Chapter 119 give value to the ordinary

In 1999, Hollywood filmed "American Beauty". "American Beauty" is a common rose variety in the United States, and the movie poster highlighted such a rose.The roses in the film, especially the flying and piled rose petals, have multiple symbolic meanings.This film had a strong impact on me.The so-called "American way of life" was once proud of Americans. During the "Cold War", there was a famous "kitchen debate" between US President Kennedy and Soviet leader Khrushchev.The US's "killer feature" is that most Americans have well-equipped kitchens and ample food, and can enjoy a happy life; as for the Soviet Union, although the satellites are in the sky and the military is powerful, ordinary people's kitchens are "shy".Khrushchev was furious at the time. I don’t remember how he refuted the other party, but I do remember that since then, Khrushchev has positioned the communism that the Soviet Union wants to implement at that time. Serve on a plate of goulash.And this also became a big example of the revisionism that China severely criticized him for in the debate between the two parties in China and the Soviet Union. When Chinese people like me mentioned "roasted beef with potatoes" at that time, they thought it was a shameful symbol. .

By the end of the 20th century, Americans made "American Beauty". The film shows a typical American middle-class family. They have a single-family house with a lawn, each family member has his own car, and various equipment and equipment in the kitchen. The food is plentiful; the family in the movie dines in an elegant restaurant with flowers, candles and soft classical music playing, which is not a must for every middle-class family, but It's by no means uncommon either.But this "American Beauty" ruthlessly tore away the veil that covered the superficially gentle and wealthy life, sharply dissected the inner dilemma and psychological crisis of ordinary middle-class people in the United States, and displayed it ferociously and sternly. It's thrilling, even creepy.One of my thoughts after watching this film is that I admire the American film industry for their critical attitude towards the "American way of life" that many people in the world still envy; Like the tide, the box office was extremely good, and later it won a big victory in the Oscars. Does this prove that American filmmakers and audiences have a healthy mentality that is not afraid of exposing and analyzing their own nation and society?

At the beginning of 2000, newspapers once published news that "American Beauty" would be introduced as a "blockbuster" and officially screened in Chinese theaters.However, it was not included in the annual 10 "blockbuster films" that were imported. After careful study, did the people in charge of import approval feel that this film is not suitable for promotion to ordinary Chinese people who are "making big strides towards a well-off life"? Indeed, in terms of the current general situation in China, the material life of a family like the one shown in "American Beauty" should have surpassed well-to-do prosperity and reached great wealth.The national conditions of the United States and China are different. In the United States, as long as one of the couple has a stable job, it is "commonplace" for a couple to buy a two-story house with a basement and a garage with a lawn.Of course, the price of this kind of residence with the same size and quality may even be very different in different locations. We exclude the residences in places such as the Bay Area of ​​California and the seaside area of ​​​​Long Island, New York from the scope of discussion.Well, the Chinese people who are more and more broad-minded should understand that in terms of housing, that kind of single-family house is the norm for ordinary Americans. From the building to the plane, some houses have swimming pools behind them, some have large lawns and tall tree gardens, but generally speaking, although there are some differences, the prices are different, but in general, They are all still "well-off families". Compared with the mansions of real wealthy families in the United States, such as the scenes presented in the movie "Bodyguard" and the TV series "Grandmas", they are shabby.

Before the reform and opening up, the average Chinese did not know much about the living conditions of the average American. At that time, I heard that there was a swimming pool behind the small building where the Americans lived. It was really incredible, thinking it was so rich.Later, many Chinese young people went to the United States to study and studied for a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree, and then a doctor’s degree. Moreover, two such men and women got married and found a decent and stable job, so they bought such a bungalow with a loan, and the parents of both sides took turns. When I went to visit my relatives, I found that such a way of living was very common, and the small swimming pool behind the house was not a symbol of wealth.

