Learn about the Dreyfus affair through this film, discussing racial prejudice and totalitarianism. As an overseas Chinese and in a special epidemic period, I have to say that this film is a good opportunity to reflect.
1. Collective racial crime
At first, I thought it was just an unjust case, but I didn’t say that it was not sad, but that stories like this were not uncommon from the perspective of the subject matter. So why is this story so attractive that there are continuous literary and artistic creations on related subjects? In my opinion, the wrongful cases in the past were often the fault of one person or one organization. After the verdict was overturned, the truth was revealed and the wronged person returned with honor. But this one was different, because it was not just the fault of one person or one institution, but the racial prejudice against Jews in society as a whole. The Dreyfus tragedy caused an avalanche, and every Frenchman was like a snowflake in the avalanche - no one felt responsible. To exaggerate, it can be said that it is a collective hate crime of the whole society.
In addition, Dreyfus's road to redress is also very difficult, and in the end, despite his personal freedom, he did not return with honor.
2. Do the interests of the individual take precedence over the larger collective?
On the other hand, the drama of the story is that in a time of war when the military has the highest rank, should we sacrifice personal honor for the greater honor of the military? At the time the answer was no. In a time of war, the military was above all else, and the much-desired decision to convict a Jew of treason could further uphold the military's status. Since the Renaissance, the development of human civilization has been the process of constantly discovering people. We realize that all state machines are designed to serve people, that people create this machine not to be ruled but to be served, otherwise the cart will be put before the horse. Therefore, no interests can be higher than people. This is the so-called human rights. When we ignore human rights, we often ignore that this is a real person. If the same thing happens to our friends, we can imagine that this is a decision that is insignificant to history and insignificant to society. Life is really real, life is unbearable.
3. Can the artwork and the artist be separated?
Mentioning the film's inevitability is director Roman Polanski, who is notorious for sexual assault allegations. Therefore, the director of this film seems to be using the film to accuse himself, causing controversy and making it more difficult to appreciate the film. Artists and art can be separated but inseparable. We can ignore the director's own misdeeds and appreciate the film itself and its audio-visual language separately. The truth is that total denial is incorrect. But at the same time, artists and art are also inseparable, because movies are no longer simply art. In a commodity society, movies are also a commodity, and as consumers, consumption is our right to vote. We cannot solve justice, at least we can accuse injustice. There is no right or wrong here, no matter which one you support, it is undertandable. Just being a feminist, even though I appreciate the film itself, I still want to vote for women who are hurt by sexual assault. So very sorry for the two stars.
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