Chapter 13 Lust, Caution - Interview on "Lust, Caution"

Confucius said: "When you are young, your blood and energy are not yet settled, and you should be cautious about sex." I have already passed the "young period", so I have long been indifferent to "Lust, Caution". Also failed to actively watch.Unexpectedly, I came here specially for the interview, just to listen to the ramblings of someone who has never seen it.Others have already said good and bad things very well, so I have to say something crazy.The general attitude is to support the release of this film so that the people are familiar with and see various art genres clearly, and also support all kinds of serious comments on this film, but they do not agree with criticizing Ang Lee and Eileen Chang as "traitors". I don't agree with describing this movie as an innocent girl who has nothing to do with politics.To paraphrase a well-known sentence pattern: This world is full of lust, and it is also about rebooting, but in the final analysis it is still about lust. We, the broad masses of the people, are full of vigor and vitality, and no kind of lust can destroy us. Why do we need so many reboots?Sex cannot be avoided, but it is also necessary to avoid the rules and regulations that bind the people.OK, the microphone is connected, and the interview begins.

1. Have you seen the movie "Lust, Caution"?What's your overall opinion on it? Answer: Unfortunately, I originally wanted to catch up with the fashion and watch this movie, but when I was about to watch it, I saw various comments about this movie first. The tone is nothing more than the fact that revolutionaries have given up the revolution to be called noble humanity, otherwise they have no humanity.After reading these praises, people are disgusted with this movie. It can be said that those nasty praises are tantamount to insulting Mr. Ang Lee. I don't believe that Ang Lee is at that level.And the words of the critics are too sharp, which makes people think that even if the film is not that bad, there must be some disgusting aspects. I am not a professional researcher of contemporary films, so why should I suffer from that, so my interest is greatly reduced. , do not rush to read.In the spare time, I watched Jiang Wen’s film, which was not awarded by foreigners. Because that movie praised the innocence of the Mao Zedong era, it could not be awarded by foreigners. I think this is the highest award for Jiang Wen.

2. Do you know the relationship between Zheng Pingru's original historical story, Eileen Chang's novel "Lust, Caution" and the movie "Lust, Caution" directed by Ang Lee?At present, the Chinese media generally pay attention to the movie "Lust, Caution" and mainly applaud it. This seems to be a unique cultural phenomenon in China today. What do you think of this phenomenon? A: Even for specialized researchers, it is difficult to fully understand the complex relationship behind artistic production.But this does not affect the final judgment of a work of art.We don't know how a TV is made, but we have every right to criticize whether a particular TV is good or not.The Chinese media applauded it, mainly because Ang Lee is an excellent director and has a high "credibility" in the eyes of Chinese audiences.The second is the natural hype during the film's release process.When a new product is launched, it must be praised at the beginning, and the real judgment will wait until the "dust settles".For example, if you buy a pair of low-quality jeans, you will definitely be praised when you first wear them, because they will not "open the crotch" on the first day.

3. With regard to the movie "Lust, Caution", there are almost no critical voices in China's mainstream media, but the voices on the Internet are quite the opposite. There are many critical voices. How do you view this situation? A: The mainstream media in our country generally adopts a cautious attitude on political issues, but a dissolute attitude on other issues.They don't like to cause political trouble. If the United States invades in the future, cultural heroes such as Long Yingtai and Chen Shui-bian may become the Minister of Culture and Propaganda. Human nature can be killed casually using democratic methods.Those who control the mainstream media are all smart people, who doesn't leave a way out for themselves?On the other hand, the Internet is relatively free and casual, and the masses of the people have finally made use of modern technology to obtain the magic weapon of advocating big and amplifying posters, and they also have a rebellious mentality against the mainstream media, so the voice of criticism appears to be relatively loud.But I don’t think it’s too big, and it’s much smaller than when the United States accurately “mistakenly bombed” the Chinese embassy.After all, it's a movie, how can it blow up Lushan Mountain?I think if Ang Lee was smarter, spent a little more money, and asked the mainstream media to take the initiative to criticize "Lust, Caution", perhaps many people would support "Lust, Caution" even more.Because the dualistic psychology of many people is: whatever the government supports, we must oppose.