Then you will find that "senior wage earners" like your sons and daughters are actually very bitter. They have to drive back and forth for two hours or more to go to the company in the city from Monday to Friday, and they have to sleep as usual on Saturdays to make up for the overdrawn energy and energy. God, after getting enough sleep, it may take a lot of time to use the electric lawn mower to repair the lawn. If the lawn is not mowed in time and it grows wildly, the neighbors in the community will condemn it, and it will lose face. Don't take it lightly.On Sunday, I have to drive to a large shopping mall to do some shopping to replenish the empty kitchen refrigerator and replenish various daily necessities, and eating in a restaurant in that shopping mall is a rare enjoyment When ordering food, "dare" to order a dessert is even more "unrestrained and joyful", and when you get home, you are often exhausted.The swimming pool behind the house is rarely used a few times a year, but the pool water has to be cleaned by installing a snake-shaped electric septic, which further urges them to struggle until Monday. The only hope is the annual leave. Sometimes it is just like other American white-collar workers. When they have less money, they drive to places like Las Vegas casinos to "try their luck", and when they have a lot of money, they go to Europe and other places. Day after day, year after year, it is just Dissipate their lives in this "American way of life".

Ordinarily, people of Chinese descent who have settled in the United States and entered the life described above should have more and deeper psychological crises than the protagonists in "American Beauty", because apart from the depression of the general American middle class, they have no It is inevitable to encounter explicit or implicit conflicts between race and culture, so there are also film and television works that express this kind of mental journey, such as films made by Chinese Americans and TV series directed by Feng Xiaogang in Mainland China.But I know that because the United States and China are at different stages of development, some people who have settled in the United States and have entered the middle class stably, and people from the mainland of China, after returning to the mainland of China, always feel that they are He seems to be superior to others, although he is just an ordinary person in the United States, but when he returns to the mainland of China, he always poses as a "noble person" from a rich country.

I have encountered a vivid case: a certain lady married an American professor (now retired) after studying in the United States, and she was interested in writing something while doing housekeeping.By chance, she got my address and phone number, so she called me from the United States and told me that she was going back to China to visit relatives. When passing by Beijing, she asked me to tell her my opinion after reading her works, and to print her works The manuscript was sent to my home by express mail.I have never lived with her and her husband, and I have not been recommended by my friends in the United States. I felt that such a phone call came suddenly, so I tried to politely decline, but she said "See you in Beijing" and hung up the phone.About a week later, at midnight one day, the phone on my desk suddenly rang loudly. As soon as I answered the phone, a lady over there announced her name and immediately said, "I'm here! I'll see you the day after tomorrow!" I was taken aback , it took a while to realize who she was.Even if she has read my articles and knows that I have the habit of writing late at night, it seems impolite to call at midnight like this, at least she should say "excuse me" after answering the phone.Hey, she didn't put me on an equal footing with her, as if it was only natural for me to help her read and advise on her travel plans. I was so arrogant that I was surprised.In our ensuing conversation, the tone of both sides was not sharp, but the psychological conflict was quite sharp:

"I have a very tight schedule in Beijing. I don't have time all day tomorrow. I can see you the night after tomorrow..." she announced. I thought to myself, why don't you inquire first, when will I be free?Besides, even if I have time, why do I have to see you? I was thinking about how to answer her, and she said excitedly: "I will return to my residence at about 8:30 the night after tomorrow (she lives in a relative's house), you can come at that time..." So I answered her politely: "Sorry, I never go to a stranger's house." She obviously did not expect to hear such a reply.After a short pause, she said politely, "Then...it doesn't matter, I can go to your house."

I answered her politely again: "I'm sorry, I never receive strangers at home." This must have surprised her even more, and she asked, "Hey, how do you tell me your opinion on my work?" I said, "Since I'm no longer an editor, I don't read anybody's unpublished stuff, either in manuscript or typescript, both because I'm busy and because I write myself and read other people's unpublished stuff." What has been published should be published by himself, in case someone says that his ideas and details have been used, and they can’t explain clearly..."

Of course, this was even more unexpected to her, so she said: "Then, when you received my work, didn't you look at it at all?" I said, "I didn't receive the work you sent me." She said, "Hey, it's strange. I sent it by express mail. Why is your Chinese post so late?" The phrase "you China" may have come naturally to her, but it offended me.I did not receive it. Without conclusive evidence, how can it be concluded that it was not the United States but China that delayed the email? Our call can be imagined to be "unhappy".When I got up at noon the next day, I told my wife about the phone call, and my wife said, "This lady seems to have such a personality. If she asks you to read the manuscript, she thinks highly of you. Why do you have to react like that?" "And at noon that day, her express mail just arrived.

