——Comment on the 2007 edition of "Sins in the American Pastoral"
At least in theory, every child is an angel, but their fate is in the hands of their parents, at least until they are minors; and for the vast majority of parents, especially for the vast majority of parents at the bottom of society It's either stupid or devilish.
This film is about two types of parents: stupid and diabolical.
This is a real case that happened in the United States in 1965.
On October 26, 1965, Indianapolis police received a call to report that a young woman had been found dead at 3850 East New York Street. When police arrived at the squalid and shabby house, they found Sylvia's emaciated body covered in bruises and small wounds. These small wounds later turned out to be burns from matches and cigarette butts, numbering more than a hundred. There were also several large pieces of peeling skin on the body, and a large "3" was branded on the chest of the deceased. However, the most appalling thing is that a line of words was branded in the middle of the deceased's abdomen: "I am a prostitute, and I am proud of it!" terrible crime".
The story of the film after the adaptation is as follows: Sylvia is a 16-year-old girl, smart, sensible and beautiful; her sister Jenny is also an obedient and sensible child. Their parents are members of a pair of folk troupes, and they often travel with the troupe to perform in other places. Even if they are so busy and tired, they can't actually make much money. At best, they can barely support their two children to study and family. The two children are often fostered with relatives and friends. In the spring of 1965, the troupe was going to perform out of town again, and the two of them didn't know who they were going to put their children in this time.
When Sylvia and her sister Jenny went to church, they met two sisters who were about the same age in the car. At the invitation of the two sisters, Sylvia and sister Jenny went to their house with two new friends; it was a large family of six children, the youngest still in their arms and Paula the eldest Sister—just as old as Sylvia, both 16. According to Paula, her father was a policeman, divorced from her mother, and now—they have six siblings with her mother. My mother's name is Gertrude, a housewife in her forties; she survives on the meager income of ironing clothes, and eats all the time. Even so, Gertrude did not become a serious and down-to-earth person. Instead, he smoked and drank alcohol and mingled with a punk who was about the same age as her eldest daughter, Paula. When Sylvia's father came to pick up the two children in his car, Gertrude served him with cigarettes; the father, who was worrying about who to send the children to foster care, passed the old Xu With the persuasion of Gertrude, the girly girl, Sylvia and Jenny were fostered in this abnormal family for $20 a week.
The eldest daughter, Paula, is in her cardamom years, getting mixed up with a married woman in a grocery store; or under the example of her "model" parents, Paula is not only precocious, but also full of foul-mouthed, socially incompatible Four people have hooks. Sylvia and her sister Jenny, when standing with Paula's six siblings, looked decent, beautiful, and measured, but from the outside, these two sisters were a bit out of place with these families, especially When dealing with heterosexual relationships, my sister Sylvia is more polite and noble - she has a sense of proportion. Apparently, both at school and when Paula introduced Sylvia and Jenny to her "friends", the two sisters were welcomed; at this point Paula felt very uncomfortable - how much Some jealous. However, because Sylvia and Jenny are well-mannered, polite, and not too busy, they all got along well at the beginning.
However, Sylvia's bad luck soon came.
Gertrude had no hope. Not only does she have no hope, but the family has no hope, and the point is: she doesn't see hope. There are six children a day - plus the Silvia sisters, eight children in total, and they have to eat and drink every day, dangling in front of her - the swaddling children are all day long. Crying, there are not many neighbors and acquaintances - I can't solve a few jobs every day; just as she said to Sylvia's father, "I need your help", in fact, it is Sylvie's responsibility to maintain a family of nine. That $20 a week from Ya's parents. Unfortunately, Sylvia's parents sent Gertrude a check a day late for the first time; take advantage of it, she was in a bad mood that day. So, she thought about finding an outlet for the discomfort in her heart - venting it out. Before, whenever she had nowhere to vent—she was the big kid, especially the big girl Paula. When she saw Paula and Sylvia coming home from school, she drove the other younger children upstairs, and pulled Sylvia to be a meal: "Your parents' check didn't arrive today, don't you sisters? Are you two staying here for free for a week?" Sylvia said in surprise, "No!" When she said the word "no", she saw Gertrude's suspicious expression and quickly He added, "Maybe it will arrive tomorrow, don't worry, my parents will definitely send a check!"
"Tomorrow? Hmph, who knows!" Gertrude threw a word to Sylvia, threw the cigarette butt in his hand, and asked Paula sharply, "Paula, what should I do according to the rules?"
"Punishment," Paula said.
"Okay. Let's go to the basement."
