"Donkey Got Water" was released in China in 2016. The film tells the story of a principal who opened a school in a remote village with several teachers in order to carry out rural education experiments during the Republic of China period. Because of the harsh conditions, the principal falsely reported a donkey named "Donkey Get Water" as an English teacher "Lu De Shui", which changed the teaching environment by taking a salary, but thus triggered a series of absurd stories.
Adapted from The drama of the same name by Zhou Shen and Liu Lu, this film is Happy Twist's first film after "Charlotte Troubles". The film engages in an in-depth discussion of society and human nature in a black humorous way.
Black humor is a literary technique that expresses the content of tragedy in the form of comedy. It is a kind of humor that borders on despair, using the laughter of the people to ridicule and lash out at the dark reality that exists in society. More importantly, it can make all the naked irony manifest itself in the laughter in an incomparably natural and real way, making people laugh and laugh and laugh out of tears, falling into deep thought.
This is also why "Donkey Got Water" will stand out among many black humor movies and become the pinnacle of black humor movies in China.
At the end of the story, the enthusiastic principal's eyes have lost their initial light; the iron man who was once upright and fearless has become a man of only promises and flattery; Pei Kuishan, who is the most selfless and righteous at the beginning, has become an egoist who is "mercenary and ruthless and cold-blooded"; the thick and honest coppersmith has become a man who pursues fame and fortune and does not hesitate to take revenge; a warm and beautiful, full of charms, yiman fell under his own gun. This group of people who had a good heart and worked hard to move forward towards a new life ended up living a tragedy.
Some say that their tragedies are a product of the times; some say that they are distorted by human nature; some say that they are driven by interests...
A thousand people watch Hamlet, and a thousand Hamlets appear.
Which one it is, we don't know, and no one can convince anyone.
Today, I will interpret the feelings brought to me by the tragic comedy of "telling a joke but crying miserably" from the four angles of "greed, stupidity, weakness, and selfishness" that they originally wanted to change, and the practical significance and thinking expressed behind the film.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > [greed] malicious greed vs well-intentioned greed: greed together, freedom is far away. Even with good intentions, they will unconsciously become more terrible than evil</h1>
Master Hongyi once said: If you covet your thoughts together, your mind will be enslaved. Thus being led by greed, where there is still any freedom to speak of.
In the film, there are two such people: a commissioner of the Ministry of Education who claims to have studied in the United Kingdom, but seems to not know English; and the principal of Sanmin Primary School, who is full of economy and economy, and regards the "rural education experiment" as a lifelong dream to realize.
Two people who were originally unrelated and completely different began to have interests entangled because of the same word, greed.
Malicious greed — commissioner
At first, he came to this desolate flying sand land in the name of the Education Bureau, saying that it was to investigate the fact that Lu Deshui did not have a file.
In order to cover up the "false report of a donkey as a teacher", the crowd painstakingly found a coppersmith to transform and train.
Then, the commissioner told everyone that because of this rural educator's status, Lu Deshui could get an extra 30,000 yuan in subsidies every month, and everyone was ecstatic.
But what they didn't know was that while they were taking an extra thirty thousand a month, seventy thousand dollars went into the special commissioner's pocket.
All this has been slowly revealed because of the arrival of American philanthropists.
It turned out that from beginning to end, all this was a bureau designed by the commissioner, and the purpose was money.
They thought that their acting skills were superb and they could pass the test in front of the commissioner, but in fact, they were just pawns for the commissioner to realize his greed.
Imagine how a man who shoots and kills people who do not achieve his goal can be easily deceived by a illiterate coppersmith and a group of unprepared people.
And all this can be found in the deeds of the Commissioner at the second arrival.
First, he came to the meeting alone before the philanthropist and told him that the monthly allowance was 100,000 yuan.
Second, when Iron Man confessed everything and the jar was broken, the commissioner did not show surprise or surprise.
Third, in his eyes, it does not matter who Lu Deshui is, what facilities the school builds, and what conditions are improved.
In fact, from the very beginning before he came to this desolate place, everything was in his plan. You know, the Ministry of Education is no longer good, and it will not appoint a person who does not know English as a commissioner. And his "terrier" who does not know English is just a plan after he has insight into everything.
For the sake of money, he can pretend to be stupid; he can kill people; he can kidnap the headmaster and force Jiajia to marry the coppersmith.
In his eyes, money is everything.
Greedy for money, he is greedy with righteousness, greedy with blatantness, greed by any means, full of malice.
Well-intentioned greed – the principal
At first, because of the difficulty of fetching water in the remote area where the school was located, in order to have funds to raise the donkey who fetched water for them, the principal falsely reported the "donkey get water" as a teacher.
