基卡索拉 美国贝勒大学
Joseph, Kickasola, Baylor University
原文Original
Spectacular Intimacy: Communication, Technology, and the Quest for Harmony in Chinese Cinema
Confucius famously advocated “harmony without uniformity” .
Of course, this wonderful ideal is difficult to attain in a nation of 1.3 billion people. Likewise, President Hu Jintao has noted, the concept of harmony must be extended to the world community, as our political, economic, and social affairs have become increasingly intertwined with the rise of globalizing communication technology.
Communication technology holds in itself a dialectic between spectacle (in the form of power, and the transcendence of time and space) and intimacy (in the form of personal meaning, and interpersonal connection).
If technological spectacle and interpersonal intimacy form a dialectic, the new synthesis that emerges is an intimacy through the spectacular power of technology.
But is this possible? Does this globalized technology engage us in harmonious relationships, or does it create barriers between us?
The truth: today’s communication technology does both of these things. It is up to us to discern the strengths and weaknesses of our tools and use them for good. Artists can help us in this task of discernment.
During the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympic games, the legendary “fifth generation” filmmaker Zhang Yimou showed us the power of spectacle, even as he presented the communication technologies China has given the world: painting, calligraphy, poetry, movable type, paper. Much of this played out on the world’s largest LED screen, rolled up to look like an enormous Chinese scroll. On this scroll, in numerous spectacular ways, the themes of harmony and openness were unveiled, and their power was undeniable. But how do these themes actually work in the lives of this generation?
In 2005, an independent Chinese filmmaker known for making “urban realist” films asked this question, and also ventured into the realm of nationalist spectacle along the way. Jia Zhang-Ke’s The World, tells the story of several young people working in (or associated with) World Park, an enormous amusement park simulating the major cities of the world. In and through this symbol of the global future their interpersonal triumphs and failures play out. New communication technology abounds: television, cell phones, text messages, all used to transcend time and place, for the cause of intimacy. Interestingly, Jia often shifts to animation to present these technological gestures.
This animated look distances us from “the real,” but does it place us in the realm of dream or illusion? The answer, Jia suggests, is that we do not know. The dream may be a lie, or it may be a great guiding hope for the future of a global, harmonized, transcendent and unified humanity. Jia understands, as Zhang understands, the promises of power and intimacy in communication technology remain central to our future, global hope of harmony. Zhang’s technological spectacle is optimistic. Jia is more cautious. The future of China, and the world, hinges on what communication technology will achieve for us, and whether or not we properly recognize its powers and dangers.
This paper will analyze several different sequences from both Zhang Yimou’s Olympic ceremony and Jia Zhang-ke’s The World with the following principles in mind: the promises of technology, the power of spectacle, and the necessity of human connection.
Bio: Joseph G. Kickasola, Ph.D., is a filmmaker, author, professor, and Director of the Baylor Communication in New York program of Baylor University (USA), where he is Associate Professor of Film, Television, and Digital Media. His book The Films of Krzysztof Kieślowski: The Liminal Image (Continuum Press) won the 2006 Spiritus Award, and his academic work has been published in a range of journals (e.g., Quarterly Review of Film and Video, The Journal of Moving Image Studies) as well as various anthologies in cinema studies. His film, television and video work has been screened in numerous venues nationally and internationally. He lives in New York City.
译文Translation
令人惊叹的亲密关系——中国电影中的通信、技术与和谐追求
众所周知，孔子提倡“和而不同”。
诚然，在一个拥有13亿人口的国家中，这个美好的理想并不容易实现。胡锦涛主席也提出了类似的观念，要让和谐观延伸到世界大家庭中，因为随着全球化通信技术的提高，人类政治、经济和社会事务已经愈加错综复杂地交织在一起了。
通信技术自身包含了公开展示的景观（以力量的形式和跨越时空）与私下隐秘的关系（以个人意义的形式和人际关系）的辩证关系。
倘若科技景观与人际隐秘关系形成某种辩证关系，那么新出现的合成体是通过技术的展示力量来实现的一种隐秘关系。
但是这可能吗？这种全球化的技术会使我们的关系变得和谐，还是会在我们之间制造障碍？
实际上，当今通信技术同时发挥了这两种作用。我们要依靠自己来辨别这些工具的优缺点，并善用它们。在这方面，艺术家们能够帮助我们。
在2008年奥运会开幕式中，通过呈现中国带给世界的传统技艺——绘画、书法、诗歌、活字印刷术和纸张，富有传奇色彩的“第五代”电影导演张艺谋向我们展示了景观的力量。这些大都呈现在一块世界上最大的液晶显示屏上，其看上去就像一巨幅中国画轴。凭借众多令人叹为观止的视觉效果，和谐与开放的主题就展现在这幅画卷上。这些主题的力量无可否认，但它们在这一代人的实际生活中又如何发挥作用的呢？
2005年，一位以拍摄“都市现实”影片出名的中国独立电影导演提出了这个问题，并随之闯入了民族主义景观这一领域。贾樟柯的电影《世界》（The World）讲述了在世界公园中工作的（或与世界公园有关的）几个年轻人的故事。这个公园是一个模拟世界大都市的巨型游乐场。在这个全球未来的象征中（也通过这个象征），他们在人际关系上的成败被一一展示出来。在这些年轻人的生活中，到处都是崭新的联络通信技术：电视、手机、短信，所有这些技术都被用来跨越时空距离和加深相互间的亲密关系。有趣的是，贾樟柯经常求助动画效果来展现这些科技手段。
无疑，这种动漫画面让我们远离“真实”，但是，我们是否因之被带入梦想或梦幻世界？在贾樟柯看来，我们并不知道答案。梦想或许只是一个谎言，但也许是一个伟大的希望，可以引领我们走向一个全球和谐的、超越且统一的人类未来。与张艺谋一样，贾樟柯认为通信技术所承诺的交流力量和亲密关系依然是我们未来的重点，是全球和谐希望的关键。张艺谋的科技景观是乐观的，贾樟柯则更为谨慎。中国与世界的未来，取决于通信技术能为我们带来什么，以及我们能否正确认识到通信技术的力量和危害。