Later, the person who gave her my address and phone number told me when he saw me that the reason why the lady had such a state of mind was that every time she returned to her hometown, her relatives and friends there surrounded her. The son went to recognize her as a godmother, and the one wanted to ask her to provide a financial guarantee to send his daughter to the United States. Everyone was sincerely willing to serve her and competed to accompany her to visit places of interest.Hearing that her house has three bathrooms, two garages, and a gazebo swimming pool in the backyard, everyone is amazed and envious.She has been immersed in this atmosphere for a long time, and she regards herself as more valuable than those who stay in mainland China, and invisibly shows a sense of superiority. It is not surprising that she prioritizes her own needs and convenience in everything. This is of course just one example, and there are others.A friend who went to the U.S. 15 years ago and lives there now, and came back recently told me: "I didn't expect such a big change in China! I remember coming back 10 years ago and giving away some cosmetics bought in the U.S. Everyone was very happy. , it looks very high-end; this time I brought some back, but I can’t get them out, not to mention that on the first floor of large commercial buildings in Beijing and other places, imported cosmetics that are more advanced than these brands can be bought, it is a joint venture , The quality of these domestic products is very good, not to mention full of pits and valleys, and the price is not expensive! There are also household appliances, my impression is that they are more advanced, more beautiful, and cheaper than American ones! An ordinary Chinese families also use DVD players to watch VCD discs, but this is not the enjoyment of ordinary families in the United States, like our family and families in nearby communities are still watching video tapes..." The rapid and steady economic growth in the Mainland of China has led to the continuous improvement of the material living standards of ordinary Chinese, especially those in cities, including many rural people in the east.Legitimate material desires are advancing towards the realm of satisfaction, and unrestrained material desires are also bubbling and boiling wantonly.China will formally join the WTO.This leads to reflections on whether transnational capital and global integration are good or bad, and of course, it is mainly intellectuals in the humanities who are deeply concerned about this. American movies like "American Beauty" are probably influenced by the New Leftist ideas prevailing in American universities. It turns the building into a "well-off specimen" of human beings due to the operation of transnational capital and global integration. The "American way of life," that is, the "yuppie" life of the middle class, was given an almost devastating critique.This is a moral check and balance against the current world economic development and lifestyle evolution. But things in the world are complicated.Things are complicated, and people's hearts are even more complicated.Things often vary from place to place and from time to time, such as "roasted beef with potatoes", 40 years ago, "revisionism" was used as a symbol of "communism", and those who opposed "revision" and "revision" thought it was the pursuit of material comfort Shame symbol.Now, what kind of delicacy is that in Beijing, where I live?Whether it is a symbol of desire or luxury, it has no qualifications at all, just the most ordinary home-cooked food.People’s hearts often vary from place to place and from time to time. For example, the lady mentioned above, as the wife of a retired university professor, lived an ordinary middle-class (and even lower) life in the United States, but she will Compared with my domestic relatives and friends in terms of material living standards, I feel that I am very extraordinary. If things and people's hearts are greatly misaligned, the situation presented will be more complicated.For example, some intellectuals had quite right views when they were in mainland China, but when they stayed in the West, they were confronted by race and culture, and most of the fashionable knowledge there were left-leaning theories such as the New Left, so their views were also left-leaning. Speaking of it, not only hate transnational capital and global integration, but also criticize it; there are people who run on both sides of China and the West, which is even more strange. He was invited to the West with the background of transnational capital The money given by the organization is used to take the experience of the New Left from there, to promote the "New Left" viewpoint in China, to write books, and a large number of multinational capitals call for the re-establishment of the banner of Marxism, to carry out institutional innovation, and to win awards , but the bonus came directly from the multinational consortium and was named after the consortium, which is really confusing. Now I want to talk about another American movie, "Home Man" (also translated as "Intersection of Fate" in Hong Kong) released at the end of 2000. This movie does not seem to be a big production, and the content is not complicated. It was Christmas night, the boss of a large financial company in New York, a successful capitalist and "knowledgeable family member", when some subordinates were eager to go home to have Christmas dinner with their relatives, they were still in the skyscraper. In his office, he was enthusiastically arranging brilliant projects such as asset mergers and acquisitions, stock listings, etc., and did not finally declare a rest until he was exhausted.While wandering the streets alone at Christmas, he got involved with a black homeless