But when the false report is successful, the funds come down. Everyone moved the money: Yiman, who used it to buy cloth; Iron Man, who bought fitness equipment; Pei Kuishan, who replaced dentures. And the principal himself, who righteously demanded public funds, also used that money to repair glasses for himself.
But when greed comes together, the mind is enslaved.
Later, in order to keep this thing that did not belong to them, they chose to let the coppersmith pretend to be a teacher during the inspection. By this time their hearts were bound by greed.
Later, I heard that I could get more than 30,000 yuan in subsidies every month. As the head of a school, he acquiesced to Ichiman's "pajamas" coppersmith.
At this moment, they are led by greed and have long abandoned the moral bottom line. And they still deceive themselves in their hearts that everything is for education.
In fact, in the end, it is greed at work.
Although the starting point of all this greed is education, it seems to be full of good intentions, but it is a more terrible existence than malicious greed.
Good-natured greed, it is a demon that destroys the self and devours others in the name of justice.
I remember a scene in the film where the donkey shed was on fire: but just as the three of them were about to put out the fire, the headmaster came with two quilts in his arms. His "obey my command" directly made the donkey shed burn down.
At first glance, I didn't feel anything, but after tasting it carefully, I found that this was a microcosm of the "series of events triggered by the principal's kind greed".
Initially, they were all aspiring young people with all kinds of good expectations. Treat the people and things around you in your own way.
When the first telegram was sent, Pei Kuishan said: "It is better to confess directly, explain the difficulties, and believe that the Ministry of Education will understand." ”
When the coppersmiths were too simplistic in their lectures in front of the commissioner, and the commissioner asked for more difficulty, they again suggested a true story;
Later, when the coppersmith was reluctant to cooperate with the photograph, the iron man suggested confessing.
But the principal refused.
In the end, under the wrong guidance of the principal, they lost a little bit of self-control, completely lost themselves, became slaves to greed, and eventually their lives were swallowed up by darkness.
Practical meaning and reflections:
In real life, there are not a few people who are as greedy and blatant as the commissioner. Usually, when they are mentioned, people hate them and itch their teeth. We thought this was the most hateful, the most unforgivable man.
We always think that the blade hurts people. In fact, the most deadly thing is the invisible blade.
The malicious greed of the commissioner for his own selfish interests is hateful, but he is the only one who ultimately destroys himself in Akari.
And those well-intentioned greed in the name of justice, like boiled frogs in warm water, little by little, make you sink in comfort, and unconsciously ruin your own and many other lives.
There is a line in the movie "The Big Winner":
And I want to give this sentence to everyone in trouble: those things that do not belong to them, even with a kind heart, should not be touched. You know, when you first taste it, it's really beautiful. But soon, it will unknowingly conquer your heart, quietly becoming a knife hanging overhead, as long as it falls, it will kill you with one blow.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > [foolishness] external foolishness vs inner foolishness: education can change the external foolishness of man, but it cannot save the inner foolishness of man. Only by awakening to self-awareness can we get rid of ignorance and realize our dreams</h1>
"Xunzi • Self-Cultivation" has clouds: yes and no is known, right and wrong, not is called stupidity.
Not being able to distinguish between black and white is nothing but external stupidity, and it is easy to change it. True stupidity, on the other hand, is the slumber of self-consciousness.
External Foolishness:
Before being linked to the life of "Lu Deshui", he always wore a messy hair, wore a shabby coarse cloth linen coat, and spoke a local dialect.
At that time, in his perception:
Later, under the careful dress and teaching of the teachers. Months passed,
But even so, he still failed to understand Yi Man's kindness, and used everything he had learned as a capital to retaliate against her.
On the surface, he was so stupid because he had not received enough education that he could not distinguish between right and wrong.
But the truth is that no amount of education can only change people's external stupidity, but it cannot save people's inner stupidity.
Inner Foolishness:
No matter which one of them appears as a teacher, the principal and other intellectuals can be said to be highly educated intellectuals who have faded the cloak of "external stupidity", but they are also stupid and terrible.
In this regard, there are three details in the film that hint at and ironize all this.
Detail 1: The way to enroll students
At the end of the semester, only six children came to take the exam. In order to solve the problem of insufficient student resources, the plan given by the principal is: as long as they come to register, every child will be awarded a scholarship.
Such a scheme did work, and after the notice was issued, the number of children who came to register next semester reached one hundred and fifty-four. The principal was complacent about this, feeling that this rural education cause was getting closer and closer to success.
But he forgot. From the number "6" to the number "154", what drives their crazy growth is the three words "scholarship", not the heart that wants to change and learn.
They want to change the status quo of no life to teach, but they do not realize the root cause of the problem, let alone the problem of their own.
