广陵集 2020 Diligent Studies in Guangling 2020 第 02 篇 Section 02
一月 小丑 January: Joker
返回 广陵集 2020 Back to Diligent Studies in Guangling 2020蝴蝶效应告诉我们，任何一件小事所荡起的涟漪都不应被忽视，若深入发掘，必能洞见其背后的巨大意义和本质。
The butterfly effect teaches us that ripples stirred by any minor incident ought never to be dismissed; if plumbed deeply, one will surely discern the monumental significance and essence lurking behind them.
在电影伊始，我们看到的亚瑟是一个彻头彻尾的边缘人，他虽然有着喜剧人的梦想却只能靠扮演小丑换取微薄的收入，患有癫笑症却得不到社会有效的帮助，但彼时的亚瑟仍旧心怀希望想靠着自己的努力去博取他人的认同，谁又会想到与邪恶划上等号的小丑其实是一个原本比旁人更为纯粹的人。
At the beginning of the film, the Arthur we behold is a marginalized figure through and through: though harboring the dream of becoming a stand-up comedian, he can only eke out a meager income by dressing up as a clown; suffering from pathological laughter, he receives no effective assistance from society; yet Arthur at that juncture still clings to hope, striving through his own efforts to win the validation of others. Who would ever have thought that the Joker, an avatar equated with pure evil, was originally a soul purer than those around him?
荡开涟漪，便是以小见大。无锡高架桥垮塌事件，其中看出卡车司机超载的常态，交通管理部门的松懈。一连串的反应足以激起人们的警觉和法治的改善，这便是涟漪的意义。
Spreading outward, ripples reveal the macrocosm within the microcosm. In the Wuxi elevated highway collapse, one could discern the chronic normalization of overloaded freight trucks and the laxity of traffic authorities. This cascade of repercussions was sufficient to awaken public vigilance and drive improvements in the rule of law; such is the true meaning of ripples.
然而，总有人希望涟漪被淡化，回复表面的风平浪静，以自欺欺人企图营造美好的理想状态。电影《小丑》中上流人士们只能肤浅的看到电影的笑料，充耳不闻影院外的抗议呐喊，这个社会的阶级对话其实已然被彻底关闭了，底层阶级觉得富人为富不仁，上层阶级觉得穷人好吃懒做，阶级间被激化的矛盾最终就会如《小丑》中上演的这样，穷人将整个社会拖入万劫不复的暴乱，富人则会在暴乱中失去一切甚至是生命，没有谁能在这场阶级的灾难中得以幸免。
Yet there are always those who wish ripples to be smoothed away, restoring superficial calm in an act of self-deceit to manufacture a gilded ideal. In the film Joker, high-society elites can only superficially register comedic gags while turning a deaf ear to the protesting cries outside the theater; class dialogue in this society has in truth been slammed entirely shut. The underclass perceives the wealthy as heartless and unjust, while the upper crust regards the impoverished as indolent and parasitic. Heightened class antagonisms will ultimately play out just as in Joker: the poor drag the entire society into irrecoverable riots, while the rich lose everything—even their lives—amidst the mayhem. No one emerges unscathed from this class catastrophe.
涟漪的意义深远，但想要觉醒缺少不了个人的努力。柴静以一己之力，将社会的方方面面带到屏幕前，通过荡开涟漪的形式影响着大众。她深入乡村，探访留守儿童的困境，直面一线，在非典的危机中带给人们希望。她的推力，让一个个微小的涟漪荡开，正是他们这些人前赴后继的努力，才得以带来社会方方面面的改观。
The implications of ripples are profound, yet awakening cannot occur without personal effort. Chai Jing, through her individual endeavor, brought multifaceted aspects of society onto the screen, influencing the public by spreading outward ripples. She ventured deep into rural villages to investigate the plight of left-behind children, and confronted the frontlines during the SARS crisis to offer hope to the populace. Her push caused tiny ripples to fan out one after another; it is precisely through the relentless striving of people like her that progress across society is realized.
但是，个人的努力仍是不够的。只有当涟漪在全体社会激荡，本质的揭露才具有最坚定的力量。王开岭感叹：“单独的一滴构不成水，它只能被叫做液体。”电影最后被众人环绕簇拥的小丑其实并非一个新秩序的建立者，而只是一个凄凉的受害者，他之前是权贵舞台上的玩偶，现在成了革命者的口号。这种无头苍蝇的革命最终必将以失败告终。
Nevertheless, individual efforts remain insufficient. Only when ripples reverberate throughout the whole of society does the unveiling of fundamental truth wield unshakeable strength. Wang Kailing once lamented: “A single droplet does not constitute water; it can only be called liquid.” At the movie’s climax, the Joker surrounded and hoisted by the throngs is by no means the architect of a new order, but merely a desolate victim: formerly a puppet upon the stage of the wealthy and powerful, now turned into a slogan for revolutionaries. Such aimless, headless revolutions are ultimately destined to end in failure.
生活永远不缺乏涟漪，重要的是我们能否可以正确面对。让我们在涟漪中思索如何构筑更加美好的社会。毕竟，没有人天生是小丑。
Life is never lacking in ripples; what matters is whether we can confront them with clear eyes. Let us reflect amidst the ripples on how to build a better society. After all, no one is born a clown.