4. It must be admitted that many people admire "Lust, Caution", especially among the elite. Why is this so?How do you view this phenomenon? A: Is what China's "elites" advocate reliable?China's current so-called "elite class" may have money, rights and diplomas, but most of them are uneducated, including some scholars and doctors, who are mixed into the "elite class". Just ask them how many Tang poems they can recite Have you ever tried Kant, Dante and Dostoevsky, nine and a half out of ten will be revealed immediately.Why can't I bear to deal with those people perfunctorily for a long time?Because they are not worthy of shining the shoes of my students, but they pretended to point out the country, and let me see it, which is really funny.I would rather associate with ordinary intellectuals, businessmen, officials, and even traffickers, because ordinary people live sincerely, know what they know, know what they don’t know, and everyone has some insights of their own.I believe that many people are sincere in admiring "Lust, Caution", and I also believe in Ang Lee's artistic skills. There must be something to watch in this movie.But people say what they say, especially those who think of themselves as "elites", dare not say anything that offends the "elite circle", and consciously abide by the unspoken rules of the "elite underworld" are also important reasons.The boss of Yili Milk will not rashly criticize the boss of Sina Haier.

5. What is your opinion on the original author Zhang Ailing and her works?Do you know the historical process of Zhang Ailing's works gradually becoming popular from novels to movies, from Hong Kong and Taiwan to the mainland?What do you think of the ever-lasting Eileen Chang craze in mainland China in recent years? Answer: Eileen Chang is an outstanding writer in the history of modern Chinese literature. Her novels understand the elegance and vulgarity, penetrate human nature, use proficient language, and portray nuanced details. I evaluate her as a first-class novelist.No matter how you measure it, it is at least the top ten.There was no place for Eileen Chang in the early history of modern literature, but later, with the help of an anti-communist scholar Xia Zhiqing’s history of novels, we re-recognized Eileen Chang.However, some mainland scholars, such as Yan Jiayan, Yang Yi, Chen Zishan, etc., have really studied Eileen Chang objectively and deeply.In addition to colleges and universities, non-governmental scholar Zhian is also an expert on Eileen Chang.Overseas scholars Li Oufan and Wang Dewei are also important research centers for Eileen Chang.I think that Zhang Ailing's works should not be called "traitor literature" because of her relationship with Hu Lancheng. Whether she is politically anti-communist or not does not affect the excellence of her works.In the same way, Hu Lancheng and Zhou Zuoren, who have been cultural traitors, should be fully affirmed for their knowledge and articles.Zhang Ailing established her status as an excellent writer with a large number of wonderful novels and essays, but "Lust, Caution" is her relatively poor work, or it is a work with "theme first" and ideas greater than images. The point is the "formula-conceptualized theory of human nature in saucepans", which is generally regarded as a popular novel of the "Mandarin Butterfly School".Perhaps Zhang Ailing wanted to conduct an artistic experiment to see if she could write such "kitsch literature".Now finally a famous world-class director has taken a fancy to this novel, which fully demonstrates Eileen Chang's talent: she is fully capable of creating kitsch novels.Elegant and vulgar is the fundamental reason why Zhang Ailing is widely loved. The early literary history is indeed unfair to Zhang Ailing.But history always overcorrects. After the mid-1990s, Eileen Chang fever has developed into a "vulgar" situation. Every year, the Department of Chinese has Eileen Eileen Chang as the topic of their graduation thesis. "Desolate gesture" is so desolate.This actually degraded Zhang Ailing to the status of a popular singer.I seriously asked the students of the Chinese Department: Can you have some fresh ideas?Why not write about Zhao Shuli?Why not write about Wang Meng, Qu Bo and Lu Yao?However, the situation has improved in recent years. Eileen Chang is no longer deified in colleges and universities. Now those who like to talk about Eileen Chang are mainly concentrated in the most uneducated cultural unit—the TV station.

6. What are your comments and suggestions on my country's film censorship system?According to the current legal system of film censorship in our country, if the censorship department intervenes in this matter and prohibits the release of the movie "Lust, Caution", do you think it is an "abuse of power"?Some people think that allowing the movie "Lust, Caution" to be released is a "negligence" or even "abuse of power" by the censors. What do you think of this issue? Answer: A country is a machine for class struggle and national struggle. Regardless of ideology, any country should have its own artwork review system.The key is not "permission" or "prohibition", but who will review the quality and qualifications of the reviewers themselves. Should the review right not go through democratic and legal procedures?For example, an order from above ordered Kong Qingdong to review the production process of the atomic bomb or Zhou Guoping to review the quality standards of the sewer. Can the people feel at ease?I don't think the censors have abused their power or neglected their duties, I believe they are serious about their work.I think the key is to let the people know exactly who is examining issues in what field.For example, I really want to know, which high-level people in the publishing house are reviewing my language problems of Kong Qingdong?Whoever said that there is no such thing as "unstoppable chaos" in the world, brazenly deleted this word from Kong Qingdong's article.

