Beeban Kidron: The shared wonder of film

Translator: Timothy Covell Reviewer: Morton Bast

翻译人员: Jia Zeng 校对人员: Yuguo Zhang

Evidence suggests that humans in all ages and from all cultures

有证据表明不同年龄和有不同文化背景的人们

create their identity in some kind of narrative form.

从不同叙事方式中创造个人特色

From mother to daughter, preacher to congregant,

从母亲到女儿，牧师到会众

teacher to pupil, storyteller to audience.

老师到学生，说书人到听众

Whether in cave paintings

不论在岩壁绘画

or the latest uses of the Internet,

还是最新的互联网应用

human beings have always told their histories and truths

人类总是通过寓言或者故事

through parable and fable.

来讲述他们的历史和真理

We are inveterate storytellers.

我们是骨子里的说书人

But where, in our increasingly secular and fragmented world,

但是在我们日渐世俗和破碎的世界中

do we offer communality of experience,

我们是否在分享共通的经验

unmediated by our own furious consumerism?

而不受我们冲动的消费主义影响?

And what narrative, what history,

而哪种叙事，哪种历史

what identity, what moral code

哪种身份，哪种道德规范

are we imparting to our young?

我们正在传输给年轻一代?

Cinema is arguably

电影可以说是

the 20th century's most influential art form.

20世纪最有影响力的艺术形式

Its artists told stories

电影艺术家通过电影讲故事

across national boundaries,

跨越国界

in as many languages, genres and philosophies

用不同语言，形式和哲学

as one can imagine.

应有尽有

Indeed, it is hard to find a subject

事实上，没有一个主题

that film has yet to tackle.

电影不曾涉及

During the last decade

在过去的十年中

we've seen a vast integration of global media,

我们见证了全球媒体被大量整合

now dominated by a culture of the Hollywood blockbuster.

现在由好莱坞商业大片文化为主导

We are increasingly offered a diet

呈现在我们面前的电影大餐逐渐有这样的趋势

in which sensation, not story, is king.

感官刺激，而并故事本身，才是王道

What was common to us all 40 years ago --

而四十年前我们常见的——

the telling of stories between generations --

世代间讲述故事的方式——

is now rarified.

在当今几乎难以见到

As a filmmaker, it worried me.

身为电影制作者，我深感忧虑

As a human being, it puts the fear of God in me.

身为人类的一员，我深感恐惧

What future could the young build

我们的年轻人将如何创造未来?

with so little grasp

他们如此缺乏

of where they've come from

了解过去的机会

and so few narratives of what's possible?

以及可供参照未来可能性的叙述

The irony is palpable;

这真有讽刺意味

technical access has never been greater,

技术正取得史无前例的发展

cultural access never weaker.

文化却变得前所未有的贫瘠

And so in 2006 we set up FILMCLUB,

所以在2006年我们创立了“电影俱乐部”组织

an organization that ran weekly film screenings in schools

它每周在学校放映电影

followed by discussions.

并在放映后组织讨论

If we could raid the annals of 100 years of film,

如果我们可以获得一百年来的电影资料

maybe we could build a narrative

或许我们可以创建一个讲述系统

that would deliver meaning

让它把内涵

to the fragmented and restless world of the young.

传输给这个支离破碎、不安躁动世界中的年轻人

Given the access to technology,

随着技术的普及

even a school in a tiny rural hamlet

一个偏远小村庄的学校

could project a DVD onto a white board.

也可以在白板上投影DVD

In the first nine months

在刚开始的九个月中

we ran 25 clubs across the U.K.,

我们在英国举行了25个俱乐部活动

with kids in age groups between five and 18

让五到十八岁的孩子

watching a film uninterrupted for 90 minutes.

不间断地看完了一部90分钟的电影

The films were curated and contextualized.

这些电影放映都经过策划，并与情境相结合

But the choice was theirs,

但最终选择权在孩子们手上

and our audience quickly grew

我们的观众成长迅速

to choose the richest and most varied diet that we could provide.

选出的片子是我们提供的电影中最有价值和最多元的

The outcome, immediate.

成果立竿见影

It was an education of the most profound and transformative kind.

这是最有深远影响的教育方式

In groups as large as 150 and as small as three,

我们的俱乐部小组多达150人，少至3人

these young people discovered new places,

这些年轻人发现新事物

new thoughts, new perspectives.

新思想和新观点

By the time the pilot had finished,

当第一轮试验活动结束时

we had the names of a thousand schools

有1000多个学校

that wished to join.

想加入这个俱乐部

The film that changed my life

改变我一生的电影

is a 1951 film by Vittorio De Sica, "Miracle in Milan."

是1951年维托里奥·德·西卡导演的《米兰奇迹》

It's a remarkable comment

它对一些事物提出了真知灼见

on slums, poverty and aspiration.

