英雄之争,超越正邪

2016-05-14 01:48王伟滨
英语学习 2016年9期
关键词:天启蝙蝠侠上帝

王伟滨

今年好莱坞超级英雄片扎堆来袭,且英雄对恶棍的单打独斗戏不再流行,取而代之的是代表不同理念的各派高手之间的群体大战。不用说DC、Marvel等知名漫画公司的死忠,即便如我一般的普通观影者,也被一次次席卷进电影院,去经历一场场排山倒海的大战。

在众多英雄互斗中,3月上映的《蝙蝠侠大战超人:正义黎明》(Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice)显得最为乏味,不仅交战双方阵营单薄,且故事乏善可陈,还在上演着反派角色(villain)四处生事的老桥段,而且Lex Luthor这个反派,明显没有当年风头压倒蝙蝠侠的小丑那股“哲学家”的派头。

与之相比,5月的《美国队长3:内战》(Captain America: Civil War)水平不知高出几个档次。不说华丽的阵容,单就故事内容而言,也颇有深度。美国人对于“内战”(当然,对美国人来说特指“南北战争”)这个话题,本就极感兴趣,不仅每年都有纪念活动,相关书籍与影视作品也层出不穷,而且,“内战”的由头,也远不像我们的历史课本中描写的那样单纯——那是一场经济、政治、生活方式以及思维模式的大对撞。

而美队(Captain America)与钢铁侠(Ironman)两大阵营的分裂与对峙,则源于对“权力”与“行动”的不同理解。当然,这也并不是什么新鲜话题,早在漫画《守望者》(Watchmen)中,私自执法的各种“侠”们的行事标准便受到质疑,政府对他们发出命令——或者退休,或者被国家的正统部队收编。在《内战》中,超能者们动不动摧毁大厦、掀翻桥梁、伤及无辜,于是官方要求他们签署协定,以后不得私自行动。不过,与《守望者》中消沉、失望、纠结的众“侠”不同,美队却给出了一个十分“美国”的答案:“Ive been on my own since I was 18. I never really fit in anywhere in any army. My faiths in people, I guess, individuals, and Im happy to say, for the most part,they havent let me down. This is why I cant let them down either.”对于美队来说,政治正确与否并不重要,重要的是“个人”的自由不能被任何“组织”或“权威”束缚。

5月的《内战》已经颇有思辨味道,而6月的《X战警:天启》(X-Men: Apocalypse)则把思辨推进到新的高度。“apocalypse”的本意是“disclosure, revelation”。在《新约·启示录》中写道,尘世苦难将尽,基督将驾祥云重临,对善、恶做出审判,继而此世终结,天国降临。于是,“apocalypse”也有了“末世”(the end of the world)的意思。所谓“天启”是充满了“谴责”的“警告”,这部电影显然也有此意味。

严格说来,影片同名大反派天启(Apocalypse)与X教授的争斗,不同于前面两部中的英雄之争,因为他们似乎邪正分明,而非属同一阵营。不过,对《圣经》传统稍有了解的观众会发现,他们又很像同一上帝在《旧约》与《新约》中的两幅面孔。《旧约》中的上帝多以威力统治世界,人类要做的便是绝对的顺从。例如,希伯来人自主选出的首位王Saul,奉上帝之命前往亚玛力人(Amalek)的居住地,摧毁那里的一切,包括城池、人民和牲畜。但Saul却没有彻底执行命令,不但未杀那里的王,还将牲畜等物资都保留下来,理由是这些物资可供人民使用,更可献祭上帝。此举惹得上帝震怒,派先知Samuel前来谴责Saul说:“Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices(祭品), as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken(听命)than the fat of rams(公羊).”(1 Samuel 15: 22)(耶和华喜悦燔祭和平安祭,岂如喜悦人听从他的话呢?听命胜于献祭;顺从胜于公羊的脂油。)

就算有像约伯这样敢于与上帝辨理的人存在,最终也只能被上帝以威力压制。在对约伯的训斥中,上帝并没有炫耀自己的神力有多大,单就提出自己创造的一种名为Leviathan的巨兽,便足以将约伯威吓得立即屈服。“He maketh the deep to boil like a pot: he maketh the sea like a pot of ointment(油膏). He maketh a path to shine after him; one would think the deep to be hoary(头发灰白的). Upon earth there is not his like, who is made without fear. He beholdeth all high things: he is a king over all the children of pride.” (Job 41: 31—34)

也许,天启的确并非他自称的“神”,但即使他是如Leviathan这样的神兽,也足以震慑世人了。他说道:“Elohim1. Shen. Ra2. Ive been called many names. Over many lifetimes. I am born of death. I am there to spark and fend the flame of mans awakening. To spin(使旋转)the wheel of civilization. And when the forest would grow rank3 and needed clearing for new growth, I was there, to set it ablaze(着火的).”

如他所说,他来自一个有秩序的时代,“a time before man lost his way”,在看到一个文明走入歧途时,他要来进行一番清理工作:“Always the same, and now, all this.(意思是,人类一直为私欲而斗,从未止息)No more stones. No more spears(矛,枪). No more slings(投石器). No more swords. No more weapons. No more systems. No more. No more superpowers. So much faith, in their tool, and in their machines. You can fire your arrows from the tower of Babel(巴别塔). But you can never strike God.”

