guide Staring at the darkness on the edge of the abyss, humor and tenderness are still firmly shining. / lying ax In 1989, James.Cameron (James Cameron) made a science fiction film called "The Abyss" (The Abyss). Although many critics believe that many female issues (including the fear of pregnancy and the power of motherhood) were implicitly and successfully addressed in 1986's "Aliens" by Cameron, he wrote in a The work "Titanic" (Titanic) in 1997 even won the affirmation of the Oscar, but I always think that Cameron's strength is the use of special effects to create sound and light stimulation. He is an out-and-out commercial film director. His movies are straightforward and enjoyable, but most of them stop there; the female issues in "Alien 2" are actually just the result of adding jealousy in the sequel according to the original setting of the first episode and Hollywood practice, while "Titanic" "The love narrative in" is basically wishful thinking and superficial.

This kind of problem is even more obvious in "Bottomless Pit". Please don't get me wrong, "The Bottomless Pit" is actually a good-looking and compact sci-fi movie. The problem is that although Cameron cleverly used computer special effects that were rarely seen in those days to create many incredible pictures, he was very Obviously I don't want to do just that, so I tried to add anti-war/anti-violence and love issues into the movie.It is a pity that the anti-war issue is only briefly mentioned. Although it is desirable, it lacks depth after all; and the development process and ending of the love issue between the hero and heroine clearly show the director's masculine orientation.In addition, Cameron also quoted a Nietzsche at the beginning of the film:

If you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you. When you gaze into the abyss, the abyss also gazes at you. From the perspective of "Bottomless Pit", there is nothing wrong with this sentence; but in fact, Cameron only dug out this paragraph in Nietzsche's words, which is a bit out of context.Because if you want to fully understand the original meaning, the key point is actually the previous sentence that Cameron did not quote; this passage should look like this in its entirety: Those who fight against monsters should be careful not to let themselves become monsters.If you stare into the abyss long enough, the abyss will stare back into you. (He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.)

This passage, used to describe the central theme of the book "Darkness, Take Me Away", seems to be more appropriate. I didn't want to quote this passage, so I first caught the great director Cameron and sent a complaint to everyone, but because I wanted to describe the sentence of "Darkness, Take Me Away" and the sentence of "Bottomless Pit" In addition to the origin of the quoted sentence, violence and love are also the focus of the book "Darkness, Take Me Away", and more importantly, "Darkness, Take Me Away" is also a book full of commercial elements. It's a good story, but if you want to compare the connotations, Lehan's story is much better than Cameron's.

"Darkness, Take Me Away" is Dennis.The second work in the Lehane Kenzie/Gennero series. The first work in this series is "Pre-War Wine", which has been published in Chinese translation. The protagonists of the series are Patrick and Angie, a group of private detectives practicing in Boston.The first-person narrator of the story, Patrick, was entrusted by a local politician to find a black cleaning woman who used to work in a municipal building. The political figure alleged that the black cleaning woman took a confidential document and left without saying goodbye. .Patrick and Angie found the cleaning woman, but the other party argued that what they took away was not documents, but other materials; when Patrick accompanied the cleaning woman to the bank safe to take out the objects, he was suddenly ambushed

Continuing this way of pulling out big events from small problems, "Darkness, Take Me Away", the story begins. Lehan first opened the story in his usual way: the main narrator, Patrick, is seriously injured and is slowly recovering; a few friends visit occasionally, but Angie is missing.After this opening scene with a similar ending, time and space pull back before the incident, and begin to narrate the whole case through a woman named Diandra.Warren's psychiatrist, through Patrick's old acquaintance at the university, Eric.Gott hooks up and tells Patrick that he's been threatened by someone.One claimed to be Diandra.Mora, the daughter of Warren's student.Kenzi confessed to her that she was raped by her boyfriend Kevin.Holly was abusive, and then Diandra got a call from Kevin at four in the morning, threatening to harm her.Diandella was worried that her son Jason might be implicated, and she was in constant anxiety. At this time, through Eric's introduction, she found that Patrick was also surnamed Kensey, and thought that maybe he could ask Patrick to intervene in the investigation.