After speaking, Gertrude crowded and shoved Paula and Sylvia to the basement. Apart from anything else, Gertrude held the two girls in a fixed position, and when he threw off the whip, it was a whip on Paula's back; Paula howled like a pig in pain - while screaming at the same time fell to the ground. Sylvia has never seen such a scene, but she is a sensible child - in such a situation, she said indifferently: "Please, stop beating Paula, I am willing to bear it for her- Hit me up!"
In fact, this is in Gertrude's arms. She swung the whip, two whips against Sylvia's back.
Not long after this, something happened to Paula; Paula told Sylvia that she was pregnant. Everyone knows what it means to be pregnant with a girl of this age; Paula said to Sylvia, "Don't tell anyone about it." Of course Sylvia knew this; but Paula was a brainless People—or else, when her mother insisted over and over again that she didn't want to be with that married woman in the grocery store, she would have quit; not only did she not quit, but she was quite proud ——At least she was arrogant in front of Sylvia. Sylvia had no choice but to assure her: "I promise, I won't tell anyone." In fact, Sylvia also saw that Paula and the married woman in the grocery store would have no results. And tentatively reminded her: "It's better to stay away from that person." Of course Paula didn't listen. Not only did she not listen, but she was driven by vanity at a certain moment, and she even wondered if Sylvia envied her. Woolen cloth!
When Paula was kicked away by a married woman at the grocery store, her mood dropped to rock bottom; she was like her mother, or in other words, under her mother's words and deeds, she also learned her mother's way : When she herself is upset, she has to find someone to vent. The object of her mother's venting is her and her five siblings, and now the object of her choice is of course Sylvia! Paula is a 16-year-old girl, no matter what kind of family she was born in, or her life situation - 16-year-old girls love face and vanity; what's more, her kind of thing - pregnancy It is impossible to be humane to outsiders, and I am unwilling to tell the parents. In this case, I was left to tell myself - to be honest, when Paula found out she was pregnant and was kicked away by a married woman in the grocery store, what was going on in her heart? She's terrifyingly stable, terrifying, and helpless, but in the end she's just like her mother: there's no hope in sight. In this case, psychologically, she needs to find an outlet for you - she needs to give herself a statement, she can't let others call herself a "slut" - perhaps, in her countless fears, no A night of help and insomnia - when you toss and turn in bed, you already realize that you are a "slut". So, when she got home, she poured the dirty water on Sylvia; Paula told her mother, "Sylvia spreads her gossip that she's a slut."
After Gertrude heard what his daughter Paula said, he seemed calm on the surface, but even more quiet from the look of his expression. But there are countless bugs gnawing in her heart. Why? Simple, because she's sensitive about this, especially the word "slut". Why is she sensitive to the word Rui? Because now her daughter Paula is just like herself, a replica of her—because at her age, pregnant too—the child is Paula. That is, she knew what the word "slut" meant to Paula, what it meant to her family, and especially to her single mom—and a slut—what it meant what? !
A big drama, a big drama of revenge is brewing in Gertrude.
When the children came back, she was the head of the family - told them seriously: "Don't go upstairs. Sit down - have a family meeting!" The first item of the family meeting was to force Sylvia Admit to spreading Paula's rumors, then ask her to apologize to Paula. Although Sylvia didn't spread Paula's rumors and protected Paula when she was bullied by a married woman at the grocery store, people had to bow their heads under the eaves - and had to apologize to Paula. Apologizing is certainly not enough, it's almost certain - by this point in the story, it's already very obvious: Gertrude has gone from regret, regretting that he couldn't control himself - eventually becoming a bad guy, and developing to revenge Others - the degree of revenge on society; that is, regardless of whether the two children, Sylvia and Jenny, did wrong, their fate began from the first day her father put them in foster care with the family Already doomed.
So, with the help of family members - other children, Paula beat Sylvia; here is a detail, that is, Paula knew that he was framing Sylvia, but he was so cruel, So much so that Sylvia slapped her right hand with too much force. Sylvia's physical and mental suffering can be imagined.
After all, Sylvia and her sister are still a little normal compared to the people in the family; just at this moment, sister Jenny picks up a letter from her parents to Gertrude in the trash can, appreciates their phone, and asks for The sisters call them! Instead of telling the sisters, Gertrude threw the letter in the trash. So, at the mention of my sister, I called my parents. Or Sylvia and Jenny have already decided to tell their parents what happened to them - let them come and pick them up! However, the sensible, obedient, and measured sister Sylvia heard her parents say that they would pick them up in two weeks-perhaps Sylvia felt that it was not easy for her parents to earn some money, and she was fostered in someone else's home. ——The grievances of being thinner are nothing, after all, they will pick them up in two weeks. So, not only did she not have her sister Jenny tell her parents the truth, but she also reported peace by "reporting good news instead of bad news". The parents thought the two of them were doing as well as they said, and in fact if the two of them had borrowed it - there was no place for foster care! So, not only did their parents not pick them up after two weeks, but they went to the next venue - until the crime happened two months later.