包括贫民窟、贫穷和梦想

I had seen the film on the occasion of my father's 50th birthday.

在我父亲五十岁生日上我看到了这部影片

Technology then meant we had to hire a viewing cinema,

当时的技术要求我们租用放映厅

find and pay for the print and the projectionist.

雇佣放映师并支付冲洗胶片的费用

But for my father,

但对我父亲来说

the emotional and artistic importance of De Sica's vision was so great

德·西卡在情感和艺术上表现的情境对他如此重要

that he chose to celebrate his half-century

以致他选择在半百生日这天

with his three teenage children and 30 of their friends,

与他三个十几岁的孩子，以及孩子的30个朋友一起观看

"In order," he said,

他说：“这是为了

"to pass the baton of concern and hope

把关怀和希望的接力棒

on to the next generation."

传递给下一代。”

In the last shot of "Miracle in Milan,"

《米兰奇迹》的最后一幕里

slum-dwellers float skyward on flying brooms.

贫民窟里的人们坐着扫帚飞向天空

Sixty years after the film was made

在这部电影拍摄60年后

and 30 years after I first saw it,

我第一次看到它的30年后

I see young faces tilt up in awe,

我看到年轻人仰幕地看着它们升起

their incredulity matching mine.

他们和我当时一样感到难以置信

And the speed with which they associate it

他们很快地将它与《贫民窟的百万富翁》

with "Slumdog Millionaire" or the favelas in Rio

或者里约热内卢的贫民窟联系起来

speaks to the enduring nature.

说明电影的主题经久不衰

In a FILMCLUB season about democracy and government,

在一季有关民主与政府的电影季

we screened "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington."

我们放映了《史密斯先生到华盛顿 》

Made in 1939, the film is older than most of our members' grandparents.

这部电影在1939年摄制，比大部分成员的祖父母年龄都大

Frank Capra's classic values independence and propriety.

这部由弗兰克·卡普拉执导的经典作品颂扬了独立和礼节

It shows how to do right,

它传达了如何做对的事

how to be heroically awkward.

如何做不羁的英雄

It is also an expression of faith

它也宣扬了在政治机器中

in the political machine as a force of honor.

怀抱信仰并以此为荣

Shortly after "Mr. Smith" became a FILMCLUB classic,

在这部电影成为电影俱乐部经典之后不久

there was a week of all-night filibustering in the House of Lords.

在英国议会上院上演了一次长达一周的彻夜议事阻挠

And it was with great delight

我们欣慰地发现

that we found young people up and down the country

国内的年轻人

explaining with authority

正在权威地解释

what filibustering was

议事阻挠是什么

and why the Lords might defy their bedtime on a point of principle.

为什么上院议员们要牺牲睡眠来捍卫原则

After all, Jimmy Stewart filibustered for two entire reels.

詹姆斯·史都华毕竟在电影里阻挠了两轮议事

In choosing "Hotel Rwanda,"

我们放映《卢旺达饭店》时

they explored genocide of the most brutal kind.

年轻人看到了最残酷的种族屠杀

It provoked tears as well as incisive questions

它让年轻人流泪，也提出了尖锐的问题

about unarmed peace-keeping forces

关于没有武装的维和部队

and the double-dealing of a Western society

和两面三刀的西方社会

that picks its moral fights with commodities in mind.

表面上为理想而战，内心里却藏着商业利益

And when "Schindler's List" demanded that they never forget,

当《辛德勒的名单》提到人们永远不会忘记历史的教训

one child, full of the pain of consciousness, remarked,

一个心中充满觉醒后的悲痛的孩子说

"We already forgot,

“我们已经忘记了

otherwise how did 'Hotel Rwanda' happen?"

不然为什么《卢旺达饭店》这样的事会发生?”

As they watch more films their lives got palpably richer.

当他们看到更多的电影, 他们的生活明显更加丰富

"Pickpocket" started a debate about criminality disenfranchisement.

《扒手》引发了关于罪犯是否应被剥夺公民权利的讨论

"To Sir, with Love" ignited its teen audience.

《念师恩》激励了年青人

They celebrated a change in attitude

弘扬了人们对于非白人英国人的

towards non-white Britons,

态度转变

but railed against our restless school system

却也表达了对学校制度的不满

that does not value collective identity,

现有的制度并不看重集体认同

unlike that offered by Sidney Poitier's careful tutelage.

不像西德尼·波蒂埃那样悉心教导

By now, these thoughtful, opinionated, curious young people

现在, 这些有思想, 有主见, 有好奇心的年轻人

thought nothing of tackling films of all forms --

毫无顾忌地涉猎各种类型的电影——

black and white, subtitled,

黑白片, 外语片

documentary, non-narrative, fantasy --

记录片, 非叙事性电影, 奇幻片——

and thought nothing of writing detailed reviews

毫无顾忌地写出详细的影评

that competed to favor one film over another

用热情和日渐复杂的笔调

in passionate and increasingly sophisticated prose.

