Togo: On-screen writing of animal heroes

Author: Zhang Yiwen

If sacrificing oneself to save others is a condition for considering a hero, then the designation of a hero cannot be confined to human beings themselves, in other words, if an animal undertakes the important mission of saving others, then it also deserves to be respected and remembered like a hero. The film Togo, directed by Eriksson Cole, tells the heroic story of a sledding lead dog named "Togo": in order to save the children suffering from diphtheria, the elderly Togo carried his master Leonhard to participate in the "Serum Relay", successfully saving the lives of many children, nineteen of the twenty sled teams ran an average of 50 kilometers, while Togo ran 425 kilometers, and finally fell seriously injured and disabled.

The film is adapted from real events, which shows that the film completes the hero image in the artistic sense, but also has the practical significance of posthumous recognition from the historical scene. From the perspective of narrative strategy, on the basis of following the basic historical logic, the film also intends to complete the screen writing of the image of togo's heroes through artistic techniques, which can be divided into three aspects: hero suffering, salvation motif and heroic lamentation according to the narrative thread.

Heroes suffer

In his book Hero with a Thousand Faces, the mythologist Joseph Campbell divides the hero's journey into three stages: departure, enlightenment and return, which refers to an adventurous life in which ordinary life circumstances are thrown into the strange world, but in "Togo", the sled dog Togo experiences a reverse departure ceremony, that is, in his bones, he wants to take the initiative to take the task of pulling a sled and enter an adventurous life, but is repeatedly rejected by his master Leonhard, in this sense, Togo directly enters a heroic crucifixion mode. Specifically, Leonhard abandoned Togo as many as four times, the first time to give it away, the second time to keep him in captivity, the third time to keep him in a closed house, and the fourth time to continue to give people away, but just as the hero was chosen, Togo finally realized the persistent pursuit of becoming a sled leader in various ways.

However, the ordeal of being abandoned by the master is only the beginning, and the harsh external environment, the unknown joint communication, and the tight time limit for saving people have all become the great suffering facing Togo. In the film, Togo's nature likes to chase wild deer, but the camera focuses on the details of a snowy day when Togo pulls a sleigh and encounters a wild deer, and through the mouth of Leonhard, he learns that Togo's abnormal behavior shows his fear of the increasingly harsh snowstorm, and in this context, he takes on the heavy responsibility of saving people, so that Togo has to face his own fears. If being abandoned as a child is a tribulation from the outside, then the natural fear but still has to face it is from the inner torment, and the hero is a hero precisely because he can withstand various tests.

Salvation motif

Simple suffering is not a decisive condition for becoming a hero, otherwise the "ascetic" can also be named a hero, and the main thing to become a hero is to save the weak, which is its cultural motif, but the process of salvation is often accompanied by suffering. In the film, the most obvious is that Togo, under the selection and command of the owner, leads the sled dog group to meet with the "serum relay" people, and finally helps to complete the rescue of children with diphtheria. In the process, Togo undertook the most difficult part of the road, its length of up to 425 kilometers, more than 8 times that of other sled teams, two scenes are impressive: one is the wind and snow intensified, Leonhard lost the direction of the command, forcing the sled team to slide to the cliff, Togo as the lead dog emergency to stop running, but due to inertia was pushed to the edge of the cliff, the camera showed its wood, trembling and trembling without pity, so that the audience realized that the identified animal hero under great pressure; second, on the way back, The ice through which the sleigh team passed began to melt and crack, but was about to go ashore but was intercepted by a large river in front of them, at which point Leonhard left Togo alone ashore, and after exhausting his strength and bleeding from the front paws, Togo dragged the entire sled team to the shore, saving not only the children with diphtheria, but also the lives of the sled team.

In fact, the motif of salvation extends to the spiritual dimension beyond life. Leonhard was originally a cold-faced sledder, in his conception that the sled dog is a tool used to pull the sled, which is why he thought that Togo was not suitable for sledding and abandoned it many times, but after a long period of companionship with Togo, especially after the "vaccine relay", Leonhard's concept changed significantly, and began to regard the sled dog as man's best friend, and always missed Togo. Here, an indifference that ignores life is transformed into a warmth that treats life well.

Heroic lamentations

Just as Prometheus, who stole the Heavenly Fire for the human race, angered Zeus and was punished by being tied to a cliff, Togo's ending in the "Serum Relay" was equally tragic. In the film, because there are as many as 20 sled teams participating in the relay, when the last stick is delivered, the sled dog Balto is noticed by the media, and at the same time is portrayed as a representative of the entire rescue activity, praised by people in various parts of the United States, but in fact, in this activity, Togo, as the most critical and paid sled dog, is ignored by the mainstream, and it has to be said that this is a heroic song. It was only after Togo's death that its story was known, and statues were erected for it in the park, completing a posthumous recognition of the hero. Of course, this narrative is told in the context of the existing history, and cannot essentially erase the tragedy of togo's ending, but the film as an art form attempts to downplay this tragedy in the limited narrative space, the voice-over mentions: "People in other parts of the United States sing the praises of Balto, but sleigh people all over the world are scrambling to want Togo's descendants." With this discourse, Togo gained wider recognition.

In fact, it is difficult to say that such a treatment can achieve a higher artistic effect, because in terms of aesthetics, tragedy is considered to be sublime, purifying, and powerful aesthetic form, and Togo may really gain worldwide recognition, especially when it is made into a film itself, which is an excellent example, but if the film does not lead to this, omit this superfluous performance, its overall aesthetic will be more powerful.

Overall, "Togo", as a dog-based film based on true events, can be called the inheritance of "Hachiko Monogatari of the Faithful Dog", which is deeply touching with the theme of "companionship", while "Togo" tries to write through the screen of animal images, from the hero's crucifixion to the motif of salvation to the hero's lament, and finally realize empathy with the audience. (Zhang Yiwen)