Monogamorphous Desires, Faltering Forms: Structure, Content, and Contradiction in The Personals (Zhenghun Qishi) (Taiwan, 1998)

In this essay, I will argue that there is a formal contradiction at the heart of The Personals: the intensely serious content and austere presentation of Du’s private life stand in striking opposition to the comical content and playful presentation of her interviews with prospective suitors. Following this, I explore the desires underlying this contradiction, and contextualized the film’s representational strategies and within contemporary discourses of gender and sexuality. I follow this with a brief discussion of the film’s generic qualities, namely resonances between The Personals and some similarly-structured Taiwan films of recent years. Finally, I conclude with information on the film’s marketing strategy and international circulation.