来比较不同的电影

Six thousand reviews each school week

每周都有六千篇影评投稿

vying for the honor of being review of the week.

来竞争“本周影评”的荣誉称号

From 25 clubs, we became hundreds, then thousands,

我们的俱乐部从25个, 发展到成百上千个

until we were nearly a quarter of a million kids

直到我们拥有了近25万的儿童

in 7,000 clubs right across the country.

分布在全国7000个俱乐部中

And although the numbers were, and continue to be, extraordinary,

虽然这个数目正在并继续在以卓越的速度增长

what became more extraordinary

但最为卓越的是

was how the experience of critical and curious questioning

他们将这种批判思考和好奇提问的经历

translated into life.

转化到日常生活中

Some of our kids started talking with their parents,

一些孩子开始与父母沟通交流

others with their teachers,

一些和老师

or with their friends.

还有一些和朋友

And those without friends

那些没有朋友的孩子

started making them.

开始结交朋友

The films provided communality across all manner of divide.

这些电影为各种分界提供了共通性

And the stories they held provided a shared experience.

它们讲述的故事提供了共通的经历

"Persepolis" brought a daughter closer to her Iranian mother,

《我在伊朗长大》拉近了女儿和她伊朗母亲的距离

and "Jaws" became the way in which one young boy

《大白鲨》使一个年轻男孩能够讲述

was able to articulate the fear he'd experienced

他从一场暴力中逃脱的经历

in flight from violence

他父母相继在这个事件中

that killed first his father then his mother,

被夺去了生命

the latter thrown overboard on a boat journey.

后来他母亲被从船上抛下

Who was right, who wrong?

谁是对的, 谁是错的?

What would they do under the same conditions?

在相同的情景中他们会怎么做?

Was the tale told well?

故事讲得好不好?

Was there a hidden message?

有没有隐藏的话语?

How has the world changed? How could it be different?

这世界会怎么改变? 它将如何变得不同?

A tsunami of questions flew out of the mouths of children

许多问题从孩子们口中海啸般喷涌而出

who the world didn't think were interested.

这世界原以为他们对这些并不感兴趣

And they themselves had not known they cared.

连他们自己过去也不知道他们在乎这些

And as they wrote and debated,

当他们书写和辩论的时候

rather than seeing the films as artifacts,

而不把电影当作人造物品

they began to see themselves.

他们开始看到了他们自己

I have an aunt who is a wonderful storyteller.

我有一个很会说故事的姑姑

In a moment she can invoke images

在很短的时间她可以让

of running barefoot on Table Mountain and playing cops and robbers.

赤脚在桌山(南非)赤脚奔跑玩警匪游戏的场景重现

Quite recently she told me

最近她和我说

that in 1948, two of her sisters and my father

在1948年她的两个姐妹和我父亲

traveled on a boat to Israel without my grandparents.

一起乘船到以色列而没有和我祖父母同行

When the sailors mutinied at sea in a demand for humane conditions,

当船员们为了得到人道待遇而造反时

it was these teenagers that fed the crew.

是这些少年们喂饱了船员

I was past 40 when my father died.

我父母去世时我已过40岁

He never mentioned that journey.

他从没和我提及这段经历

My mother's mother left Europe in a hurry

我外祖母离开欧洲时很匆忙

without her husband, but with her three-year-old daughter

丈夫没在身边, 却带着她三岁的女儿

and diamonds sewn into the hem of her skirt.

和缝在裙子褶边上的钻石

After two years in hiding,

在躲藏两年过后

my grandfather appeared in London.

我外祖父在伦敦出现了

He was never right again.

他的人生再也没有上过正道

And his story was hushed as he assimilated.

他的故事也随着他被同化而尘封

My story started in England

我的故事从英国开始

with a clean slate and the silence of immigrant parents.

背景清白, 双亲是沉默的移民

I had "Anne Frank," "The Great Escape,"

我看过《安妮日记》,《大逃亡》

"Shoah," "Triumph of the Will."

《大屠杀》,《意志的胜利》

It was Leni Riefenstahl

莱尼·里芬斯塔尔(演员, 导演兼电影制作人)

in her elegant Nazi propaganda

制作的亲纳粹宣传

who gave context to what the family had to endure.

让我更加了解我的家庭经历的苦难

These films held what was too hurtful to say out loud,

这些电影里有太多无法言说的沉痛的故事

and they became more useful to me

它们对我的帮助

than the whispers of survivors

比幸存者的低语

and the occasional glimpse of a tattoo

和我偶然看到的单身阿姨腕上的刺青

on a maiden aunt's wrist.