Detail two: items that are replaced after having money
After the approval of the identity of the rural educator in Lu Deshui, when the 30,000 funds arrived every month, they carried out a major rectification of the school.
But what did they replace?
In addition to the renovated classrooms, water and electricity, there are also phonographs and star lights around broken wooden swings.
Classroom decoration can be understood, but where is the role of the phonograph and star lights?
If it is to improve the teaching environment of students, shouldn't it be the long-rusted basketball hoop and broken wooden swing that should be changed?
At this moment, they pay more attention to the brilliance of appearance, while those who are real and in urgent need of change are ignored by them.
In the name of education, they have this money, but they do not use it in practice.
Detail three: what is enshrined
Conditions were limited, and in the area full of yellow sand, they chose the abandoned rain temple as a classroom.
When that money was pulled down and the classroom was overhauled,
A fabricated teacher disguised as a coppersmith has become the object of worship for this group of teachers who are determined to change the status quo of rural education. The statue of the rain god who used to represent the divine power was discarded in a corner of the house.
Ideologically, they deviate from their original intentions and go further and further down the wrong path.
Practical significance and reflections:
If there is any "comedy within extreme tragedy" in the film, it is Jiajia who left for Yan'an at the end and the box of balls that rushed down.
In May 1941, under the leadership of Comrade Mao Zedong, a four-year large-scale rectification campaign began.
At this time, Jiajia, who rushed to Yan'an, is a metaphor for their ideological awakening and transformation; the ball that runs around is the true portrayal of running to freedom after the awakening of the mind!
William James, the father of modern Psychologists in the United States, once said: Thought determines behavior, behavior determines habits, habits determine character, and character changes destiny.
Remember the doctoral student in Hongqiao, Shanghai last July who accidentally pulled down the emergency brake valve because he accidentally sat on the wrong high-speed train? He can be said to be the elite of education, but what he does is not as good as the ordinary people who have not been in school.
What education can change is only the lack of human knowledge. High education is only the icing on the cake on the picture of life, not the basis for dividing people into three, six, nine and so on.
If a person is not awakened in his mind, even if he receives enough education, he cannot change the nature of ignorance.
Descartes said: I think, therefore I am.
Only by consciously awakening oneself can one truly get rid of inner foolishness and go farther and farther on the right path!
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > [weak] Zhang Yiman - the tortured weak and the only strong. </h1>
Zhang Yiman is an accountant and math teacher at Sanmin Primary School. She is tall and tall, her temperament is outstanding, and her long, slightly curly hair is the icing on the cake for her beauty.
She will show her thousands of styles in front of men, and she will also use the flying garlic peel as a snowflake in the sky when picking vegetables.
However, such a woman, sometimes arrogant and charming, sometimes innocent, has been tormented by body and mind again and again in this absurd entanglement of interests.
For the first time, when everyone was helpless and saw that everything was going to fall short, she sacrificed herself and "pajamas" the coppersmith to take pictures.
The second time, when the coppersmith's wife came to the door, and the commissioner and the American philanthropist were close at hand, and everyone needed her to confess her affair with the coppersmith, in order to dissuade the coppersmith's wife and let the lie continue, she was forced to confess the truth and slander the coppersmith against her will.
The third time, when the coppersmith maliciously retaliated and demanded her expulsion, all the teachers who knew the hidden feelings abandoned her in the face of the so-called big picture and accepted the coppersmith's various unreasonable demands. They scolded her in the most vicious words, cut her favorite long hair, and even forced her to slap herself.
Every time, when someone was needed to sacrifice, the crowd retreated and pushed her forward.
But in the end, while enjoying the fruits of her sacrifice, the crowd threw her the deepest and most poisonous malice and despair.
At first glance, she lived as a pathetic and weak person in the eyes of the world and the people. But in fact, she is also the only strong person in this group.
All along, no matter when or where she was, she knew exactly what she wanted.
But the truth is: she rejected Pei Kuishan when he confessed; she chose to resist when the American officer wanted to invade her; and she finished her new school uniform after going crazy and left.
If she was really what people said, she could have accepted Pei Kuishan and be a stable husband and godson in the future. But she didn't.
She clearly knows that what she wants is freedom and what she pursues is feminism.
For this reason, she would rather endure the misunderstanding of others, stand up to the scorn of others, and still insist on herself and not be bound by the world.
Even the final death is a rebellion against the world.
She chose to die, not because she had lost her dignity and beauty. It is because, for her, instead of living as the world expects, it is better to die following everything she pursues.
Her death, what keeps her dreams.
Practical significance and reflections:
In this era of "the weak eat the strong", what is strong and what is weak?
This is a topic that deserves the deep consideration of each of us.
Many times, we always think that catering to the preferences of others and living as expected and liked in the eyes of others represents the success of life.