7. Some people say that this is pure art and has nothing to do with politics. What do you think of this statement? Answer: There is nothing in the world that has nothing to do with politics at all, because politics is the relationship between people, it is like air, covering all life.The only difference lies in explicit and implicit, straight and curved.The more political something is, the more often it has to be dressed up as "pure art".Wasn't Watanabe, the devil's engineer captain in the movie "Landmine Warfare", just dressed up as a pretty Chinese daughter-in-law returning to her natal family, and used her "pure art" image to steal the militia's landmines?Sometimes the author does not have political motives subjectively, it is true, but objectively there will always be political effects of one kind or another.For example, when the Nazis slaughtered the Jews, if you sang Mozart's serenade, you said you had no political purpose, but you must have achieved some political effect, right?Someone is always happy and someone is angry, right?

8. Some people say that this movie celebrates love and humanity, and has nothing to do with politics and patriotism. What do you think of this statement? Answer: All works of art can be said to express "human nature", so to say that is tantamount to nonsense.Human nature is manifested by the peculiarities of thousands of people, including issues such as politics and patriotism.The concept of love and the concept of human nature are very different.It is impossible for anyone to express all human natures at the same time, and it is always necessary to express certain specific "human natures".A restaurant insists that it is "selling rice", which is tantamount to a liar. People need to know, what kind of rice do you sell?The old writer Zhou Shoujuan wrote a novel in which a Chinese girl fell in love with a Western military officer, but when she learned that the Western military officer was an enemy who invaded China to murder and set fire, she killed the officer, but she still kept her lover in her heart. beloved.You say, isn't this "human nature"?

9. Some people like to compare this film with the former Soviet Union's "The Forty-first". What do you think are the similarities and differences between the two films? A: The common point is probably that they all want to explore the complex changes in human psychology when faced with the contradiction between political positions and emotional tendencies.This kind of discussion is worthy of affirmation, and it also has its serious side. This in itself is a serious "political" attitude. Why do you have to deny your "political nature"?In terms of art, I have not seen the latter, so I have no right to speak. Based on the information provided by other reviewers, both films have put a lot of effort into creating a "soul-shocking" effect.The difference is that "The Forty-First" promotes humanitarianism, and what the latter promotes, I can't conclude without reading it.I don't know what it means if Jiang Jie falls in love with Dai Li, or Zhao Yiman falls in love with Okamura Neiji.In Jin Yong’s novel, Yuan Chengzhi went to assassinate Huang Taiji, but suddenly gave up. The reason is that after hearing Huang Taiji’s remarks, he believed that Huang Taiji was a good emperor who cared for the common people. position. "Lust, Caution" may not have shown this issue clearly, and boiled a pot of muddled human nature soup, so it is inevitable that many Chinese people who are still awake will ask him: Is your surname Jiang or Wang?

10. In the trend of globalization, what do you think should be the mainstream value of our country? Answer: Now that we have "globalized" together with others, we should work hard to learn the mainstream values ​​of other advanced countries, especially the big brother of the United States, that is to resolutely defend our own national and national interests, and everything that opposes us destroys us and looks bad. Those who are pleasing to the eye and may threaten us are all included in the blacklist of "rogue states" and terrorism.We must boast our own history, geography, culture and customs like flowers, and point fingers and peacefully evolve other countries whenever we have the opportunity.Our citizens have been bullied a little outside, grandma!Immediately, 300 scuds worked.Buying scholars, officials and celebrity bosses from other countries, set up the "Five One Project Award" around the world, where foreigners who can speak the dialect of a certain province in China will be rewarded with a set of local affordable housing.All Chinese citizens are free to criticize the Chinese government and social phenomena.Foreigners who dare to speak ill of China will be charged with "against humanity" first, and then chased to the ends of the earth to kill them.Of course, to do this, it needs the approval of the "censorship department" who has already taken over the ghost with the international, let's say it doesn't matter.Precisely because we never say nothing, so we just talk nonsense about empty mountains when we are full, and we have a leisurely time.