Holly's Secret Garden

羅蘭巴特(Roland Barthes)，二十世紀法國思想家，以符號/結構的觀點批判社會現象，深具影響力。本文整理其代表作「艾菲爾鐵塔及其它迷思」 (The Eiffel Tower and Other Mythologies)中的精彩論點，以茲反省時下的文化相貌。

I. Introduction

Roland Barthes (1915–1980) was a French literary theorist, philosopher, critic, and semiotician. His study of signs, known as semiotics, is inspiring in subverting the dominant bourgeois culture. He dissects the implied meaning of cultural signs by analyzing a signifier and its related signified. For example, a picture of a full, dark bottle is a signifier that relates to a specific signified: a fermented, alcoholic beverage. However, the bourgeoisie relate it to a new signified: the idea of healthy, robust, relaxing experience. His insight on various cultural phenomena reveals the manipulation of the dominant class, highlighting the ideology working behind the surface meaning. In A Lover’s Discourse: Fragments, his aim is not so much to debunk the bourgeois hegemony as to reveal the illusion of love. Devoid of sentimentality, this book is a fragmented meditation of an unrequited lover. The predominant theme is that the lover, I, can never truly find the beloved, You, for love itself is doomed to be a fabrication of mass culture and therefore a desire beyond one’s control.

「楚門的世界」真是一部有深度令人難忘的電影。它的原始概念來自一部驚悚科幻小說。楚門(Trueman) 從小被攝影機監控而不自覺，活到中年時，才發覺身邊所有的人都是演員，只有自己不是。他被外界不可知的力量操控著，他生命中所有的一切，包括父母、妻子、摯友等，都是導演指派的角色。當真相戳破虛偽，喚醒清明的意識時所帶來的震驚與恐懼，絕不亞於一般科幻小說的恐怖懸疑。楚門(Trueman)這個角色，隱涉真實的(true)人(man)，代表我們芸芸眾生；掌控他的導演名為Christof，意指上帝耶穌基督(Jesus Christ)，代表支配我們生命的神力。將抽象的特質，具體化為故事中的人物來呈現，是中古文學中長篇寓言(allegory)的特色，像15世紀盛行的道德劇(Morality Play)代表作Everyman，各種美德/惡行都化為劇中角色和Everyman 互動，以對話的方式探討生命的永恆價值。楚門這個角色就是Everyman，他所居住的地方名為Seahaven，表面字義為海灣鎮，真實義涵為安全的避風港，在此居住無須面對任何風險。導演Christof一如道德劇中的上帝，主宰每個人的生與死。本文擬就下面幾個面向，探討這部電影對人生的深刻反省。

前言

希臘神話中不乏唯美浪漫的愛情故事。這些故事中，神多少都佔有一席之地。不同於基督世界的耶和華或東方的佛陀，希臘的神不具有崇高的神性(transcendent divinity)，有的卻是凡夫的貪嗔癡。以下的8個故事，筆者將之分為3種類型。其一是男女熾熱的情愛(Pyramus and Thisbe)、其二是堅如磐石的夫妻之愛(Orpheus & Eurydice); (Baucis & Philemon); (Ceyx & Alcyone)、 其三是求不得的單戀情殤。(Pygmalion & Galatea); (Endymion & Selene); (Daphne & Apollo); ( Alpheus & Arethusa)

The Tree of Life won the prize of Palme d'Or at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, getting polarized reactions to the director, Terrence Malick's style. Some critics uphold his artistic and technical skills while some disapprove of his fragmented and non-linear narrative. For an amateur filmgoer like me, bizarre”is the first word that comes to my mind when watching this film. Bizarre though it is, the film is unforgettable with some poetic shots leaving indelible impressions on me.

I. A Visual Manifestation of the Book of Job

“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell me, if you have understanding. . . . who laid the cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” (Book of Job 38)

「享受吧，一個人的旅行」(Eat, Pay, Love)，作者(Eliazath Gilbert)以第一人稱的角度，娓娓道來她的自我追尋。副標題(OneWoman’s Search for Everything across Italy, India and Indonesia)揭示這是一個女人的故事，她的追尋橫跨了義大利、印度及巴里島。故事的主角Lisa在三十幾歲出頭時，就已擁有時下美國女性該擁有的一切，包括有成就的丈夫、鄉村別墅、以及成功的事業，然而她卻感受不到滿足與喜悅，反而因困惑與驚恐而被受煎熬。故事從這裏開展，接下來就描繪她如何放下世人所欣羨的成功表象，轉而去追尋自己真正想要的東西。她用一年的時間，到三個不同的國家旅行，體察三種不同的文化，也發掘出最真實的自我。她在義大利體驗愉悅(pleasure)， 在印度發掘虔誠(devotion)， 最後在巴里島找到世俗享樂(wordly enjoyment)及靈性超越(divine transcendence)兩者間的平衡。