So, Sylvia's real bad luck came.
She was imprisoned in the basement by Gertrude, brought the child down to torture her regularly and irregularly; even let the child bring the bad boy from the home and the school to the home-go to the basement to torture Sylvia; burn her with cigarette butts , washed her with icy cold water, and several people threw her to the ground again and again like a sack...Written on her lower abdomen with a red-hot pin: "I am XX, and I am proud of it." Until Sylvia was tortured to death.
Why is this happening? What a pair of children! What two little sisters! Sensible, aware of proportions, obedient, and aware of distressed parents - take the initiative to share their worries. What is this about? Heaven and earth can't stand it!
First of all, this is due to Sylvia, Jenny's parents; they arrange their children in this way, mainly because of stupidity; what contributes to this stupidity is their extreme selfishness - they are comfortable, happy, and worry-free for themselves , would rather entrust the child to a stranger - this is extremely irresponsible to the child. Maybe some people say they are not easy, yes, they are not easy. However, "it's not easy" is the reason for fostering the child into the wolf's den? They are people from the past, and they know how difficult it is to pull children - since they know how difficult it is, and they have given birth to them resolutely, they should be responsible for the children, otherwise why should they give birth? Then again, who is easy? Are there easy people in this world? All you see is on the outside, and on the inside - no one is easy!
In other words, stupidity, selfishness, and extreme irresponsibility have led to this tragedy that should have been avoided; but, open your eyes, let alone the America of the 1960s, even today, even the XX of the 21st century , aren't similar parents everywhere?
What I tell young people is this: If you don't think you can be a good parent, it's better not to be a parent; the world is a better place that way.
Secondly, of course, a demon-level woman - Gertrude; in my opinion, the reason why Gertrude became her later is almost the inferiority of human beings; by "human inferiority", I mean It is said that human beings cannot avoid it, the only difference is the degree. What kind of inferiority is this? This is to do everything possible to pass on the bad consequences of oneself to others, even if it is passed on to others - he will not stop, she will intensify, until the tragedy, until the end of her life. We can see from the movie that Gertrude is very awake no matter which link she is in - she is very awake every time she tortures Sylvia, and she also knows that one day - maybe tomorrow, She will pay for it. However, she just couldn't stop. In modern psychology, she is, of course, morbid and perverted. But this kind of sickness is not organic, let alone IQ, but the spirit and soul—the toxins that come with human beings. You know, Gertrude was either born or a bad person, and she was once a beautiful girl, but in her girlhood—she took the first step wrong, and made mistakes again and again, until there was no hope— —until it became clear to her that she could not have hope in her life; then, the tension of her life began to twist, and she used all her life force on "revenge"; just at this moment, Searle Via and Jenny were sent in by his stupid, selfish parents.
In connection with today's reality, it seems to me that Hitler, Stalin, and Putin today are all of this type - their spirits have long been distorted by themselves; as Putin said: "If you push me too hard, I It doesn't care about destroying human civilization." (Putin also said: "If there is no Russia, what would the world do!" What does that mean? Putin has already been delusional by him in the spiritual world - in a sense, this is a bit of a so-called " "Idealism" means - distorted. Think about it and understand that today is already globalization, today is the second year of the second decade of the twenty-first century, and Putin is still immersed in two thousand years ago. In the Spring and Autumn Dream of China's Qin Shihuang, he was still drunk in the territory of Peter the Great and the empire of the crack era. Isn't this nonsense? However, the nonsense of a person like him will ultimately have to be paid by human beings.
Third, although Sylvia and Jenny are only fifteen or sixteen years old, although they are still minors, Yong Yang is responsible for this tragedy. Why was Sylvia so measured and well-bred in other respects, why couldn't he see the danger? Very simple, because her parents and society did not teach her: Don't trust adults easily! That is, she imagined the world too well; she imagined people too well. Adults have a steel scale in their hearts: Is the world really that good? Are adults really that good? In my opinion, at least not as good as it says when educating children! Therefore, they are harmed by the lies from the mouths of adults, including their parents!
Fourth, there is a problem with our education. What's the problem? The biggest problem is: unwilling to tell the truth to the next generation, and even less willing to tell the truth to young people - our parents, who would like to tell their children the truth from childhood to the present? The country, the government, the legitimacy, and all that, who tells the truth to our children?
...
What I want to say is: Maybe you sympathize with Sylvia, Jenny, I want to say to you: "Quickly put away your sympathy!" Maybe you are angry, you hate Gertrude, I want to tell you: "Put your anger away, because that won't solve the problem at all!"
So, how to save our children, how to save our world? Simple: tell them the truth and tell them the truth from generation to generation.
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