So while Patrick and Angie were chatting and trying to fix the air-conditioning in the office, the phone rang. Patrick didn't have a sister named Mora, nor did he know any Mora who fit Diandra's description.Kenzi, but Kevin is an Irish gangster whom he and Angie have known since childhood and grew up together. As far as Patrick and Angie know, Kevin’s relationship with women is either to buy sex or to force him, and he has no fixed girlfriend. , After starting the investigation, he also believed that no one was following Jason secretly.Just when they thought they could get things done, the crisis really approached. Not only Angie's husband Phil was involved, but also Patrick's girlfriend Grace and her daughter Mel were in danger of their lives.

Regardless of whether you have read the previous book "Antebellum Wine", everyone is probably curious about the relationship between Patrick and Angie. The two main characters are good friends who grew up together. Patrick has been divorced. According to Angie's description in "Before the War", Patrick's relationship between men and women seems to be a bit confusing: Angie married Patrick. His childhood friend Phil, but he endured Phil's fists and kicks for a long time, so Patrick and Phil turned against each other.Patrick has an undisguised affection for Angie, but Angie always maintains a proper distance in such a close relationship. After the incident of "Before the War", it seems that there is a further possibility.

But in "Darkness, Take Me Away", we found that things didn't seem to develop like this. Angie still seems to be entangled with Phil and has started to change boyfriends frequently; Patrick has started dating a regular female partner. The doctor named Grace is a single mother who lives with a little girl Mel. Falling in love with Patrick, Mel also likes Patrick.So the person who originally had a family seems to start to be in turmoil, while the person who was originally wandering begins to move closer to stability. Or, it seems to be the case. Because, in this story, emotion actually unabashedly reveals its unfriendly, even cruel reality.

Whether there is family affection, love or friendship, people who love each other may hurt each other, and the party who gives affection may only get a tyrannical response. Characters who are in love with each other may develop romance, sex or even marriage with other characters at the same time. The so-called love, in the world's moral standards, is still classified into many styles with different labels: some are correct, some are inappropriate, some can be tolerated and acquiesced, and some need to be driven out.Emotion is never a good way to end violence. It will succumb, escape, deform, or destroy in the face of violence.