以西方文學的類別來區分，本書可視為是一本成長小說(Bildungsroman)，主角從匱乏到富足，從中學習人生的寶貴經驗(from rags to riches)。此中的匱乏，可以是實際的物質或金錢，亦可以是心靈的枯竭。故事開始於主角的一無所有，必須赤手空拳面對世間的挑戰，但經由勇氣與智慧，或得到貴人的相助，最後終能享有成功的果實。此文類的代表作有狄更斯的大衛考伯菲爾，伯朗特的簡愛等。Lisa從離婚的一無所有，到最後在巴里島找到真愛的過程，就是一部成長小說的典範。用「三」這個數字，代表的是平衡、和諧與禪定。東方的佛教徒或瑜伽行者，在修行時手上的念珠有108顆。108這個數字是三位數，總合加起來是9，亦是三的平方數。西方基督教有三位一體(Holy Trinity)的說法，意思為聖父、聖子及聖靈，可見三所代表的吉祥意涵。作者將她的追尋分成三部分，以呼應它在宗教上的神聖意涵。Lisa在三個不同的文化中，看見潛藏於本性中的渴求，也釋放了真實的自我。透過三種文化的洗禮，她得到了真正的平靜和喜悅，這正是宗教的最終意義----讓世人離苦得樂。

在西方的文學傳統裏，父與子經常處於對立矛盾的關係。天神宙斯(Zeus)必須打敗自己的父親(Cronus)才能稱霸於奧林卑斯山(Mt. Olympus)。伊底帕斯王命中註定會殺死自己的父親，娶自己的母親而後繼承王位。希臘三大悲劇詩人之一Euripides所寫的悲劇Hippolytus中,亦涉及父親(Theseus)對兒子(Hippolytus)的猜忌與不信任，最後導致忠貞的兒子被控與後母(Phaedra)有染，含冤而死。父子之間的爭戰衝突亦是現代電影經常探討的主題。從李安的「推手」到最近坎城影展的得獎影片「永生樹」(The Tree of Life)，探討的都是父親的價值觀，強加於兒子身上時，所造成的情感暴力、傷害與束縛。

有別於父子矛盾如此熟悉的主題，本文要列舉一篇英詩來探討父親那種說不出口，卻真實細膩的愛。

     Some readers accuse Amy Chua’s Chinese way of parenting as child abuse while some identify with it. What’s the essential part of Chinese parenting that raises such controversy? To begin with, the demand for excellence imposes great pressure on children, which has a lot to do with the Chinese conception of success. To prepare kids for future success is the grave responsibility of Chinese parents. As Amy claims, “nothing is fun until you are good at it.” The only way to gain fun for everything is through tenacious practice, without which you can never achieve anything significant and therefore you cannot possibly have fun from it. She asserts the value of rote repetition: “Tenacious practice, practice, practice is crucial for excellence” Through rote learning, kids will have a good command of such skills as math, piano or ballet. Only when they get praise or admiraiton can they feel satisfied and confident. And it is the very confidence that makes the once boring activity fun.

Conversations with God (與神對話) by Neale Donald Walsch is a morale booster meant to encourage the wretched people struck hard by fate. It may well be called a modern version of the Book of Job. Job is a God-fearing and righteous man, just as Neale is an ordinary, law-abiding guy. Yet, both are afflicted with misery for no reason --- the one suddenly deprived of all the possessions and cursing in dust and ashes, while the latter breaking his neck in a car accident, losing his job and becoming a  homeless bum struggling to stay alive. Both have consoling friends to help them weather through the difficulty. But Job's are beguiling, God-blaspheming ones while Neale's are kind-hearted ones who help him survive the harsh living condition. Both stories deal with a complete loser full of anger and bitterness toward God. Both have the theme of redemption embodied through the repentace for human ignorance. Through God's enlightening words, both characters are awakened from their dark world and regain their life.

In the commencement speech, Steve Jobs relates three stories of his life. The first one is about connecting the dots, the second, love and lost, and the third, death. His speech is inspiring in that it comes from his personal experiences instead of quoting others’ views.

For the first part about connecting the dots, he confirms the value of pursuing one’s real interests, which, though impractical then and there, will turn out valuable in the future. He gives his dropping in on the calligraphy course as an example, illustrating how important it is to follow one’s heart instead of others’ opinion. Here are his insights on trusting the inner voice: