28.2.17

平行時空系列:《文學訪談——詩的政治地理學》

問:藝術性工作者 Wu Ki Lee
答:文化博物館/歷史博物館館長 莊信妍女士

問:莊女士你好,坦白講真係冇預計過今日可以訪問到你。平時對於博物館背後嘅文化理念真係冇乜機會接觸。

答:呢個的確係一個比較罕有嘅機會。我哋博物館係有喺呢啲層面上同外界溝通嘅媒介嘅。例如話我哋之前嘅文化顧問正正係沈旭暉教授,因為我哋都明白文化理念呢啲嘢係同一個position 有好緊密嘅關係,即係所謂文化嘅存在正正係由於同其他文化嘅差異先會 define 到自己嘅存在。即係當你嘗試話某個文化標奇立異個陣,會發現其實唔標奇立異根本就唔會存在呢隻文化(笑)。例如去大英博物館交流咁,發現甚至 define 自己嘅文化都會有好多國際關係上嘅考慮,唔係話要刻意諗點解自己文化會喺國際社會扮演某個角色,而係要 define 香港文化本身已經好依賴例如香港人 sociopolitical 嘅一種自我表述以及敘事。但當然啦好不幸地沈教授喺上年七月倒正式去咗外國,咁所以呢啲渠道亦都越趨珍貴。

問:好幸運地,關係呢個詞正正同今日嘅主題好有關,話晒喺睇完本《Introduction to Derrida》嘅 introduction 同 summary 之後我都已經變咗佢嘅粉絲 (笑)。係,回歸問題,你覺得究竟詩同文化都幾息息相關,密不可分嘅係唔係……?

答:冇錯,冇錯。

問:咁即係對於 「詩」呢種類型嘅文化結晶或者文學作品,你覺得比起以前嘅展覽例如話em……戲曲啦、書畫甚至古詩…… sorry 即係訪談入面嘅「詩」理解做現代詩,有咩主要嘅分別令到博物館比較難以展出,或者好好咁探索呢種 text type?

答:例如話香港當代文學其中一個好有創見性嘅探索就在於也斯嘅「城市詩學」概念,打破咗劉以鬯嗰一代嘅果種對城市、資本主義嘅批判,甚至係 acknowledge 城市文學本身就係一種詩學。呢種詩學嘅修辭本身就嚟自於「城市」嘅多義性同埋作為關係嘅產品。無論係傳統意義上嘅「所有空間都係負空間、複合體,係人類嘅活動或者背後既生產關係 define 會成為空間」,抑或係一種更 meta 嘅 perspective 就係呢啲空間一開頭點樣成為一種場域,點樣被生產出嚟都好,都係好具有詩嘅本質嘅。

如果要講話咩係詩嘅話我會話有兩種「關係」式嘅 defining feature。第一種就係詩係由各種單獨提出來會好奇怪嘅意象構成嘅,所以第一層嘅 analysis 就係呢啲意象點樣組合起成為一種意象群,令到佢哋具有某種唔係必然嘅意義。對應返對空間嘅反思就會係通過置換嚟創造意義。舉例話我哋平時嘅字畫,或者李小龍、粵劇都係喺二樓展覽嘅,就係營造咗一種與「近當代中國」或者「近當代香港」有關文化嘅感覺。但係(雖然無可能)如果擺喺兒童探知館呢?譬如入面本身都有個客家文化角或者懷舊角落——

問:哦我印象都幾深刻……即係成日細個玩公仔紙果度——

答:冇錯。係囉,即係你會下意識話係比細路玩嘅。咁好明顯呢個係由於例如二樓有個畀人感覺更加嚴肅嘅展館(群)。而第二層就係一個比較深層次、meta 嘅對詩嘅反思,例如點解某樣嘢要寫做詩?即係佢有咩形式上嘅其他可能?呢個 typical 嘅例子就會係比如話韓東嘅《有關大雁塔》對《大雁塔》嘅戲仿。對應建築、空間就係究竟有冇可能創造某啲空間出嚟?即係亦都係 David Harvey 提到嘅,既然我哋發現原來現代嘅空間已經係由生產關係、文化意義、商業意義 define 出嚟嘅時候,究竟我哋可唔可以都咁樣創造啲空間出嚟?就好似面對連鎖式嘅商場一樣,小販所謂 tactic,對策式嘅應付嚟活用街邊創造空間出嚟,我會話詩化亦都係咁樣嘅一種技巧,將唔係文藝嘅嘢再創造,去探討表象背後嘅各種關係,所以意象背後嘅象徵本身就係咁樣一種可能性嘅可能性。所以要展出詩係難嘅,佢將現代詩定格咗做一種、某種關係,文藝品,本身就會抹煞咗佢作為探討可能性、破壞本質再重塑咁樣嘅力量,所以會比較 prefer 唔將詩嘅流動性壓縮、決定去一個位。

問:唔……咁唔知第三呢?有無關係?