man.Back in his own luxurious apartment building, after sleeping soundly on the bed, he suddenly woke up, only to find that there was a wife lying on his body, and a daughter came to call him daddy, and when he looked up, he was in an ordinary In an American family, this was so puzzling and unacceptable to him that he rushed out, lost his luxury car, and had to drive back to his luxury apartment building in a cheap van, but the concierge said he didn't know him, and neither did the neighbors. Seeing him, he was not allowed to go in. He rushed to the company building again, but he was not recognized there, but he had no choice but to go back to the home that did not belong to him, but the women, daughters and sons in the cradle were all there. I only regarded him as a family member, as if I just felt that he was a little irritable that day... It turned out that he was bewitched by that black homeless man. This film tells us that, at least as far as New York residents are concerned, owning a small two-story building with a basement and a garage in the suburbs is a very ordinary state of life, but the protagonist of the film turns out to be extraordinary. There are two large units in the luxury apartment on the street. He doesn't want to get married and live a "little life", but there are seductive mistresses who come to the door automatically, and the sex life is very satisfying. Even the suits and jackets he usually wears are famous brands worth 2,400 dollars a piece. .Trapped in the embarrassing "little life", he has to support his family, increase income and reduce expenditure, and live an ordinary life far away from the "big cause", which makes him extremely distressed.But one day, he found an old videotape and played it. It was a scene of him having a party in the courtyard for his wife Kay's birthday. He sang a song in tune to celebrate his wife's birthday, and his wife and guests were delighted. Crazy.These images startled him: could this be me?It also moved him: How wonderful it would be if it was really me!From then on, he changed. He fell in love with this kind of ordinary family and ordinary "little life".But "good times don't last forever", the time limit for the magic is up, and he returned to his original state, but he couldn't bear the high life of the "successful person", he ran to that house, and the people there said they didn't know him , he tried everything possible to find Kay, and he found it, but Kay had no idea that she had been his wife during the magic age, but a strong woman who was similar to him and was about to relocate to Paris, France to pursue greater development. Just as Kay was about to board the plane to Paris, he rushed to the boarding gate and begged Kay to stay and have a cup of coffee together. He told Kay, who was puzzled, that there are more important things in life than "big careers", such as they used to They are an ordinary couple with two lovely babies. Although they have been married for 13 years and often quarrel and get angry, they still love each other. He once sang for her on her birthday. The gift made the other party more than pleasantly surprised... Kay was finally persuaded by him, and stayed to drink coffee with him. The last scene of the film was a corner of the airport coffee shop. Is the film a reaction to American Beauty, or a complement?The former tries to tell us that deep loss and serious crisis are hidden in the rose of the normal "American way of life"; the latter tries to show that it is precisely in the most ordinary "American way of life" that contains The true value and true pleasure of life.If "American Beauty" is not suitable for introduction to mainland China, then, is "Household Man" suitable for recommendation to ordinary Chinese audiences? The people in mainland China are striving for a well-off society. The official standard of a well-off society is determined by the number of US dollars enjoyed by each person, and behind the US dollar, at least in material terms, reflects the living standards and styles of ordinary Americans, but it is more of a A direction, a symbol.Due to China's weak foundation, large population, and the imbalance between the east and the west, and the urban and rural areas, the residential level of ordinary Chinese people has generally reached the state shown in the above two American films, at least in the first half of the new century. I'm afraid it's still impossible. After watching "American Beauty" and then "Household Man", I think that American culture and art are really diverse and co-existing, each shining brilliantly.I think there should be more than one kind of "New Left" in their theory. For example, "post-modernism", "post-colonialism", "deconstructionism", and "feminism" all seem to belong to the left-leaning category. According to the Chinese, the Chinese can indeed draw some inspiration from it, such as strengthening the necessary vigilance against the entry of transnational capital and the negative factors in the process of global integration.But the alternative things in the American ideological and cultural circles, not to mention the right, or the middle - that is too easy to cause unnecessary misunderstandings - such as "Household Man" and the theory behind it, it seems that it should be introduced and studied . Over the past year or so, Chinese newspapers and periodicals have set off a wave of advocating "knowledge of the family" and set up a value standard, that is, to be considered a "contemporary hero" must be a person who possesses the most sought-after technology and management knowledge in the world.It seems that a "knowledge-based economy" is necessary to engage in economics. If you don't understand computers, you are simply illiterate. If you don't surf the Internet, you will become a "netizen" and you