1. The meaning of ethics
1 When we were young, we were originally kind, or we believed that the world was beautiful, or we originally had souls and beliefs. The Buddha said that all living beings have Buddha-nature. However, as the years go by, some people betray their own nature (slick, pony, etc.), and some people have to give up their ideals and face reality (Xiao Ming). The Phenomenological Society says that the minds of these people are clouded. The Buddha would say that these people are burdened by "appearances" and cling to "appearances". Therefore, phenomenology requires people to unmask and return to the true state. Buddhism guides people to break the "attachment" and break the "appearance". "All appearances are illusory. If we see appearances that are not appearances, we will see the Tathagata." The key is, what is this "sign", and what is covering our minds? And, why is this question valid, or why is this question bound to be realized and raised by someone one day? (Because it has little to do with the film, answer in another article)
But apart from the above two kinds of people who either actively or passively gave up their ideals and beliefs, there are always some people who stick to it and stick to their hearts. Therefore, what Xiao Si guards is not Xiao Ming, but his own ideals and his belief in a better world. And when Xiao Si gradually and unconsciously found that the distance between ideal and reality, reality and belief/belief was so great, his (not only him, but every one of us with a heart) first reaction was to change others (to help Others return to their hearts), change the world, and even save others and save the world. But practice has proved (and will continue to prove) that it is impossible (Xiao Ming said, I am like this world, I will not change). Under the huge contrast and sense of loss in this growth, logically, Xiao Si (and every one of us who has a heart) has two choices: deny himself and continue to affirm himself. Because Xiao Si belongs to the kind of person who sticks to his heart, he did not deny himself the possibility of transforming into the above two kinds of people. The only way of negation left to him (and every one of us with a heart) is to collapse or destroy, The manifestations of destruction can be suicide, madness, or pessimism and despair. For Xiao Si, you can say that he is crazy, or you can say that he committed suicide (he did not kill Xiao Ming, but his own ideal, himself!). Another logic may be to continue to affirm oneself, but the truth may only be, believe in an omniscient, omnipotent and all-good God, only he can explain why there is evil in the world, and only he can really save the world (not in "fact" God exists, not that God really came to save the world, but that God's existence is meaningful only in your beliefs, your beliefs can continue to be valid, and the world "appears" hopeful), but also to save yourself , to make one's own beliefs and hearts rely on and rely on, and make oneself have confidence in the personal testimony of beliefs or truths, especially in the case that the virtues and blessings are not consistent (Kantian sense). This is the inevitable reason why Kierkegaard said that we must pass from the aesthetic stage, the ethical stage to the theological stage. It is also the way of redemption and spiritual outlet that Yang Dechang (which is gratifying to see) wants to tell us at the end of the film.
2 others. As a great work, "Ku" shows rich thematic meanings: a. We can see Nietzsche's survival plan and strong will; b. We can see the philosophy of love constructed by the Xiaosi family with family ethical love : The integrity of the father, the perseverance of the mother, the sensible handling of the boss, the silent responsibility of the second, the pure piety of the third, the stubborn faith of the fourth... They are all people with hearts, and they fight with kindness and tolerance. In this violent world, they use the warmth of mutual love to light up the dark night; c we can also see Honey's emphasis on righteousness over profit, and the righteousness of the rivers and lakes; d we can also see the sympathy of the disadvantaged groups at the bottom ("Shandong" women Xiao Ming); e Serious audiences can also see a very hidden but deliberately managed meaning by the director: Yang Dechang avoids the marginalization of other supporting roles in order to cater to the audience's psychology of following the protagonist to establish a dominant position of subjectivity in general commercial films. , Object processing. No matter in fact or in ethics, no one should be the only subject between people and let others be reduced to objects. Xiaohu, the nurse, the investigator of the police station, the policeman at the end of the film and other supporting roles are given a short-lived subject status by Yang Dechang in the first person; the fate of the individual is manipulated, and the individual is incapable of philosophical significance in Frankfurt In the kind of society in the world that controls one's own destiny, the society precedes the individual, and its complexity and contingency are beyond the control of the individual. The film expresses this theme with the broadcast of the admission list at the beginning and end; g Finally, of course, we It can also be seen that in the name of "youth film", the most talked about "youth" or the meaning of growth, such as precocious puberty, failure of education and so on. Everyone has talked a lot about this. I just want to mention the youthful meaning of a very subtle plot in the film, that is, the plot of Xiaosi saving Uncle Fat: Youth can be impulsive, blind, and emotional. , restless, naive, ignorant of the world, just like the motive of Xiao Siyi at the beginning, but youth cannot strip away the authenticity and kindness of human nature. Although youth is hot, just like summer, but it is also bright, we Not too "young" or too sociological in any other way.
2. Epistemological significance
The film "Ku" shows us the various realities of Taiwanese society in the 1960s: the social atmosphere of fear and anxiety; the people from other provinces speaking various dialects who have broken away from the traditional Chinese social structure that has lived together for thousands of years. The sense of incompatibility, lack of dependence, fragmentation, and the independence that has to be gradually cultivated; children who do not feel safe in their families form gangs and shape their own survival context; military and political pressure Appearing and lingering; the influence of American culture; the appearance of all beings; and so on.
3. Aesthetic Significance
The biggest technical feature of "Ku" is a calm, serious, alienated and even indifferent realism. The angle of photography is changeable, but the camera is almost still, just observing quietly. We also observe coldly along with Yang Dechang's lens. Most of the shots are at a distance, the director doesn't want us to get too "in", and a lingering sense of alienation pervades the film. The film also has almost no climax or the director deliberately reduced the rhetorical element of the climax. Everything flows in the director's light and calm narrative, just like life. Coupled with the main gray tone of the film and the main scene at night, the realism of "Ku" shows a mature aesthetic style that is austere, slightly depressed, and slightly pessimistic.
2011.6.22 in Xuancheng
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