In 2004, following "Millennium Actress" and "Tokyo Godfather", Mr. Jin Min launched a 13-episode TV cartoon "Delusional Spokesperson", which uses video language to lead us to travel through time and space, thinking about the mental depression and delusions of modern people.
The story goes like this:
Lu Yuezi is the author of the popular cartoon character "Ma Lumei". One day on her way home from get off work, she was attacked and admitted to the hospital. In the spotlight of the police and the media, she drew the outline of the "baseball boy" who attacked him. After the incident was reported, "baseball teenager" attacks occurred one after another in various places, and the police were at a loss. Finally, they caught a suspect who claimed to be a "baseball boy", but the kid couldn't stand the pressure of interrogation and committed suicide in the detention center. The detective and police officers in charge of the case were fired and the case was put on hold. Since then, the "baseball boy" case has continued, with countless casualties. People came to believe that "Baby Boys" was always there to help those who were cornered and helped them out of their misery.
The police officer who was fired finally found out the truth: it turned out that when Lu Yuezi was 12 years old, because of her negligence, her beloved puppy was hit and killed by a car. Afraid of her father's rebuke, she lied that a road thug had attacked and killed the puppy. Although her father knew she was lying, he pretended to believe it so as not to put pressure on her. However, Lu Yuezi couldn't escape her inner self-blame and fear, and eventually suffered from paranoia. In order to quench her unease, she created a "baseball boy". This teenager who stepped on golden roller skates, danced a twisted bat, and specially hurt others, became the scapegoat for all mistakes. However, when she really believed that there was a "baseball boy", she felt the fear in her heart again. So I drew another "Ma Lumei", a cartoon puppy with a flat head and big eyes, which became a shelter for all troubles.
After Lu Yuezi grew up, because of "Ma Lumei", she achieved a successful career, and she also carried a huge pressure. In the end, she chose to be attacked by the "baseball boy" and was admitted to the hospital to escape reality. Because "Ma Lumei" and "Baseball Boy" catered to the needs of modern people to escape from reality under high pressure, they quickly became popular, and Lu Yuezi-style paranoia also spread widely. People may indulge in "Ma Lumei"-style dreams, Or choose a "baseball boy"-style death and dare not face reality.
All of the things depicted in the movie are happening around us all the time. Mr. Jin Min objected to this escapism, borrowing the words of the characters in the film, calling it a "monster created by the times", and then said: "For a dog... this world is really disappointing!" He persuaded people: " Even if the world is wrong, there must be something right to keep us alive." Mr. Freud's "living" is for survival and happiness; Mr. Jin Min's "living" adds a layer of love belief. In the film, the detective's wife is a woman who has gone through hardships but never gives up. Her love for her husband made her do not need the anesthesia of "Ma Lumei", drive away the delusions of "baseball boy", face the reality firmly, live, live, and live truly.
In Mr. Jin Min's films, the real world and the fantasy world can always be connected at a certain point. In "Millennium Actress" it is the key, in "Delusional Spokesperson" it is "Ma Lumei" and "Baby Boy", and in "Red Pepper" it is the dream therapy device. At the same time, in his films, the fantasy world affects the private real world, and is even powerful enough to destroy the public real world. Mr. Jin Min uses his super ability to weave reality and illusion, blurring the boundary between reality and illusion, so that we can't tell whether everything shown in the lens is happening in the bottom of our heart or around us.
At the end of "Delusional Agent", the combination of "Malomi" and "Baby Boy" destroys Tokyo, and then there is a dead silence. Lu Yuezi, who had ended her delusions, floated up from the bottom of the water, and the inspector who had regained her senses came out of the subway entrance. The outside world was in ruins, like a post-war scene. Then, as soon as the picture changed, the reconstruction of Tokyo was completed, and people returned to the impetuousness and depression at the beginning of the whole film, or busy walking, or crowding the bus, or talking on the phone, or thinking about things.
The mental pressure of modern people has far exceeded their ability to bear. We can't expect everyone to be an artist as Mr. Freud calls him, with the ability to sublimate, and to know how to turn repression into an artistic achievement. So, how do we ordinary people survive? How to find release from depression? How to ensure the freedom of the mind without escaping from reality? How to survive in this oppressive world?
When you think about the opening and closing credits of "Delusional Agent," it's not hard to find the answer. In the beginning of the film, the characters in the film are all standing in the change and laughing, completely transcending the shackles of all the rules of the world; at the end of the film, the characters in the film are lying on the grass and sleeping peacefully, completely detached from all mundane desires. worry.
This is the answer Mr. Jin Min gave us.
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