The background of this story is the problem of Northern Ireland, the national conflict between Ireland and England; the focus of the story is the individual in the individual family, the individual folded and broken in the conflict between nation-states The family, between the powerful state apparatus and impulsive nationalists, the individual becomes an instrument of the state. When the state and society are integrated, orthodoxy and force are combined into a huge curtain, the darkness becomes the proof of the sun, the grand shadow, the individual consciousness is suppressed in the shadow, a tragedy. [The plot of this film: The Tragedy of Shadows] 1] The beginning of this story, Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland, in 1973, when the historical background is that the Irish Republican Army began to clash with the Commonwealth Army, claiming that "bullets and bombs" "To achieve the unification of Northern and Southern Ireland. The girl Colette asks her brother to go out to buy candy instead of her. The little boy was shot and killed shortly after he went out. A daily activity that should have been ordinary brings a premature end to a life. The fighting of the ethnic conflict cast a huge shadow on the family from the very beginning. 2) The story turns to London in 1993. The story follows the back of a young woman, Colette, as she walks into the London subway, with a blank expression on her face, a black leather bag on her shoulders, and a calm expression. At this time, except for the sound of the scene, the characters have no words. Suddenly she quickened her pace, left the black leather bag on the stairs, and ran forward, trying to get out of the subway through the abnormal passage. At this time, the subway announcement told all passengers to leave the station immediately. She nervously found an exit, broke free, and tried to leave peacefully. At this time, two men in black followed her closely, ran forward, put her up, stuffed her into the car, and took her to an empty room. During this whole process, no matter whether it was calm or tense, the characters did not say a word. The premise of the characters in the scene is hidden. They are like shadows on a plane, silently following their arranged paths without paying too much attention to their choices. In this way, a terrorist attack on the London Underground and its unraveling unfolds in the character's silence. Later, the audience learned that the black leather bag Colette was carrying contained a bomb, and that she had been followed by British intelligence agencies when she walked into the London Underground. 3) Then the plot: Colette, an IRA member who tried to plant a bomb on the London Underground, was captured by British intelligence. British intelligence worker Mike successfully convinces Colette to become their spy. The immediate reason for Colette's transformation was her ability to continue to be with her children. In the face of the mighty machine of state rule, Colette betrayed her nation for the continuation of her and her family . The story goes smoothly. According to an intelligence provided by Colette, Mike knew of a target that the Irish rebel group was about to attack. Based on this information, British intelligence agencies are preparing to take blatant activities against members of the rebel group. Such activities made Mike realize that the British intelligence agency did not consider Colette's safety and would directly expose Colette's spy status. Mack tried to figure out why the British intelligence agency did this after the protests were unsuccessful. Later, Mike understood that this activity of the British intelligence agencies was to protect one of their original spy by exposing Colette, and this spy turned out to be Colette's mother. Colette's mother also chose to be a spy for the British intelligence agency for her family and children. In the face of such a crisis, further fragmentation of the family is inevitable: one of Colette and her mother must be exposed and die to protect the other. In order to protect Colette, Mike informed Colette's mother of the British intelligence agency's plan, and then Colette's mother chose to expose herself and protect Colette. The story ends with the surviving Colette and her family murdering British agent Mike because Mike is the immediate obstacle her family's hopes need to get rid of. 4) This is the tragedy of shadows. Colette is a shadow on the plane, not what path she chooses to take, but is chosen and forced to act. The family she belongs to is just a shadow. In this film story, Colette and her mother try to maintain their families as mothers. They labored for their families, squeezed and folded by two external forces, between the mighty apparatus of domination and resistance. The individual family cannot overcome either party on its own: it cannot overcome neither the ruling machine nor the doomed national identity. The tragedy of this family develops that no matter what choices the members make, they are bound to face a broken family. A mother and a mother's mother, one must die to defend the other. The choice of the shadow is not to get rid of the tragedy, but how to meet the tragedy. [Flame of Tragedy] 5] Tragedy stems from choices that cannot be escaped. For life, there is only one thing that must be inescapable: death. The tragedy of life is not to get rid of death, but to take the way to death. Although death is inevitable and inevitable, when it will come is a matter of chance. It is in this contingency that the flame of tragedy burns. Shadows loomed over the tragic flames. [Between Nationalism and Nationalism] 6] The protagonist of the story, Colette, is caught between the opposing nationalists between righteousness and nationalism. Colette belonged to the Irish nation, and as a member or soldier of the Irish Resistance, she acted in accordance with the beliefs and organizational power of the nation's independence. It is not difficult to imagine that members of the national resistance organization will use national sentiment to persuade Colette to be loyal to the national resistance movement. And in