都要多

Purists may feel that fiction dissipates

纯粹主义者也许认为虚构的故事

the quest of real human understanding,

弱化了对真实感知的探索

that film is too crude

认为电影太粗糙

to tell a complex and detailed history,

无法讲述复杂又详细的历史

or that filmmakers always serve drama over truth.

或是电影制作人常常更着重戏剧性而非真相

But within the reels lie purpose and meaning.

但电影的核心存在着目的和意义

As one 12-year-old said after watching "Wizard of Oz,"

正如一个十二岁的孩子看完《绿野仙踪》后说

"Every person should watch this,

"每个人都应该看这部电影

because unless you do

因为如果你不看的话

you may not know that you too have a heart."

你可能永远也不知道你也有一颗心"

We honor reading, why not honor watching with the same passion?

我们尊重阅读, 我们为什么不用同样的热情来尊重看电影?

Consider "Citizen Kane" as valuable as Jane Austen.

认为《公民凯恩》和简·奥斯汀一样有价值

Agree that "Boyz n the Hood," like Tennyson,

同意《街区男孩》和丁尼生一样

offers an emotional landscape and a heightened understanding

将情感印象和加深的理性了解

that work together.

融会贯通

Each a piece of memorable art,

每一件给人记忆深刻的艺术品

each a brick in the wall of who we are.

都是建筑我们人生的一块砖

And it's okay if we remember Tom Hanks

如果我们记得汤姆·汉克斯

better than astronaut Jim Lovell

多过宇航员吉姆·洛弗尔

or have Ben Kingsley's face superimposed onto that of Gandhi's.

或是把甘地想象成本·金斯利的样子都没有关系

And though not real, Eve Harrington, Howard Beale, Mildred Pierce

虽然都不是真的, 伊芙·哈林顿(《彗星美人》角色), 霍华德·比尔(《电视网》角色), 米尔德丽德·皮尔斯(《幻世浮生》角色)

are an opportunity to discover

都是探索的机会

what it is to be human,

去发现人生的各种可能

and no less helpful to understanding our life and times

电影对理解人生和时代的帮助

as Shakespeare is in illuminating the world of Elizabethan England.

不亚于莎士比亚帮助理解伊莉莎白时期的英国

We guessed that film,

我们认为电影

whose stories are a meeting place

提供了一个交会之处

of drama, music, literature and human experience,

戏剧, 音乐, 文学和人类经验会聚在此

would engage and inspire the young people participating in FILMCLUB.

电影吸引和启发参加电影俱乐部的年轻人

What we could not have foreseen

我们过去不曾预见的方面

was the measurable improvements

都取得了显著的进展

in behavior, confidence and academic achievement.

包括行为, 信心, 还有学业成绩

Once-reluctant students now race to school, talk to their teachers,

一个不爱上学的学生现在跑到学校和老师谈天

fight, not on the playground,

争吵, 但不是为了玩

but to choose next week's film --

而是为了选择下周的电影——

young people who have found self-definition, ambition

年轻人找到了自我认同, 抱负

and an appetite for education and social engagement

对教育和参与社会活动的渴望

from the stories they have witnessed.

这些都来自于他们见证过的故事

Our members defy the binary description

我们的成员挑战社会传统

of how we so often describe our young.

对于年轻人的二分法描述

They are neither feral nor myopically self-absorbed.

他们既不野蛮也不短视自私

They are, like other young people,

他们就像其他年轻人一样

negotiating a world with infinite choice,

和这个世界打交道, 这世界有着无限的选择

but little culture of how to find meaningful experience.

却几乎没有可以让他们参考, 来找寻有意义人生的文化

We appeared surprised at the behaviors

我们对那些不费力气

of those who define themselves

便找到自我认同感的年轻人

by the size of the tick on their shoes,

感到惊奇

yet acquisition has been the narrative we have offered.

虽然他们这种能力来自于我们提供的叙事文本

If we want different values

如果我们希望有不同的价值观

we have to tell a different story,

我们就需要讲述不同的故事

a story that understands that an individual narrative

这样的故事了解个人的叙事

is an essential component of a person's identity,

是形成个人认同的重要元素

that a collective narrative

而群体的叙事

is an essential component of a cultural identity,

是形成文化认同的重要元素

and without it it is impossible to imagine yourself

如果没有这种集体叙事, 我们难以想象

as part of a group.

自己是集体的一部分

Because when these people get home

因为当这些年轻人

after a screening of "Rear Window"

看完《后窗》回家后

and raise their gaze to the building next door,

他们将目光投向隔壁的楼房

they have the tools to wonder who, apart from them,

他们想知道除了他们

is out there

外面的世界还有谁

and what is their story.

他们有怎样的故事

Thank you.

谢谢

(Applause)

(掌声)