Digital Nomads – The Super Strange Way to Catch a Flick in Taiwan

Digital nomads – we all do what we do because we want a more interesting life. So we all have some stories tucked away, ready to bring out when we meet with other remote workers. So here is one of mine. One of the most unusual things I did (and often) in Taiwan, is go to MTVs.

Movie TV houses are a cultural revelation.

This is how they work. Punters select a DVD in the foyer, and then choose a room upstairs to view it in. The rooms range from those with a two-seater couch and a widescreen TV, to mini-cinemas that hold twenty people. It is a great place to meet with a handful of friends. It was like a home away from home. A living room away from your living room. The advantage? The parents weren’t there. As most Taiwanese live at home until they are married, it was a great escape if you wanted to hang with bae, or just be stupid with your friends.

Because of this, a lot of young people went there to have sex. Of course they did. But it was also a really cool place to hang out with friends.

Digital Nomads … are MTVs Right for You?

However, parents of teenage kids absolutely hated it. And I could see why. The parents liked to watch over their kids, even as young adults. This led to a lack of places for young people to copulate with a lover. In Taiwan, young people don’t have cars as a sex solution, like people in say, Australia or America. This is because all the Taiwanese kids have scooters. Which of course, have no windows to steam up, and let’s face it, Taiwan was steamy enough already. So, the MTVs were an ideal place for some serious heavy petting.

While the MTVs were a cracking idea, many ‘social responsibility’ groups tried to close them down. The claim was that they were a fire hazard, having many little darkened rooms and hardly any fire escapes. This was true. One dropped cigarette and everyone was toast.

However, they were in buildings no different to many businesses. Most crams schools looked no different. Changing such laws would put every local business in danger of having to be made fire safe. So this line of argument died an early death.

Then, the MTVs’ licensing laws came under fire. It was pointed out that the MTVs illegally used the DVDs. Therefore, the MTVs started selling popcorn and fizzy drinks, and rented the rooms only, and the DVDs were free. While this temporarily solved the problem, even foreigners knew the popcorn and drinks were merely props and that consumption of asbestos was safer.

What people were worried about was that sex was going on in these rooms.

MTVs in Taiwan… Sometimes Sticky for Remote Workers

After several attempts to close down the MTVs, the MTV management versus the people issue seemed to have reached a compromise. The doors on every room were given a glass window, and staff were required to patrol all the rooms to make sure nobody was making their vinyl couches sticky.

When whiteys like us turned up to watch a movie, the MTV staff would look at us very strangely. They knew that we didn’t have the same social restrictions as the Taiwanese youngsters, and we were more or less free members of society. AND we usually had our own apartments. They’d be completely puzzled as to why we wouldn’t rather go to a cinema, which was cheaper. Nobody watched over whitey sexuality in Taiwan, so of course, it was imagined that we would have group sex on every occasion possible.

My friends and I would go and select a movie AND actually watch it…it caused much confusion. But of course, it was the novelty of it… we didn’t have MTVs at home and we were big fans. I loved the MTVs but still, I wasn’t scared to bring my own plastic bag to sit on. I wasn’t getting second-hand pregnant for the sake of a movie thanks.

There are some that are still operating today, so if you go to Taiwan, be sure to check them out!