自诩为神的天启的确也在做《启示录》中神(以其行事标准看,《启示录》之神更像《旧约》之神)所做的事。首先,他发掘出万磁王(Magneto)内心对于人类所有愚蠢行径的仇恨,因而促使他去毁掉所有含有金属的建造物,为迎接一个“新世界”铺平道路:“Reach down. Feel the metal in the ground. Reach, as deep as you can. Youll find you have the power to move the very earth itself. Everything they built will fall. And through the ashes of their world, well build a better one.”继而,他把人类所有的核武器都发射到外太空去,超越了人类所有关于“削减武器”的钩心斗角,瞬间实现“无核化”。这显然与以往恶棍动辄以核武器要挟人类,超级英雄拯救地球于将毁这样的路数全然不同。天启所做的,与《旧约》中记载的上帝为惩罚人类之恶而降下的大洪水、天火或其他天灾相比,真算得仁慈了。

X教授以及许多正派人物称天启是“False God”;在 《蝙蝠侠大战超人》中,也有人在超人的塑像上喷上“False God”字样。其实,即便《圣经》中记载的上帝究竟是不是“False God”,历来也颇有争议,更何况漫画英雄们呢?不过,X教授的判断标准倒很简单:真神是保护者,假神是统治者。故事开篇,X教授说:“Mutants(突变体), born with extraordinary abilities, and yet still they are children, stumbling(蹒跚)in the dark, searching for guidance. A gift can often be a curse. Give someone wings, and they may fly too close to the sun. Give them the power of prophecy(预言), and they may live in fear of the future. Give them the greatest gift of all. Powers beyond imagination, and they may think, they are meant to rule the world.”简言之,“力量”不等于“权力”。

显然,X教授如同《新约》中的上帝,张开双臂庇护弱者,牺牲自身替人受难。当X教授被天启绑架,后者借助前者向世界发声:“You have lost your way. But I have returned. The day of reckoning(审判)is here. All your buildings will fall. And the dawn of a new age will rise. For there is nothing that you can do. This message is for one purpose alone. To tell the strongest among you. Those with the greatest power, this earth will be yours.”这最后的一句,教授却说的是:“Those with the greatest power, protect those without.”(拥有最强力量者,去保护弱者们。)

自然,至少在漫画世界里,善恶有报。保护者最终将统治者消灭。然而,人类世界恢复的是什么呢?影片结尾,恢复“理性”的万磁王与X教授的对话很有意思。

X教授:The world has already begun rebuilding its arsenals(军火库).

Magneto:Its human nature, Charles.

X教授:I still have hope. I was right about Raven. I was even right about you.

Magneto:What about the rest of the world?

...

与X教授相比,美队要洒脱得多,和则共同杀敌,分则各奔东西,并不需要什么“协定”之类的金箍套到头上;其实,正如那些谴责他的人所说的,他甚至不为“拯救世人”而战,他只为自己而战。而X教授则显然把自己置于“真神”的位置,他看到的不是“individuals”而是“humanity”,他甚至可以在万磁王这样杀人如麻的“大恶人”身上看到“人性”、“理性”和“善良”;虽然,似乎他的观点并没有多少说服力,至少他并没有说服万磁王。

教授的“hope”,在一个并不那么“hopeful”的世界上显得有些轻飘飘的。也许,我们的确需要个Leviathan那样的超能巨兽的震慑,才能避免自相残杀的命运。英国哲学家霍布斯(Thomas Hobbes)在《利维坦》(Leviathan)一书中写到,人的天性便是保全自己、控制他人,当人类没有一个具有强权的中央权威(central authority)时,便只能处于终日混战之中,“In a state of nature, before there is any government, every man desires to preserve his own liberty, but to acquire dominion(统治权)over others; both these desires are dictated(命令)by the impulse to self-preservation. From their conflict arises a war of all against all, which makes life ‘nasty(令人不快的), brutish(野蛮的), and short. In a state of nature, there is no property, no justice or injustice; there is only war, and ‘force and fraud(欺诈)are, in war, the two cardinal(主要的)virtues.”4 为了避免这种局面,人们就要屈服于一个“权威”,即“Leviathan”,“a mortal God”。当然,今天的世界存在着大大小小各种政府,少见“a state of nature”,但是政府之间却没有足够的理性约束,就像影片中描绘的,许多时候许多地方剑拔弩张,“军备竞赛”几乎成了常态。怪不得天启开口第一句话便是“Who rules this world?”,因为他看到的这个世界实在乱得不像样。

自由还是秩序,这是个问题。

英国哲学家罗素(Bertrand Russell)创作《西方哲学史》时正值二战期间,对于“war”、“despotism”(专制)、“anarchy”(无政府主义)等词感受颇深,在有关霍布斯的章节末尾,他写道:“Every community is faced with two dangers, anarchy and despotism. The Puritans(清教徒), especially the Independents, were most impressed by the danger of despotism. Hobbes, on the contrary, was obsessed by the fear of anarchy... On the whole, therefore, as regards the powers of the State(这个词首字母大写,指所谓的“中央权威”), the world has gone as Hobbes wished, after a long liberal period during which, at least apparently, it was moving in the opposite direction. Whatever may be the outcome of the present war(指二战), it seems evident that the functions of the State must continue to increase, and that resistance to it must grow more and more difficult.”5

天启在灭亡之前说“All is revealed”。的确,启示已经道出,后面的,就要看我们自己了。

1. 希伯来《圣经》中的神。

2. 古埃及太阳神。

3. rank: (of plant) too thick and widespread,这里意为“森林无秩序地疯长”。

4. Bertand Russell. The History of Western Philosophy. A Touchstone Book. p. 550.

5. 同上,p.556.

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