中文导读

韩国电影《寄生虫》在第92届奥斯卡上斩获四项大奖。影片主要讲述了贫穷家庭像寄生虫一样依附于富裕家庭生活的故事，以荒诞的剧情映射出韩国社会巨大的阶级鸿沟。《寄生虫》创造了韩影的历史，也让导演奉俊昊从朴槿惠执政时期的“极端分子”变成了如今的民族英雄。虽然这部影片唤起了韩国人民巨大的观影热情和民族自豪感，但片中反映的贫富差距、阶级鸿沟却恐怕难以改变。

An Oscar-winning South Korean film is a triumph for its director

HALFWAY THROUGH “Parasite”, the Kims (pictured), a family of grifters who live in a dank Seoul basement, have by hook and (mostly) crook wangled their way into jobs in the ultrachic mansion of the Parks. Twisty as the plot has already been, viewers know more surprises must be in store—but can scarcely imagine what they will be. The screwball shifts in tone somehow cohere into a biting parable of haves and have-nots. On February 9th this South Korean farce became the first foreign-language film to be crowned Best Picture at the Academy Awards. It also took Best Screenplay, Best International Feature Film and Best Director, for Bong Joon-ho.

“Once you overcome the one-inch tall barrier of subtitles,” Mr Bong has observed, “you will be introduced to many more amazing films.” The success of “Parasite” has been seen as a harbinger of the rise of global cinema in the Anglophone world, and of South Korea’s rich film industry in particular. Perhaps—but, even more than usual, it is a triumph for Mr Bong, who has completed a high-speed journey from subversive extremist to national hero. During the administration of Park Geun-hye, from 2013 to 2017, officials kept tabs on him beause of his politics; state funding was unavailable for his work. Being blacklisted in this way, Mr Bong said just three years ago, was a “nightmare”. On February 10th he received a warm congratulatory message from Moon Jae-in, the president today.

His rehabilitation chimes with political changes in South Korea. Ms Park’s lieutenants considered Mr Bong’s films—which include “Memories of Murder”, “Mother” and “Okja”—unacceptably disrespectful of the state; more than 9,000 other artists and writers, many less able to support themselves, got the same treatment. (Mr Bong’s English-language sci-fi flick, Snowpiercer”, faced a different problem in America: Harvey Weinstein’s distribution firm restricted its release when Mr Bong refused to make the cuts Mr Weinstein wanted.) In the end, the cultural McCarthyism did not help its enforcers. A newspaper revealed the existence of the blacklist in 2016; the resulting outrage contributed to Ms Park’s impeachment and eventual imprisonment for corruption and abuse of power, and the election of Mr Moon.

Some conservatives are still wary of Mr Bong, whose work criticises capitalism and social hierarchies. But despite its themes of inequality and class resentment, South Koreans’ jubilation over “Parasite” transcended politics. The many who had been breathlessly following the Oscars ceremony erupted in pride when the best-picture envelope was opened. Cinemas swiftly added new screenings for the few laggards who had not yet seen the film (more than 10m tickets were sold when it was shown in South Korea last summer). A pizza joint and supermarket that feature in the story were overrun by reporters. The municipal government promoted tours of the film’s locations, including a grimy underpass.

Little good the enthusiasm will do the city’s strugglers—at least, if “Parasite” itself is any guide. Nothing avails the Kims, neither crime nor (when they try it) going straight. Still, for all its fatalism, part of the appeal of Mr Bong’s zany movie is that it is never simplistic. The Kims aren’t saints, and the Parks are more blithe than villainous; they just cannot help noticing the odour that seems to emanate from the servants. If audiences stop to think about it, the grisly denouement is only a slight inflection of a reality in which, sometimes, the poorest are left to feed on scraps.

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Feb 13th 2020 | Books and arts | 574 words

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每日一学

2020/02/18

第一段第二句话“Twisty as the plot has already been, viewers know more surprises must be in store...”中的 in store 如何理解？

其实这里的 in store (for sb) 为一短语，表示“将要发生（在某人身上），就要出现（在某人身上）”，英英释义为：if something unexpected such as a surprise or problem is in store for someone, it is about to happen to them, e.g. They think it'll be easy but they have a surprise in store . 他们以为事情容易，到时候他们会吃惊的。知道了这一表达，原文这句话便不难理解：尽管故事情节已经很曲折，但观众们知道还会有更多的惊喜——但他们几乎无法想象这些惊喜会是什么。

（查看本文更多讲解，请点击下方参与阅读训练营，词汇量需过八千方可报名，词汇量低于八千请移步☞词汇训练营）

声明：

本文全文摘选自The Economist(15th Feb 2020)，仅供个人学习交流使用。欢迎转发至朋友圈。

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