答:我會話係對於詩化嘅反思。例如究竟詩作為呢種所指——能指嘅置換,本身有冇詩化咗自己嘅文學功能?所以基本上就係我哋做緊嘅對反思嘅反思,又或者喺建築上就會係究竟擺入博物館又代表啲乜嘢?博物館本身係唔係都壟斷咗某種意義嘅生產者、文化嘅肯定者呢種地位?咁樣相當於拆自己嘅招牌,係一個好唔理智嘅選擇(笑)。

問:唔……咁睇嚟呢個都係我哋去到嘅極限,喺反思對反思嘅反思之前都應該時間差唔多啦。好多謝以及好榮幸今日你接受我哋嘅訪問,麻煩晒。

27.2.17

An Ode Dedicated To Autumn's Chrysanthemum

Your tears carry within its twinkle a tint of gentleness
       free the past from the chains of lunar synthesis
The harsh moonlight uncovers grievances held in white
       memories whispering lunar incantations in the night
Stretching nightly hallows along the frost
       Am I the only one pondering during this strange pentecost
Who is he that stands on the balcony, cold and forlorn?

The pitiful raindrops gently bounce on the rim of the ruby-red window
       blurring the words on my life-long diary,
I paint my whole life with imagined memories
       the wild wind spreads the word in unfamiliar territories
The dreamily reality fades into the far away neverland
       reduced into a spire of smoke
It dances on the wind,
       melting into your silhouette

The curtains of lead has poisoned the meadow
       forcing me to look beyond the window
The flower has reached its twilight
       petals withering in the glorious sight
What does this mean?
       What prophetic insight shall I glean?
The world's sorrow diminishes into a pond of lust
       begging me to devour the water pipes' rust
Never cross the river you shall, for you will never reach the shore
       my tormented heart is bleak, I must examine the lore
I would spend my life drifting on the yellow sands of Sahara
       Thine shall not worry, but respond with an echo of laughter

Whose lands are these? They are rife with the trumpets of war
       embark on this journey of pain and gore
Your soft sigh beats with a dying heart
       The moody sky ripples with daft clouds, darkening slightly
An entire dose of melancholy that ends in such a gentle sonnet
       The kingdom of light trembles in sadness

The breeze of Autumn caresses gently the faces of the earth
       such beauty, withering with mirth
The cruel winds of the north whirl on the ripples of the lake
       holding the undiscovered fate of snowflakes
The chrysanthemums covering the whole ground
       wilting along the distant sound
Your smile has yellowed with age
       my weathered diary has flipped a page
The night has yet to rise,
       allow me to dissect your shadow in Thine guise
Petals fall without a sound
       Like my heart, losing yet remain unfound

Left alone on the surface of the lake,
       I pray to the Autumn's Chrysanthemum
And calmly plunge into the sleep without wake.

26.2.17

Ranking the Best Picture Nominees (2017)

It is now a few hours before Hollywood's annual circlejerk extravaganza, and I've watched 7 out of the 9 Best Picture nominees, and 21 nominated films in total. This is my sixth year following the Oscars, and it's been the most boring year for me – 2011 was the worst in picture quality, while I found 2012 and 2013 to be quite exciting races. Last year, thankfully, saw the justified triumph of Spotlight over The Revenant which I disliked very much. However, this year, a repeat of that seems unlikely – upsetting the unstoppable La La Land seems like an impossible task even by critics' darling (and personal favorite) Moonlight.

Out of the 9 BP nominees, I've seen 7, and here is my ranking of them:

7. Hacksaw Ridge
No one can deny the technical brilliance of Hacksaw Ridge. The battle sequences are widely lauded as the best ones since Saving Private Ryan, and I respect the grittiness in portraying such brutality of war. However, I also did not pay to sit through 45 (or more) minutes of mawkishly sentimental first-act drama, nor did I expect to see such rampant and odd religious imagery. I feel misled by the marketing, and probably would have nothing against them if someone warned me about them in advance. Well, the director's name should have.

6. Hidden Figures
This is the feel-good type of Oscar bait. Yes, it undoubtedly arouses joy, but I can't find much to say about it or its crafts. Its historical significance is not to be looked over, but I was also disappointed to see that much of the history behind was also significantly modified to fit the film's political agenda. I support anti-discrimination against both women and African-Americans, but I do not support misleading 'based on true events' moviemaking. However, I do like the title's pun a lot.

