The story of frogs and scorpions, which character is more terrifying? Is it the frog that listens to the promise of the scorpion and agrees to carry the scorpion across the river? Or a scorpion that cannot contain its nature and commits violence? Is a scorpion with thorns born with thorns, or is the acquired environment that makes him a scorpion? Can the love between a frog and a scorpion only have a tragic end?
The IRA holds a British soldier, Jody, and Jody develops a friendship with Fergus, the man who guards him, and Jody tells Fergus that if he can't survive, ask Fergus to go to his hometown, visit his girlfriend Dale, and tell Dale that Jody has been missing her...
Revisit Neil Jordan's The Crying Game. When it was shocked by the movie, this time I revisited it, but I felt that it did not have the shocking vulgarity of the impression, but more romantic fairy tale color.
In the movie, Jody tells Fergus a story about frogs and scorpions. The scorpion asks the frog to take him across the river, and the frog indicates that the scorpion has thorns and that it is too dangerous to take him across the river. The scorpion said that he would not stab the frog with a stinger, after all, the frog died on the way across the river, and he could not escape death. The frog agreed to the scorpion's request and carried him across the river, on the way, the frog felt a tingling pain in his back, and when he and the scorpion slowly sank into the water, he asked the scorpion: I help you, why do you want to stab me? The scorpion said helplessly, "I can't help it, it's my nature."
The story of the frog and the scorpion can be used as a metaphor for the relationship between Britain and Northern Ireland, no matter who is the frog and who is the scorpion, tied together to cross the river, it will eventually make the frog and the scorpion drown together (the inability to achieve "symbiosis"?). ）。
The story of the frog and the scorpion can be a metaphor for the relationship between Fergus (the frog) and the IRA (scorpion), who voluntarily became a member of the IRA and carried out plans for kidnapping and killing. Is it just that the use of violence in exchange for justice will make britain's tense relationship with Northern Ireland slow down, or fall into a more dangerous situation?
The story of the frog and the scorpion can also be an allusion to the relationship between Dale (the scorpion) and Fergus (the frog), Dale has a thorn, and Fergus still chooses to take care of each other without hesitation, perhaps out of atonement, or perhaps as Jody's analysis of Fergus: he is a good person, and the code of conduct of good people is always altruistic rather than self-interested.
The story of the frog and the scorpion has two main points:
First, the tragic end of drowning, doing good deeds may bring tragedy, and malicious intentions will also bring tragedy.
Second, the nature is irreversible: Fergus wants to be cruel, but he is always not fierce enough, Fergus's partner Gard acts coldly and viciously, but does not care, Dale dresses up as a woman, not likes "dress", but his inner soul is "female", even if he cuts off his long hair and changes into men's clothes (a change in appearance), he cannot change Dale's true essence.
Thinking further, the story of the frog and the scorpion, which character is more terrible? Is it the frog who listens to the promise of the scorpion and agrees to carry the scorpion across the river (good people can easily become instruments of exploitation and even bring destruction)?
Or a scorpion that cannot contain its nature and commits violence?
Is the thorny scorpion born with thorns, or is the acquired environment that makes him a scorpion (an allusion to the relationship between Northern Ireland and Britain)?
Can the love between a frog and a scorpion only have a tragic end?
I said That The Crying Game has romantic fairy tale overtones (so I'm a pessimist?). The belief that the world is going to only get worse and not as beautiful as the movie) lies in the love between Fergus and Dale, loosening the boundaries of the country, the nation, the sexual orientation, the class, the race, etc., so that the audience can see that there is a way out (liberation/redemption) hidden in the dead alley, about love, about reconciliation, about the new future.
"The Crying Game" received six Oscar nominations that year, including best picture, director, actor (Stephen Ray as Fergus), supporting actor (Jay Davidson as Dale), editing and screenplay, and finally won the best screenplay.
Stephen Ray and Jay Davidson's performances in "The Crying Game" were impressive, the two had a wonderful spark of rivalry, Jay Davidson's male and female performance, which caused a lot of discussion that year, before that Oscar, all the media were guessing what kind of outfit Jay Davidson would appear on the red carpet!
Although "The Crying Game" brought a spotlight to Jay Davidson, he did not spend a long time in the film industry, and soon after acting in "Stargate", he slowly faded out of the film world.
supplement:
Jody is seduced by Gard and becomes a republican hostage. The IRA was later attacked by British government troops, and Fergus fled to Jody's hometown and met Dale. Soon, the surviving Gard catches up with Fergus and uses Dale as a blackmail to demand a new assignment from Fergus.
Fergus cut Dale's long hair, put on Jody's jersey, and made him disguise himself as a man. After The assassination mission that Gard entrusts to Fergus fails, Gard goes to Dale's house, and Dale, dressed in Jody's costume, shoots and kills Gard.
Jody loses his life after being targeted by Gadd, Dale wears Jody's clothes and shoots Gadd, life in a wonderful way for the victim (Jody + Dale) to take revenge on the perpetrator. Ironically, although Jody was captured for Gard, Jody's killer was actually a British army tank.
Back to the story of frogs and scorpions, Northern Ireland and the British government, who is the frog and who is the scorpion? Or does the scorpion represent greed and anger and revenge, while the frog represents blindness and innocence?