Abstract
Wave Makers, a Netflix original Taiwanese TV series, has not only cap tivated audiences with its compelling narrative but also sparked the #MeToo movement in Taiwan. The drama, set against the backdrop of a presidential election, intertwines personal and political narratives. This review explores the show’s impact, its unique approach to political storytelling, and its role in promoting social reform through media, illus trating how it encourages victims to speak out and inspire a discussion on gender equality and social justice. Keywords: Wave Makers, Netflix, Taiwan drama, #MeToo movement, political drama In April 2023, a Netflix original Taiwanese TV series, Wave Makers (renxuan zhi ren zaolang zhe 人選之人——造浪者), was released online. As a polit ical drama that interweaves gender issues into a presidential election, Wave Makers was widely accepted and soared to the top of Netflix Taiwan’s daily rankings for ten consecutive days after its premiere, maintaining the number one position on the weekly charts for two consecutive weeks. On May 31st, a former worker of the Democratic Progressive Party (minjindang民進黨), Chen Chi’ian-jou 陳汘瑈, revealed that she had been sexually harassed and cited the iconic line from the series in her post: “Let’s not just let it go Xu Wave Makers (我們不要就這樣算了).” This declaration emboldened numerous victims of sexual harassment to speak out courageously, exposing unwanted phys ical and verbal behavior from male superiors. The anti-sexual harassment movement, initially spotlighting political figures as depicted in the drama, expanded to academia, literature, social activism, and entertainment. The #MeToo movement that began in the United States in 2017 and influenced mainland China in 2018, had finally reached Taiwan, which is considered “belated” because Taiwan, as the first Asian society to legalize same-sex mar riage, has been regarded as a beacon of liberal values and gender equality. Wave Makers is a political drama that showcases the campaign team of the Justice Party (gongzheng dang 公正黨) during a presidential election, ral lying support for their party chairwoman, Lin Yueh-chen 林月真. Integrated with the exciting election process is the resolution of two sexual harassment incidents involving staff Chang Ya-ching 張亞靜, who fought for her rights with her immediate boss, Weng Wen-fang 翁文方. Through the perspec tives of the political staff, the series captures the multifaceted nature of the political workplace. This essay mainly discusses the ways in which an inter nationally released television drama ignited a local social movement. Figure 1: The presidential candidate Lin Yueh-chen. Source: Screenshot from Wave Makers on Netflix. Wave Makers gains popularity by linking politics to ordinary people and presenting contemporary issues that resonate with audiences. It parallels “private” issues like sexual harassment and LGBTQ+ discrimination with public ones like the death penalty and environmental protection, asserting they deserve equal attention. The show distinguishes itself from other polit ical dramas by addressing politics in a contemporary context. Big-data analysis of search engine keywords related to Wave Makers in mid-May 2023, when #MeToo had less impact, revealed significant interest in terms like staff officer, Netflix, politics, campaign, and election, indicat ing audiences’ curiosity about the political elements. 1 Before Wave Makers, political dramas were a rarity in Taiwan due to producers’ concerns about potential market impact or future cooperation with mainland China. How ever, with the cross-strait relationship becoming more tense in recent years, two television dramas featuring politics in Taiwan were released: Freedom of Formosa (ziyou de xiangwang 自由的向望) in 2019 and Island Nation (guoji qipai shi 國際棋牌室) in 2020. 2 These dramas, referencing real polit ical maneuvers of the twentieth century, did not garner as much attention
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