DIVIDED WE FALL種族矛盾
Two African American directors tackle race in the US. By KEVIN MA
兩位非洲裔美國導演探討美國的種族問題。撰文：馬樂民
This month, two stellar films from African American directors show that activist cinema is hitting its stride in the US.
Boots Riley, lead vocalist of hip-hop group The Coup and a political activist, makes his first foray into filmmaking with Sorry to Bother You. Influenced by the works of Michel Gondry (a stopmotion short in the film makes an almost direct reference), Riley’s film is a surreal social satire that follows African American telemarketer (Lakeith Stanfield) who discovers the key to success: using a ‘white voice’, which automatically puts his potential customers at ease.
Despite being set in what Riley calls an alternate reality, the film reflects very real issues – working class pressures and the inherent privilege of certain races – with wild energy and scathing humour. The imaginative sequences derail the narrative at times, but the film is a brave, gonzo vision of contemporary America. Not everyone will be receptive to the message, but it’s an important work of art.
Meanwhile, Spike Lee, the leading figure of contemporary African American cinema, has made one of the most incendiary films of the year with BlacKkKlansman, the Grand Prix winner at this year’s Cannes film festival. Produced by Get Out director Jordan Peele, BlacKkKlansman is a partially fictionalised take on the story of Ron Stallworth, an African American detective who infiltrated a chapter of the whitesupremacist Ku Klux Klan in 1979.
Playing up the far-fetched nature of the operation, it’s an immensely entertaining and even cathartic story with a hero worth cheering for. At the same time, Lee – who’s no stranger to tackling race with films such as Do the Right Thing, 25th Hour and Chi-raq – refuses to retell the story as typical Hollywood escapist cinema. The depiction of racism – including racist acts committed by the police – is often ugly and uncompromising. Even when the audience finds joy in Stallworth’s victory, Lee ends the film with a shocking coda to remind us all that there’s still a long way to go.
本月機上選映兩部由非洲裔美國導演執導的精采電影，顯示緊扣社會議題的電影在美國正日漸盛行。Boots Riley 是饒舌組合The Coup 的主音歌手，同時積極參與社會運他動。 首次執導的扮《 工室上位攻略》是超現實的社會諷刺劇，深受法國導演Michel Gondry的影響（片中出現一段定格動畫短片，就跟這位導演關係密切）故事。的主角是一名任職電話推銷的員 非洲裔美國男子（ Lakeith Stanfield 飾， ）他發現要當個成功推銷員，秘技就是用白「 人腔」來跟客人對話，令客人感覺自在，自然生意興隆。
儘管 Riley 聲稱《扮工室上位攻略》
的背景是另類實境，卻反映社會現實；例
如員工備受壓以力， 及某些種族擁有與生
俱來的勢。優 等 影片洋溢奔放的活力與尖
刻的，幽默 部分片段更打破敘事的常規，
充滿想像力。本片雖然風格日張，近似怪
論，但卻將當代美的國 面貌大膽呈現觀眾
眼前。並非人人都能夠接受 Riley 所表達
的，訊息 但這卻是一部重要的。作品
另一方面，在當代非洲裔美電國 影界
中地位舉足輕重的 Spike Lee，則推出本年
最具煽動性的作品《BlacKkKlansman 。贏得今年康城影展評審團大獎的《BlacKkKlansman》，由《訪．嚇》的導演Jordan Peele 擔任監製，故事根據非洲裔美籍偵探 Ron Stallworth 的故事改，編 並增添了虛構的，成分 講述他於1979 年成功滲入奉行白人至上主義的三K 黨。
《BlacKkKlansman》裡的調查行動有
點令以人難 置信，但主角確實是個值得眾
人為他鼓掌喝采的英雄。本片不但拍得娛
樂性豐富，同時亦有讓人宣洩情感的作用。
導演 Spike Lee 拍過多部探討種族議題的
電，影 例如《不作虧心事》、《25th Hour》
與《Chi- raq》等，他不願將 Stallworth 的
故事重拍成逃避現實的典型荷李活商業 。Lee 一直毫以 不妥協的態度來描繪種族，主義 影片呈現的族種 主義， 括警察的所作所為，都是醜陋的。電影到了尾聲，觀眾因為 Stallworth 的勝利而大為高興時，導演仍要加上一段令人震撼的結局，提醒我們，前面要走的路仍是漫長而崎嶇。