As the favorite for Olympics, Oscar will never choose him?
First published on the public account "Shadow Detective" ID: ttyingtan
Weibo: Detective Inspector
Author: Inspector
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"Green Book" is adapted from a true story.
Don Shirley is a piano prodigy, and he is one of the greatest pianists in the world.
But he is an African American, which is a "people of color".
In 1962, he was going to tour the southern United States and needed a driver and bodyguard.
He found Tony Lip (a minor role in "The Godfather") with a gang background .
But at that time Tony was discriminating against black people.
The two had a disagreement, but because of their interests, they still walked together for two months.
These two months have changed the lives of two people.
In the words of Tony Lip’s son:
" Before I met Dr. Shirley (Don Shirley was used to calling him Dr. Shirley) , my father was alone. After meeting Dr. Shirley, he was completely another person."
"Green Book" is a road film about the encounters and experiences of the two in the southern states of the United States.
It breaks the serious, stereotyped and deep image of ethnic movies, and is fast-paced, easy and funny, and touching.
A black man, a white man; a genius, a reckless man.
From unfamiliar to familiar, from opposition to intimacy.
The two "flirting and cursing" along the way directly poked the audience to laugh, but the reflections they brought to others are still outdated.
The title " The Green Book " (The Green Book) is a real "Travel Guide for Blacks" in reality .
Its full name is "The Negro Motorist Green Book", that is, the green book of black car travel.
Inside is a list of hotels, restaurants and other places that are friendly to black people across the United States.
Published by the black postman Victor Hugo Green from 1936 to 1966.
Some people jokingly call it "a strategy for blacks to survive."
Because at the time when racial discrimination was the most serious in the United States, hotels and restaurants in many places prohibited black people from entering.
The black man went in by mistake and might be beaten to death.
The background of the story, 1962 was also a wonderful year.
In 1963, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the "United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination."
Subsequently, 30 states in the United States successively promulgated laws against racial discrimination, but none of these 30 states was a state in the South (south of Maryland) .
Before this, 1962 was the darkest hour before dawn.
The place where Dr. Shirley will go on tour is the southern states where the problem is most serious.
At this most severe moment, the two most subversive people met.
This is also the most interesting part of the film. "Green Book" allows two people of different races and classes to exchange their identities.
Shirley is a civilized man, and Tony is a foolish man.
The male lead Tony has white skin, but he lives a life of color.
He has a background in the Sopranos and works as a security guard in a nightclub.
He has no culture, he smokes cigarettes all day, his mouth is dirty, and all problems are solved with his fists.
In reality, Tony Lip’s parents are Italian immigrants. He served as a soldier for two years, but only had a primary school diploma.
On the contrary, the dark-skinned Dr. Shirley leads the life of a top white man.
He lives in the "luxury castle" on the upper floor of the Carnegie Hall in New York. There are all kinds of rare treasures in his home.
He is elegant and personable, and more importantly, he is a master in the piano industry.
Don Shirley’s parents are from Jamaica. He started to learn piano at the age of 2 and was invited to perform on stage at the age of 9. He has three doctorate degrees in music, psychology and etiquette and can speak 8 languages fluently.
The traditional cognition between people was subverted on both of them.
First of all, it is in class.
That year, Tony was unemployed and worried about rent all day long. He lived at the bottom of society.
Dr. Shirley lives in a mansion, and there are special servants to serve him.
He is used to eating with knives and forks, never with his hands, and even feels that eating with his bare hands is savage and inelegant.
He is an upper-class person in society.
Tony is well-known for his problem-solving ability, and Dr. Shirley hires him as a part-time driver with a high salary.
As soon as the two got in the car, they seemed out of place.
Tony drove up, steering the wheel with his left hand and fried chicken with his right.
He ate so much oil and crumbs all over, but he patted his clothes and continued to drive, eating with gusto.
Fried chicken was considered "a favorite food for blacks" at the time, but Dr. Shirley had never eaten it.
Tony handed it to him, Shirley only said three words: I refuse.
Next, it was status that was subverted.
In general, white people are served, and people of color tend to do low-end services to white people.
But Tony and Dr. Shirley turned the other way around.
Tony is working in overalls, and Shirley is serving in suits.
Tony drove for Shirley, repaired Shirley's car door, and solved all the incurable diseases on the road.
One of the scenes of Tony repairing a car in the field is very "exciting".
After the car was repaired, Tony opened the door for Shirley.
At this time, the roadside was facing the scorching sun, and the black people working in the field cast "unusual" eyes.
They dare not imagine or understand, why can a black man be served so by a white man?
What we see from their faces is incomprehension and doubt.