this kind of activity, she has been unable to help herself. In the face of national indignation, she is no longer a member of the national family, but has become a tool. A disobedient soldier is an ineffective tool. If she does not obey or even goes against the demands of the power of the national organization, she will be abandoned or even eliminated. Meanwhile, Colette, who lives in Northern Ireland, is also a resident of the Commonwealth. To the orthodoxy of the state, Colette was a terrorist, a destroyer of the state and an obstacle to social stability. Northern Ireland was placed under the rule of the United Kingdom, which has been a fact for hundreds of years, or: "a fact of antiquity". Although the factual basis of "since ancient times" is supported by force. For the statism that the state precedes the individual, Colette, the destroyer, should either be punished as an evil force, or he can "turn away from the shadows" and become a tool of the state apparatus to maintain the unity of the state. 7) Nationalism and statism, these two are only opposed in concrete reality, due to different interests; at the conceptual level, the two are consistent. Nationalism places the nation before the individual, and statism places the state before the individual. For both, the individual is in a subordinate position. Nationalism is the starting method of nationalism, and nationalism is the development form of nationalism. Nationalism aims to build a state apparatus; nationalism builds the appearance of a unified nation on the basis of persuasion. The two converge in domination. [Northern Ireland question, the source of the antagonism between nation and state] 8] In the Northern Ireland question, Irish nationalists tried to separate from the already unified Great Britain state system. The root of this antagonism between nation and state lies in the fact that the two are not one in themselves. Britain began to invade the island of Ireland in the twelfth century, and in 1801, Britain completed the annexation of Ireland and implemented colonial rule. Later, the ruled Irish nation took advantage of Britain's weakness after the World War to separate the island of Ireland outside Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom. In Northern Ireland, due to the long-term colonization and immigration of England and Scotland, the Irish nation is a minority in this area. Thus, according to the "popular opinion" of the minority subordinate to the majority, Northern Ireland "deserves to" be under the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom of Great Britain. 9) The opposition between nation and state stems from the original inconsistency of the two. living In the world, generally, a nation tries to separate from a unified state because the inconsistency between the nation and the state is suppressed by force. It is extremely difficult for a relatively weak nation to separate or become independent from a more powerful state apparatus entirely on its own merits. National independents are eager to expand their interests, claiming with national sentiment that they deserve greater interests. A powerful state apparatus will not easily give up its vested interests. It will reject dissent and suppress opposition in the name of state orthodoxy. At this time, the nation that is trying to become independent will create instability in the existing state machinery through some violent sabotage activities and express disobedience. Such activities are often called "terrorist activities". From the perspective of national orthodoxy, the national independence elements who carry out terrorist attacks are saboteurs, evil, and rogues; from a different perspective, the state apparatus that claims the orthodox and inviolability of the country is also a rogue. However, world history never seems to be short of rogues, and every party can be a rogue for profit. [Individuals as Instruments of the State] 10] When the ruling machine makes the individual subordinate and uses the individual as an instrument, it has embraced evil ardently. According to the seemingly natural standard, the state should be based on the nation with which it agrees, but in the real struggle of social and historical interests, the state has long shattered this agreement. The country has long ceased to be a home, but a regional rule. At the national level, there is no basis for personal feelings about home. The emotion of a country can only be established by "loyalty". Strictly speaking, loyalty is not an emotion, but an "instrumental rationality". At the request of loyalty, the individual becomes an instrument of the state. The importance of the individual is established according to his utility to the state, and the rewards that the individual receives are based on this. 11] In this film, Colette becomes a spy for the British national intelligence agency, a tool of the state apparatus. Although, she was promised a certain benefit in return, but this kind of reward is unreliable, it depends on the state's importance and confidence in the usefulness of this person. Colette was already weighed on the scale of interest in the British state apparatus from the very beginning of his time as a spy. Her purpose is set as a discarded pawn. Colette's purpose is to expose himself to cover another spy that the British intelligence agency has already placed. A new spy is not as useful as a durable old spy (later revealed to be Colette's mother). In fact, more importantly, Colette was less useful than her promised reward. As the head of the British intelligence agency said, Colette's usefulness is not worth the money the state machine pays for her (1 : 12:00). When the time comes, Colette's use is death, and she deserves nothing in return. 