But after watching Zhang Yiman's difficult life, I understood that the real strong person is a person who clearly knows what he wants in the same environment, and overcomes his own desires, puts aside the world's vision, and makes unremitting efforts to pursue it.
The frustration of reality, the accusations of others, can easily make us waver, to become people like the Iron Man who succumb to the world and lose themselves.
But life, if you only value those worldly standards and requirements, then whether you meet it or lose it, you will only end up with external perfection and inner emptiness.
Therefore, learn to put what you really love above the requirements of the world and others, and enrich your own heart and spiritual world, in order to live a truly strong person.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > how selfless [private] was, and how selfish it was later. He is Pei Kuishan in the film, and he is also a so-and-so in reality</h1>
"Overnight, my heart was like two people." This is the best description of Pei Kui Mountain.
At that time, he was the most supportive of all the rural education experiments, and at the same time the most active effort.
At the final summary meeting, he will offer to give up his vacation time and visit the parents of school-age children one by one to increase the enrollment rate of the school.
When the principal proposes the "scholarship distribution" program, he will also point out the problem to the point.
Even when the funds are insufficient, they will offer to donate their salaries.
But later he:
Wear a mink coat and don't want to take it off even in the hot summer;
After the thirty thousand yuan was allocated, he only cared about when the principal promised to get three thousand per person per month;
When the classroom was not enough to accommodate a large number of students, the crowd proposed to raise funds to build a new classroom, but he responded with a sentence of "What is the matter with me".
When the commissioner mentioned that the monthly money was 100,000 yuan, he immediately shot the case, believing that the principal and Yiman had embezzled other money.
When the coppersmith asked everyone to scold Yiman together, he used all the most vicious words he could think of to attack the woman he had ever wanted to marry.
When the wedding scene was destroyed by the coppersmith's wife and everyone was busy fleeing for their lives, he took away the ten thousand dollars as a gift for the first time.
At that time, he was selfish, cold-blooded, and ruthless.
From a person who was "reluctant to buy something for himself but willing to donate money to change teaching" to a person who "did not want to build a classroom even if he had a surplus", his change was only overnight.
That night was the night of a man "pajamas" coppersmith. When he heard the news and angrily rushed to the door of Yi man, trying to stop everything, he found that he did not have an identity to rush in.
At that moment, he could only bow his head and stand outside the door, allowing a gasp in the room to shatter all his pride, and finally walk away powerlessly. That night, for the first time, his waist was no longer straight.
So when everyone thinks that a man is debauchery and self-love. He firmly believed that she was just too simple, and believed that the real she was not like that.
But that night, Ichiman, part of his dream, became entangled with the coppersmith and shattered all his faith and persistence with facts.
He had devoted himself to the emotions that he had carefully held in the palm of his hand, and they were spilled on the ground like that, worthless. At that moment, he heard the sound of shattering dreams, and the spiritual world that had been supporting his progress also collapsed.
When everything he had tried to hold on to was taken away by the harsh reality, he had to wonder what he meant in the first place. So he gave up.
That night, no one knew where he had gone after leaving Ichiman's house. No one knows what kind of painful struggle he experienced that night.
I only know that when he reappears, his eyes no longer have the original brilliance, and his face has lost the warmth and sunshine, replaced by a cold frost that refuses to be thousands of miles away.
Overnight, his heart was like two people, but he was still the same person.
But before that night, it was the goodness of human nature that dominated his life; and after that night, it was the evil of human nature that drove him forward.
The extreme Pei Kuishan is a complete evil man in the eyes of most people. But it is such a person, but it is the role that best represents most people and is most suitable for our lives.
In our surroundings, there are many people with dreams and spiritual beliefs. Initially, they had dreams in mind, and like Pei Kuishan, they believed more than anyone in the possibility of their dreams coming true. At this time, the goodness of their human nature dominates life.
However, when dreams are bound by money, feelings, reality, etc., when faced with the opposition and incomprehension of most people around them, they begin to question themselves, lose expectations for the future, and eventually gradually collapse by reality, choosing to go with the flow. Succumbed to the dark side of humanity that was hidden in his heart.
It is said that human nature is terrible. In fact, the real horror is not human nature, but when, which kind of human nature will be completely stimulated.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > written at the end</h1>
Film and television originate from life, but they are higher than life.
The absurd story of a donkey allows us to see the various appearances of human nature.
But it also makes us understand that the most uneducated people in this world are not illiterates who have no knowledge, but those who are illiterate.
Man is human because of the existence of thought.
Whether it is greed, stupidity, weakness, or selfishness.
Only when a person has enriched his thoughts and strengthened his heart, will he keep the bottom line and stick to his heart when these dark sides of human nature erupt. Finally, lead life with the goodness of human nature and harvest the life you want!