What we see from Dr. Shirley's face is pity and helplessness.
They are experiencing the biggest misunderstanding in human history.
But does this misunderstanding only exist at that time?
The exchange of class and identity allows the two to experience each other's life.
Tony realized how harsh and ridiculous this discrimination is.
Dr. Shirley was invited to perform on stage, but the hotel where he was performing prohibited him from eating.
All of the audience here are high-sounding, enjoying Shirley's music, but they feel that Shirley is inferior.
Even Tony couldn't stand it.
He solved the venue problem, piano problem, car problem and so on for Dr. Shirley, but he couldn't solve the superiority in people's hearts.
The unequal treatment received by Dr. Shirley is far from this.
Many restaurants and hotels prohibit black people from entering, the police will do nothing, and even the clothing store refuses to sell Dr. Shirley’s clothes.
Tony is indignant about this, but Shirley is used to it.
He would let Tony drive a half-hour drive to find a toilet that allowed blacks to use. He suggested that Tony change the name that exposed his Italian identity to "American."
Because Americans don’t know and don’t bother to read foreign names that are difficult to pronounce.
Dr. Shirley will teach Tony civilized language and etiquette in public.
He even taught him how to write to his wife to express his inner thoughts.
Tony didn't understand. Why did Dr. Shirley go to perform in the South, where the discrimination problem is so serious?
Why do you still have to perform and shake hands with white people after receiving unequal treatment?
Until Dr. Shirley’s partner told him:
To change people's hearts, it requires not only talent, but also courage.
Dr. Shirley is going to prove through performances that people of color are not inferior.
They are equally polite, talented, and cultivated.
To conduct such a frustrated and dangerous tour, Dr. Shirley is not only for himself, but for his brothers and sisters, to change the concept of the world.
Tony realized that the nobility of a person's soul has nothing to do with skin color.
A white man can also be a beggar or a thief with a mean and sinister heart; a black man can also be a doctor or doctor, noble and kind.
At this time, the identities of the two were subverted again.
Although Tony does not have the wealth and talents of Dr. Shirley, he has an ordinary happy family.
Although Dr. Shirley entered the upper-class society, he was not accepted by whites because of the flaws in his complexion, and in suits and ties, he had never experienced the hard life of blacks.
He is neither black nor white.
He has amazing talents, but he is an unacceptable, lonely alien.
Because of this trip, both of them changed each other.
Dr. Shirley asks Tony to take off his tinted glasses, and Tony asks Dr. Shirley to find his belongings.
Tony no longer insulted anyone, and Dr. Shirley learned to eat fried chicken with his bare hands.
So far, the detective has only explained the most unexciting part of the film.
In view of the length, the inspector will explain the scene after the climax of the film.
After being refused a meal by a hotel, Tony took Shirley to a black bar, which was probably Shirley’s first visit to such a place.
Wearing an expensive suit, he ate a portion of fried chicken with his bare hands, and then went on stage to play a piece of music.
The black people in the shop were stunned, partly because the music played by Dr. Shirley was so beautiful.
On the other hand, it was because he played his favorite Chopin songs.
At that time, black people were even forbidden to play white music , and most of them played jazz.
And they have never seen or heard of any black person who can play Chopin so beautifully.
After the performance, the black people in the store clapped excitedly.
Then, the band played the familiar jazz on stage.
Dr. Shirley put down his status as the world's top masters and played "music that belongs to blacks" with them.
In fact, when Dr. Shirley was 20 years old, his teacher advised him to learn pop or jazz.
Because Americans at the time could not accept "their classical music" played by people of color.
Obviously, Dr. Shirley rejected the teacher's suggestion.
The famous Russian composer Igor Stravinsky once commented on Dr. Shirley:
" His virtuosity is worthy of Gods " (His virtuosity is worthy of Gods).
As one of the greatest pianists in the world, Dr. Shirley should have been a household name.
But his life is low-key and private.
In the end, Dr. Shirley became a famous pop and jazz musician instead of his favorite classical musician.
Because the record company owner Sol Hurok once said to him that people will not accept a person of color appearing on the stage of classical music.
Shirley finally listened to suggestions and combined classical and jazz pop music to form her own unique style.
And he always appears in nightclubs and other places, rather than high-end concert halls.
In 2013, Tony and Dr. Shirley passed away one after another, and their friendship lasted for 51 years.
Until now, some people still have prejudices about race, skin color, and region.
There are always people who divide people into different categories based on their origin, appearance, and wear.
But history has long proven that there are scumbags in high-rise buildings, and geniuses in mountains and valleys.
People are not created equal, but the soul is not.
Text/Inspector
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