5. Lion
This is the 'prestige' type of Oscar bait. I had a difficult time deciding between this and Hidden Figures for 5th place, but ultimately opted for Lion, because of its stunning though occasional poetic moments. However, the emotionally manipulative ending was way over-the-top, and the use of the obligatory Sia song felt quite distasteful and unsuitable for a 'prestige' pic like this (this is the third time I've heard Sia's melodies/lyrics/voice in the end credits in the past year). Also, there were a few jarring 180-degree breakers, which were unfortunate blemishes in the otherwise breathtaking ASC-winning cinematography.

4. La La Land
This is where it starts to get difficult to rank. Yes, La La Land is what everyone's been talking about half a year, and the soundtrack has stubbornly refused to go away in my brain for two months. It is irresistibly charming and entertaining. However, while every technicality of this film is nothing short of perfect (the costumes! the choreography! the score! the cinematography! didn't understand the praise for editing, though), I have some major qualms with the screenplay and story structure. These qualms were annoying enough to make me the only person in the cinema who didn't cry at the undoubtedly beautiful yet also troubling ending. This is unfortunate, as I find Chazelle's previous work, Whiplash, to be near-perfect both in terms of crafts and writing, so I was ultimately let down slightly by his follow-up.

3. Manchester by the Sea
I can totally understand why there are people out there who are shook by this film, and I believe it captured grief, loss, pain, and other emotions very well. My only issue with it is (and it's my problem, not the film's) that I've never lost a father or a son, so I didn't really connect with the film. Otherwise, this tugs your heartstrings in the worst (most tragic) and best (most moving) possible way.


2. Arrival
Many friends know me as an outspoken (i.e. loud and noisy) fan of Interstellar, but I admit Arrival beats Interstellar in terms of almost everything (except scope and score?). I love sci-fi, and I love mind-benders that challenge audiences intellectually. I've found this year's film that perfectly fits these criteria. I was surprised, stunned, and floored at both viewings of Arrival. Even after knowing its plot twist, there was still much to mine in this film that keeps on giving.

1. Moonlight
Moonlight is pure poetry with themes and imagery abound, yet does not feel inaccessible at all. Of course, my sexual identity did give me a little pre-viewing bias, but I believe its story is one that resonates beyond the African-American and LGBT communities. Most of Moonlight, albeit sweepingly beautiful and poignant, is subdued – almost as hesitant to share as its protagonist – which is why I kept waiting for that moment to floor me. The ending crushed me like no ending has ever had, and even thinking about it opens the floodgates of my tears again.
I'll briefly go through the rest of the categories as well. I have no problem with La La Land winning Director, Costume Design, Score and Song, Sound Mixing (the musical one; I can never differentiate the two sound categories), Cinematography, or even Production Design and Editing. Of course, there are alternate winners and I would love the Academy to spread the wealth, but I think La La deserves these as much as others do.

I've not yet seen Denzel Washington's performance in Fences, but from what I heard, it seems like a screaming 'get me the Oscar' type of performance. I guess I would prefer Casey Affleck's more nonetheless. He wonderfully captures melancholy, loneliness, and guilt yet never feels loud or burdensome.

Emma Stone is great in La La Land but I fear this will be remembered as a Jennifer Lawrence for Silver Linings Playbook kind of win. Both charm without making it look like much effort, but are they the best of their years? Again, I've not seen Elle, but Isabelle Huppert deserves an Oscar for her career anyway, and Natalie Portman does more than just a very convincing impersonation in Jackie.

While I loved Moonlight in every way possible, I don't quite understand the praise for Mahershala Ali's performance. He is excellent in some brief scenes; his impact is felt through the rest of the film, but it's not a great pillar literally supporting the film. Naomie Harris, on the contrary, was much better, so it saddens me that she's not the one winning everything, but I haven't seen Fences yet. Viola Davis deserves an Oscar anyway (one step closer to EGOT?).

For the rest of the categories, the only one I truly care about it Best Animated Feature. I love Zootopia, and would love for it to win so deservingly, but Kubo and the Two Strings is a formidable threat after the BAFTA win. I must admit I haven't seen the latter, and its nomination for Best Visual Effects is alarming in a good way.

Year after year, the Oscars disappoint in some categories. Heck, their nominations are usually disappointing. But last year's Spotlight victory rekindled a little bit of hope in me, and I'm also very pleased at the increased representation of non-whites in this year's list – this indicates diversity and progression not within the Academy, but within the industry.