectives on the world of film," he adds.
Stop bugging me, Dad: In 1985, the "Transcendental MTV Video Center" opened up in Taipei; using crude bits of wood to separate out rooms, they offered a private, personal viewing space for watching movies, attracting young people at that time in droves. "Our society makes stricter demands on young people than in the West, so MTV became even more a place to escape pressures and become anonymous. You could just ease back on the sofa and not hear 'sit up straight' from Dad," says Chen Kuang-hsing, an associate professor in literature at Tsing Hua University. MTVs with private viewing rooms offered some space for freedom.
In a flash MTV became the favorite leisure spot for young people. At its peak in 1988, the number of MTV operations in Taiwan reached 600. The types of films offered expanded from the foreign classics of the early days to all foreign and domestic commercial films, attracting many new and varied levels of consumers.
However, the more flourishing MTV became, the more problems it became connected to. MTV video centers were an entirely new industry, and the government had no laws or restrictions whatsoever to govern it. Thereafter, to adapt to the actual situation, in 1988 the Government Information Office amended the "Implementing Principles for the Broadcast and Television Law" and the "Principles for Control of the Broadcast and Television Program Supply Industry" so that MTVs would come under their purview. The GIO also guided operators on how to operate legally. By the end of April of this year, there were 108 legal MTV operations in the country.
Infringement of copyrights is unforgivable: Although MTV operators gained the right to legally operate, the problem of the rights to show films remained unresolved. Operators all used "home use" videos and discs as their film rentals, so that not only did domestic film makers protest repeatedly, it also caused great dissatisfaction on the part of the eight major American film making companies toward the infringement of copyrights by Taiwan MTVs, thus creating an irreconcilable mood.
"MTV operators have continually been in contact with the eight majors, hoping to get the proper authorization, but the eight majors refused to accept the status of MTVs right from the start, so they were unwilling to discuss the problem of copyrights with operators. Although recently the eight majors indicated they would be willing to sit down with the operators and negotiate the problem of authorization, because the process of estimating costs was too slow, nothing came of it," says attorney Chang Ching, who two years ago was assigned by the "MTV Operators' Friendship Association" to handle matters relating to film rights.
As talks were making no progress, the 301 ax fell, causing many operators to simply close up shop. "Solar System Video Center," long the leader in the MTV world, has already locked its doors and put up a sign saying "for sale, cheap prices." General manager Wu Wen-chung angrily stated that he wanted to "sue the eight majors for infringing on the right to exist."
Still, most operators want to thoroughly resolve things through legal channels. One privately suggested that although the operators are raising a stink, the rights to the films are owned by someone else, and "if they don't want to sell them to you, you can't say that they somehow owe you something."
The government is sympathetic: The Government Information Office, in charge of the MTV industry, is in fact very sympathetic to operators. Yen Jung-chang, director of the Radio and Television Affairs Department, notes: "The government has only one position: We hope everyone can make money, and do so in a legal manner." For this reason, the governing authorities have no choice but to confiscate unauthorized films, but they are also actively assisting operators to communicate with the American side, hoping to resolve the problems of the MTV industry as quickly as possible.
As for the targets of government confiscations of unauthorized films, MTV operators are very displeased with the method of confiscating even those films from countries with whom the R.O.C. has no reciprocal relations. But Lin Chi-ming, director of the fourth section of the Radio and Television Affairs Department, says firmly, "if you haven't got authorization, then it's illegal. And if the government doesn't put a stop to it, then the government is in violation of the law."
According to Liu Chiung-sen, who also serves as executive officer of the MTV Operators' Friendship Association, the association hopes that talks over copyrights with the eight majors can be completed before the end of May, and that the problem of other unauthorized films can be resolved as well, "otherwise the operators will strike back." As for how they will "strike back," he is unwilling to say right now.
"MTV operators all want to make operations conform to the law. If this becomes impossible under objective conditions, I think many operators will go underground. I don't think anyone will be happy to see this," says attorney Chang Ching with Concern.
Faced with the 301 storm, where will MTV be tomorrow? Perhaps right now there is no easy answer, but one thing is for sure: This year's month of May is "the coldest spring" for MTV operators!
[Picture Caption]
MTV video centers provide reclusive private rooms to watch films, a uniquely Taiwanesque leisure activity.
MTV operators hope that these negotiations can win authorization from the eight major U.S. film companies. (photo by Huang-Li-li)
Hoping that MTV operators will "make money, but make it legally," the government is aggressively confiscating unauthorized films. (photo by Huang Li-li)
"The frosty winds of 301" have caused So Long MTV to lower its metal security door halfway.
MTV operators hope that these negotiations can win authorization from the eight major U.S. film companies. （photo by Huang-Li-li）
Hoping that MTV operators will "make money, but make it legally," the government is aggressively confiscating unauthorized films. （photo by Huang Li-li）
"The frosty winds of 301" have caused So Long MTV to lower its metal security door halfway.
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