will almost become a "fool."Many newspapers and periodicals are keen to publish the list of the world's or China's richest people. "The richest man", "rich sister", and "rich woman" are not ridiculed but praised.Many commercials on TV bluntly proclaim that their brand is "successful people deserve it."The admiration for real diplomas has reached the extreme, and the business of fake diplomas has also flourished.A reporter also reported that a Ph.D. in archaeology from Peking University went to an elementary school to apply for a job. He was rejected because he failed in trying to teach Pinyin. The intention of writing this news is probably to use "a grain of rice" Liang said "if you don't master the most advanced scientific and technological management knowledge and become a confidant, you may be eliminated even if you have a doctorate" "Big Thousand World".But soon Peking University's archeology major issued an official statement, saying that no doctoral students who had received a doctorate or were studying for a doctorate had such encounters. Promote the importance of knowledge, highlight the importance of cutting-edge technology and management science, encourage young scholars to learn in practice, create high-tech companies like Bill Gates, and respect personal wealth under the premise of abiding by the law, attach importance to academic qualifications, It is of course correct to open up and develop new, high-tech and cutting-edge technology development zones like Silicon Valley in the United States, and to encourage more successful people.However, I think that enough is enough, we must grasp the scale, and don’t turn the pursuit of a well-off society into a pursuit of wealth. This will make the rich richer, and disappoint the ordinary people who have not reached the well-off, and even a large part of them will become poor. Danger, and more importantly, another voice is needed to check and balance. The "other mountain stone" of "Household Man" questioned the value standard of "successful people", and gave the ordinary people and mediocre "little days" the golden value judgment, and issued an article similar to "Successful People". American Beauty has a completely different voice--Although "American Beauty" has made a penetrating analysis of the hypocritical survival and inner crisis of the American middle class, its hidden values ​​are that ordinary people should be more "promising" and able to work hard It's better to climb up to "success"--The praise of "American way of life" in "Household Man" may not suit us, but it is alienated from the so-called "success" in the ordinary life of the beautiful humanity The affirmation of it is a universal nutrient, which is worth sucking. I went to the United States for the second time in 1998, France for the second time in 2000, and then to the United Kingdom. There, I discovered—actually, it’s not much of a discovery, and it can be understood by relying on reasonable imagination—that those Western countries are not full of "Silicon Valleys". There are also many ordinary people engaged in non-high technology, who live far from the mediocre life of roaming and chatting on the Internet every day.Ordinary people over there, including college students, do not seem to admire Bill Gates as much as in China. Some even think that he is a very boring person when he is mentioned. He just made a lot of money and made a fortune. How can he be considered a national hero? , youth model, human elite!A well-known French liberal arts professor admitted frankly that his computer is only used for word processing, and he has no interest in surfing the Internet, let alone learning programming; an American poet insists on writing by hand. "Illiterate" inferiority complex.College students drop out of school to start a company. They feel that it is just a private matter of the dropout. How can it be a "new thing"?Most people still think that they should persist in finishing their studies before starting a business. Although diplomas are valued over there, they have not reached the point of hypocrisy, and the actual ability is still the first criterion for selection.Although economic management is a very popular subject, there is no atmosphere in which everyone competes for it.Think about it too, if all the people of a country and a nation are good at "scientific management", then who will act as the front-line staff to be managed?I see ordinary gas station workers, container truck drivers, hotel cleaners, store clerks, garden trimmers in parks everywhere in the West...not all of them are ethnic minorities, immigrants, or mostly white young people, mostly Without blushing or embarrassment, they engage in their occupations calmly and live their lives in peace. Where is the world where human beings have entered the "nano era" and cannot become "capitalists" or "know their own family" and "must fall behind"?The reason why many of their families still use VCRs to play video tapes instead of changing to other VCRs to watch CDs is that, in addition to other factors, the concept does not take the content of high-tech achievements of the things used as the criterion for selection; on the contrary, It has become a fashion to return to basics and live an ordinary and simple life. Therefore, I think we Chinese, under the current situation, should have multiple voices for people to choose from, or to think about comprehensively, and one of the voices should be - to give value to the ordinary.Such "sound source" can be excavated from our own traditional culture, or borrowed from Western culture (classical, contemporary, avant-garde, popular).This time I started with two Hollywood movies in the United States, which is an attempt. I will further make this kind of voice thicker and louder, and hope to get a harmony and response.