单隔间的南瓜房

作业相关。

It is so fucking hard for me to understand that why an idea which close to an old Chinese saying “requite evil with good” was treated as a main rhythm in The Interpreter, an American film. Even though the director tried to convince the audiences that it is only about a custom in an African tribe which name is Ku, it doesn't cover anything. In the film, Ku people tie the murderer and put him in a boat after one year of the murder happens, then relatives of the victim can choose to let the murderer drown or let him live. Ku people believe that if the killer was drown, the relatives who are still living can approach justice but they will still be in sorrow in the rest of their lives. To interpret this theme, at the end of the film, the main role didn’t killed dictators who makes her and her homeland suffer, the dictator was reformed and got trail in international court.

I believed that there are always similar ideas exist in different cultures, since we are all human and we chase similar things. I was not surprised to see the idea “set the murderer free, forget the name of death and move on” was shown in an exotic film, but it is still shocking for me to overlap this concept with the impression of the western world- which is an advanced world and  believes in fair. “Requite evil with good” had been misunderstood for a long time in China, it is a saying of Confucius, for thousands of years adults using this sentence to teach children to be tolerant to wrong things, which makes half of the Chinese society is still kidnapped by a ridiculous moral concept. For example, a well-educated orphan girl was forced to forgive her parents who abandoned her years ago and now just want her money for their son’s wedding on TV, and the host cursed her if she can’t forgive, she doesn’t deserve to have a happy life. That’s what “requite evil with good” does to Chinese people today, in 21st century.

However, “requite evil with good” is only half of the original words. The whole sentence is : ”If you requite evil with good, how can you requite good then? To be straight to evil and requite good with good.” I believe that the latter part is what made Confucius a wise saint, not the former one, I treat the former part as a symbol of stupid and backward. That’s why I feel so uncomfortable to see this thinking in The Interpreter, I can see the director really tried to discuss this question, but maybe because of business or politic correctness or oecumencial value or whatever, he just gave up, he escaped to give an end which fits the personality of the main role. The ending of The Interpreter looks just like a fairy tale. How can you make a realistic political story fairy tale?

Idealism, maybe that can be one label for the word “escape”. I don’t want to deny that artists are all more or less believe in it or the truth that all human beings wish good lives, but idealism still stands for far dreams in most of times. In my point of view, if one person really drown in it, he is an escaping person no matter he is killing people or taking care of people. They believe that they can reach real happiness by what they are doing, most of them don’t actually care about correcting the world by really face it. Even though I hate politics, I admire politicians, they are dreamer who have passion and doable plans.

I found same words appears when I tried to divide the impressions of  “engage” and “escape”. Actually they are two options when we face the keyword - “harm”. Unfortunately, most of tragedies in our lives are caused by other people no matter what kind of people they are. We get hurt, we are angry, sad, helpless. Here is when “requite evil with good” comes. Elders always try to convince me that I can get a better life and be a better person if just let it go, to let go is a mark of a wise person, what I used to refute them is that they can’t really make sure the better life is 100% coming after I let go. I know they are tolerant people so I see what happen after they let sorrow go.

After all these years my conclusion is that sorrow will never go. Once bad things happens, the influence will stay forever. When the death are buried, their graves stays. Tolerant is just a ritual for some of people to approach peace, it is not science. When we get hurt we are teared apart, no matter we choose to be tolerant or to revenge, the only difference is the color we put on our scars. At the end we are all in rags, since all of us suffered. None of our “earlier me” can recognize ourselves now.

I think I am the kind of people who engage for better escaping. This is not a “double side sword” conclusion which stands for compromising. I just realized that I can’t have a rest until I beat all the defenders. I always think that I am on the way which towards the ending out of my control, no matter how I struggle I has already been in the WRONG ZONE for years and I can’t look back. I have accepted it but it doesn’t mean I decided to submit it. The only thing I want to do is to find a shelter in this terrible flow of fate. So the way of I escape is the way I engage. I have been thinking this for nearly ten years so I am sure this is not a vague answer. Engaging and escaping are both my nature, only engaging is the one I don’t feel comfortable to.

Back to the Ku custom in The interpreter, I will always choose to drown the killer even no matter how many times they ask me. In ten years my answer never changed. Maybe I will set him free when I become older, but if I can’t bury me sorrow in the quickest way I can, then who knows if I can live that long? I am also sure that the reason I feel sad of all the bad things is because I am too weak. For instance, I cried for not being allowed to eat an ice cream when I was five, but now it is not a problem for me anymore. I know that there will always be misfortune in higher level, but I assume I can have a short peace when the god thinks I am still in a lower level. That is why I engage, I fight for the right of pretending weak without critics from other people. What are critics from other people? Just like what I feel about the film The Interpreter.

说起来这是我第一次认认真真写影评（相关）诶，到后面完全是作业主题相关的个人碎碎念。其实这部片子倒也没有差到哪里去，就是这种对普世价值观囫囵吞枣的结局处理让我感到了一种无力。男主女主还有男主副官都好棒，prpr