12] In terms of the individual as a tool of the state, "Shadow Dancer" can be consistent with "007: Skyfall". "Skyfall" abandons the animal-like and superficial heroism of the previous "007 films", highlighting the contradiction between personal values and national interests. In Skyfall, Bond is represented as a tool of the state apparatus. What the state machine cares about is maintaining "national interests", not Bond's life and death, but his usefulness. In the face of national interests, the danger of death he faces may not only come from hostile forces, but also from his own state apparatus. For statism, the state is real, but the individual is not real, and the individual is just a pawn or tool of the state. Once the "state" feels the need to let the individual die in obedience to the public interest, then the victimization of the individual is justified. In both films, there is not only a contradiction between personal utility and national interest, but also an inconsistency between nation and state. In Shadow Dancer, Colette is Irish; in Skyfall, James Bond is Scottish. The national interests they serve are at odds with their nation. In reality, the Irish try to separate Northern Ireland from Britain and achieve the unification of Northern and Southern Ireland; while the Scots hope to separate Scotland from Britain and achieve Scottish independence. [Ideal of Cosmopolitanism] 13] Nationalism demands independence, while statism demands unity, one division and one union, and the individual may become a tool in both demands. Individuals become appendages, and personal tragedies are not uncommon. However, nationalism and statism are not a dilemma in real society, and there seems to be a way out of narrowness, namely: cosmopolitanism. In the ideal of cosmopolitanism, opposition is eliminated, individual differences and values are affirmed, allegiance to nation and state is denied as parochial, temperance and communication become universal virtues... Perhaps in the ideal of cosmopolitanism, the tragedy of shadows can be avoided. It's not Bond's life or death that cares, but his usefulness. In the face of national interests, the danger of death he faces may not only come from hostile forces, but also from his own state apparatus. For statism, the state is real, but the individual is not real, and the individual is just a pawn or tool of the state. Once the "state" feels the need to let the individual die in obedience to the public interest, then the victimization of the individual is justified. In both films, there is not only a contradiction between personal utility and national interest, but also an inconsistency between nation and state. In Shadow Dancer, Colette is Irish; in Skyfall, James Bond is Scottish. The national interests they serve are at odds with their nation. In reality, the Irish try to separate Northern Ireland from Britain and achieve the unification of Northern and Southern Ireland; while the Scots hope to separate Scotland from Britain and achieve Scottish independence. [Ideal of Cosmopolitanism] 13] Nationalism demands independence, while statism demands unity, one division and one union, and the individual may become a tool in both demands. Individuals become appendages, and personal tragedies are not uncommon. However, nationalism and statism are not a dilemma in real society, and there seems to be a way out of narrowness, namely: cosmopolitanism. In the ideal of cosmopolitanism, opposition is eliminated, individual differences and values are affirmed, allegiance to nation and state is denied as parochial, temperance and communication become universal virtues... Perhaps in the ideal of cosmopolitanism, the tragedy of shadows can be avoided. It's not Bond's life or death that cares, but his usefulness. In the face of national interests, the danger of death he faces may not only come from hostile forces, but also from his own state apparatus. For statism, the state is real, but the individual is not real, and the individual is just a pawn or tool of the state. Once the "state" feels the need to let the individual die in obedience to the public interest, then the victimization of the individual is justified. In both films, there is not only a contradiction between personal utility and national interest, but also an inconsistency between nation and state. In Shadow Dancer, Colette is Irish; in Skyfall, James Bond is Scottish. The national interests they serve are at odds with their nation. In reality, the Irish try to separate Northern Ireland from Britain and achieve the unification of Northern and Southern Ireland; while the Scots hope to separate Scotland from Britain and achieve Scottish independence. [Ideal of Cosmopolitanism] 13] Nationalism demands independence, while statism demands unity, one division and one union, and the individual may become a tool in both demands. Individuals become appendages, and personal tragedies are not uncommon. However, nationalism and statism are not a dilemma in real society, and there seems to be a way out of narrowness, namely: cosmopolitanism. In the ideal of cosmopolitanism, opposition is eliminated, individual differences and values are affirmed, allegiance to nation and state is denied as parochial, temperance and communication become universal virtues... Perhaps in the ideal of cosmopolitanism, the tragedy of shadows can be avoided. All requests may become tools. Individuals become appendages, and personal tragedies are not uncommon. However, nationalism and statism are not a dilemma in real society, and there seems to be a way out of narrowness, namely: cosmopolitanism. In the ideal of cosmopolitanism, opposition is eliminated, individual differences and values are affirmed, allegiance to nation and state is denied as parochial, temperance and communication become universal virtues... Perhaps in the ideal of cosmopolitanism, the tragedy of shadows can be avoided. All requests may become tools. Individuals become appendages, and personal tragedies are not uncommon. However, nationalism and statism are not a dilemma in real society, and there seems to be a way out of narrowness, namely: cosmopolitanism. In the ideal of cosmopolitanism, opposition is eliminated, individual differences and values are affirmed, allegiance to nation and state is denied as parochial, temperance and communication become universal virtues... Perhaps in the ideal of cosmopolitanism, the tragedy of shadows can be avoided.
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