Sometimes, the relationship itself is actually violent. Whether it is the depth of love and responsibility directly resorting to physical actions, or ignoring or provoking each other with verbal gestures, they are all types of violence in emotional relationships: this kind of emotional violence is much discussed in "Before the War". It can be seen everywhere in "Darkness, Take Me Away". Lehan told us: In reality, all kinds of emotions are not as simple as in fairy tales. They are mixed with selfishness, desire, profit and revenge. Code name, but has the appearance of a philistine. Moreover, the violence in "Darkness, Take Me Away" has many other aspects. The chaotic and entangled conflicts of street gangs, the lies under the glamorous coat of politicians, the shadow of the past that has been dormant for a long time and finally counterattacks now, and all kinds of daily life, non-Hollywood-style violence that is not exaggerated or gorgeous, as the story progresses, a series of Stakes surfaced one after another; and the most deeply buried and most widely related foreshadowing in "Darkness, Take Me Away" may be the violence used to stop violence. Of course, there are actually a lot of works that mention violence against violence, especially commercial action films. Many creators like to use this method to counter violence in movies. The reason is actually very simple: because this kind of plot where the pros and cons confront each other head-on, and a happy enmity, not only has a commercial selling point, but also can convey the victorious evil. The traditional concept of right and wrong allows the audience to vent their emotions. After all, in daily life, it is unlikely that there is such a straightforward way of unraveling knots that combines blood and fire with a big explosion. Please allow me to insert a real short story as an example. In a certain year when I was a student, for some reason, a returning Chinese teacher brought the topic to the movie "Die Hard" in class; the teacher talked about the end of the movie, and Bruce Wayne was busy for most of the movie. When Li left the scene of the crime with his wife in the play, a reporter stepped forward to interview him, but was punched hard by the heroine without saying a word.He was obviously very tired, but he insisted on chasing the exclusive; the teacher said, he really deserved the beating.After many years, I still remember the expression on the face of my gentle teacher when he mentioned this scene. An identification with physical violence.But in fact, in our real life outside the screen, we have been carrying out the action of using violence to control violence. The simplest example is to give the people's nannies and policemen the right to use violence legally through the legislative process. Ordinary people like us hope to use this method to protect the safety of our own lives and the peace of a society ruled by law.Many people think that repaying grievances with kindness and using education to influence violence are the correct ways to eliminate violence, but in fact, most people also know that when violence is happening, the most simple, direct, rapid and effective way to stop it is to implement Another violence. This kind of plot is also very common in mystery novels. Most of the detectives in the classical genre only focus on solving the case, and put other things aside. It seems that they have nothing to do with this issue: but in the hard-line stories, most of the detectives themselves are involved in the whole mess. Most of the roles with legal authority are powerless, so they sometimes take on the role of adjudicator themselves, countering violence with violence, and maintaining justice within their own power.In most of the stories, the audience can also agree with their approach, even like my teacher back then.However, Lehan put forward another perspective in "Darkness, Take Me Away": What if the justice these characters see is skewed? There may be some kind of universally recognized standard for justice, but in everyone's mind, conditions such as their own experience, education level, growth environment and the moral principles they obey must be added to shape the selfishness. The concept of justice, which is collectively called justice, is actually different from each other.And for these justices, how much violence can be used against the unjust?When violence is used for so-called legitimate reasons, will the relatives and friends around me who were previously insulated from violence be affected?The essence of violence is the same, but when used for different reasons, does it really have different meanings? More importantly, who is qualified to judge what is just and what is unjust? Violence is a beast that is difficult to control and can easily get out of control. When we use violence to control violence, which boundary can we keep this beast within, so that we will not turn from violent resisters into violent perpetrators?Are we strong enough to pull violence back after it has been released from the cage?Will the standards of justice that allow us to decide to unleash violence here and now stand the test of time or meet higher, more selfless moral standards?When we use violence, do we also allow the dark influence of violence to spread to other characters around us who have no involvement in it at all? The actions of every main character in "Darkness, Take Me Away" are closely related to these violent issues. Some characters have violent bloodlines or backgrounds, but try not to touch them; some characters have already used violence to control violence, but they cannot control the dark tentacles to spread and penetrate around; some characters only know how to directly , unbridled violent mode to live; while some characters sink deeply into the darkness, obey, revel, enjoy and even teach other characters how to accept the guidance of the darkness, let the darkness hold their hands and pull them to The bottomless human heart simply submerges. And the light of redemption is still far away that can't be reached by stretching his arms. Patrick's sometimes acerbic and sometimes self-deprecating narration makes the heavy tone of the story appear lighter, and the emotional fetters between the characters make the harsh reality of the story a little softer and warmer.Yes, when the world is holding hands tightly by the darkness and rushing towards the center of thick malice, humor and tenderness, perhaps it is the opposite force of the other hand, so that the characters in the story try to maintain themselves in the light and darkness The intermingled gray-scale human world prevents them from turning into violent beasts when they struggle against monsters, and prevents the abyss from looking into them when they stare at the abyss for a long time; , can still grin a smiling face, and turn around to face the world beyond the book, which is also full of injustice and tyranny. Lehan took our hands and led us to the edge of the abyss, looking into it. He didn't give us any absolute answer, he just told a good-looking and wonderful story, asking us to think for ourselves after reading it, and stay with us when we look into the abyss.The beasts in the abyss are biting and killing each other. They are all dressed up differently, but they look the same; when they turn their necks to stare at us and welcome us with outstretched arms, Lehan reminds us that our other In the palm of the hand, there is still a kind of smile and tenderness that is worth protecting. This is the part of the soul that will never transform into a beast. This is the part that continues to bloom when we stand on the edge of the abyss and stare at the darkness. Tiny, But firm and bright. In this way, when the darkness leads us to walk, we can still find a beautiful possibility in the malicious world.