"A stowaway from Darkest Peru." "Aunt Lucy kept saying she wanted me to immigrate to London when I grew up. So she taught me English." "I have a Peruvian name (here) that nobody understands." "Let's give you an English name, so that everything will be more convenient."
The 1958 novel is full of colonial lines. The 2014 film corrects too many of the novel's colonial subtext, and also uses love and tolerance to give contemporary society an optimistic answer about race. But the film still follows the ideology of the novel, and Paddington is still a well-spoken, well-mannered immigrant figure, a colonized Other. To understand ideology in film, one has to look back at the novel and the context in which it was published. The novel was published in 1958, at a time when Britain was rapidly becoming multicultural due to immigration from the former colonies. The British Nationality Act of 1948 established the British subject status of colonial citizens. With the post-war economic recovery, a large number of people of color from the colonies of Jamaica, India, Pakistan, etc. immigrated to Britain. The racial change was negatively reacted by society, which directly led to the race riots in the Nottingham area of Notting Hill in 1958. The Conservatives also instigated a series of laws restricting immigration. The image of Paddington Bear, especially after Brexit, has gained popularity as the embodiment of British multiculturalism. A refugee himself, he arrived in London with only a suitcase and a sign saying "Please take care of this bear". However, his trajectory is a distinctly postcolonial one. He was taught English by Aunt Lucy since he was a child, and he has a strong Anglicism. Their family's English and love of marmalade are all in the jungle of "Darkest Peru" by a British explorer in Germany and a British geographer Indoctrinated after "discovering" Paddington's aunt and uncle. In a sense, he is not a bear, but a romanticized colonial illusion. Paddington's story spread in the UK as an "emotional compensation" for colonial violence by the British, a scene of white people repopulating colonial destruction. After understanding these backgrounds, we can re-interpret some of the descriptions in the novel. 1. When Mrs. Brown asked where Paddington was from, his answer was "Darkest Peru. I'm not really supposed to be here at all. I'm a stowaway!" (Darkest Peru. I'm actually Shouldn't have been here at all. I'm a stowaways.")
In the full text, Paddington repeatedly emphasizes that he is from the darkest Peru, and is quite proud of it, but he is never reluctant to admit that he is a Peruvian "person", and even feels offended by being treated as a foreigner . "''I'm not a foreigner,' exclaimed Paddington hotly. 'I'm from Darkest Peru." .” ”) Paddington’s description of his identity used the term “stowaway” rather than “illegal immigrant” or “refugee”. In one survey, the word "stowaway" was more widely accepted because of its connotations of romantic adventure. And Paddington's description also paved the way for him to be accepted by the Browns. 2. Is immigration by personal choice or because there is no choice? The former contains various reasons, such as yearning for multiculturalism. The latter emigrated because of "no choice" in the country's war, economy, etc. Paddington Bear is the former at first glance, however, the choice is not entirely his, but Aunt Lucy's. In real society, the decision to immigrate is usually made within the family collective rather than the individual. Given the dire economic situation, and even the chances of survival, a family would make such an internal decision to have one represent the immigrants. In the case of the Paddington Bears, these are clearly the driving factors for this black bear family as well. The author of Aunt Lucy's "[need] to go into a home for retired bears" (Aunt Lucy needs to enter the retired bears' home) also admits that his description of Paddington Bear coming to London with a suitcase and a name tag is a Inspired by the young children he met in London during World War II. To protect children from German air raids on major British cities during World War II, 827,000 schoolchildren were transported to rural and coastal villages in 1939. They also carry a suitcase and name tag. The choice of the Paddington family to immigrate is precisely because there is no choice. 3. Material shock. When Mrs Brown persuaded Bear to follow them home, she said, You can have marmalade for breakfast every morning. (You can eat marmalade every morning) Paddington is very surprised Every morning? I only had it on special occasions at home. Marmalade's very expensive in Darkest Peru. The darkest Peru, marmalade is very expensive.) This kind of material shock is the first feeling of almost all third world countries immigrating to developed countries. And Paddington getting lost in a subway station and getting into an elevator accident is also a form of material shock. The depiction of colonialism in the novel is varied. But the movie also shows us a better example, how do we retell a story as time passes by?
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