Light and Darkness, Knowledge and Ignorance: Reflections on the Film "Disappearing on Seventh Street"

A long time ago, a question arose in my mind: Mr. T got lost in the virgin forest during the long night, and started a fire with the only remaining match. This fire is what he lives on this evening, and he can use it to cook food, keep warm, and drive away dangerous wild creatures. However, just as he was sitting quietly beside the fire with an uneasy feeling, the footsteps of a group of people who had become more dangerous were approaching him with great fanfare. The problem is so obvious and so difficult: when Mr. T hears human footsteps, danger is approaching him. In addition to the direction of auditory identification, Mr. T cannot discern the real situation in the dark, and has no accurate perception of the imminent danger. But he could know from the sound of footsteps that they were a group of menacing people, how could they just hope to coexist and share flames together under such circumstances? Therefore, he must make the worst plan for survival in a short period of time, otherwise Mr. T, who is helpless, is likely to sit still. But how to plan? how to choose? To put out the flame and sneak away in the dark? Even if he could escape, without the flames, it would be equivalent to digging his own grave. What if you keep this flame to divert your attention and hide yourself? So even if he is not caught, how can the flame be surrendered by others, and he will be lost and found again. Of course, there is another option, which is to stay beside the flames, wait for the unknown to come, fight hard if necessary, and maybe fight a way out. Of course, this choice may make him die the worst, so this choice seems to be the simplest but is actually more complicated, and it seems to be the most effective but most likely the stupidest.



The real situation is that it is a group of robbers of unknown number in the dark, who are also in the savage jungle. They are trying their best to find all possible means of survival (of course, fire is an inevitable option), when a fire in the darkness suddenly appears. , they will never see it, and how can they turn a blind eye. To snatch the flames, and even kill Mr. T, is an inevitable choice for robbers.



After thinking and weighing, I found such a solution or a way out for Mr. T: carefully take out a fire, cover it with clothes, quickly extinguish the flame, and sneak away in the dark.



"Everything in the world is a metaphor." Clearly, Mr. T, I use him as a metaphor for the holder and defender of truth. Truth is that flame. Eye-catching in the dark, bringing unpredictable good and bad luck. Sometimes, the flame has to be forbearance as a kind of fire, and Mr. T has to make compromises and coexist with the kind of fire. Otherwise, the flames may be led to the path of arrogance, and it will be difficult for Mr. T to protect. Keep the fire, protect the guards, and wait for the dawn. From this, I expressed an initial idea about truth: truth needs to be forbeared in the age of ignorance, and open and honest and shared with others in the age of waiting for the opening.



This thought first came to my mind a long time ago. Now I mention it again, after I saw the film "Disappearing on Seventh Street" these days.



"In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness does not receive the light." ("The Bible"-----John 1:4 1:5) These are these two sentences in the Bible The words, to the greatest extent, achieve the metaphor of this film. Just as the creation of the universe is only in an instant, the appearance of light is only in an instant. In this way, how can the universe shrink in an instant, and how can the disappearance of light not be in an instant. It can be seen that the disaster of extinction may be just in that moment. Just like this movie. Of course, it doesn't matter how the end of the world is achieved, it's just the gripping plot in the film, what matters is the people's reactions and their respective fates in the sudden end of the world, which will make us think, this heavy and mysterious The situation is full of metaphors and revelations. Perhaps the last day is the greatest revelation, but it can only be the last revelation. The infinitely uncertain fate, the heart and behavior of people in extreme states, fear, pity, doubt, repentance, and nostalgia, there seems to be nothing that is not unfathomable. And these are all triggered by a moment. This moment, how long and how short it can be, in exchange for all changes.



Visible disasters can spread infinitely, but what about the invisible disasters in the heart? Lonely survivors of disasters face the whole disaster alone. Since they are still alive, they have to continue in the disaster that is far from gone. This is the misfortune of the survivors. But before the disaster is gone, it is too late to bear the consequences, which seems to be the luck of the survivors. The fear of the uncertainty of the unknown far outweighs the harm caused by the disaster itself. Beyond pain, as Nietzsche said, guilt and guilt infinitely aggravate pure suffering, because there will always be a moment when their brain pulls them away from tangible disasters, with causes and consequences that they can never afford , both intellectually and emotionally. Thus, perhaps only the survivors of the disaster can inadvertently use the disaster itself as a safe haven to escape the inevitable spread of the disaster in their hearts. However, as long as you survive, you will eventually lose the numbing consolation. Only a young enough child may be able to accept all this after surviving, without guilt, without fear.



The relationship between light and darkness is a difficult proposition. "God said, 'Let there be light.' And there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness." (The Bible ----- Genesis 1:3 1:4) This It is the first exposition of light and darkness in the Bible, and the content of light and darkness appears many times throughout the Bible. Light and darkness are at odds with each other, as wisdom and diligence are contrasted with ignorance and paranoia. The place where the light disappears is the darkness, and in the darkness there will be another kind of darkness spreading, which is darker, more hidden, and more able to devour people's souls. Perhaps, there is another kind of darkness... However, once the light appears, no matter what kind of darkness is dissipated in an instant, there is no trace. What a clever and profound metaphor! Ignorance is always inflated by ignorance, and dead without a place to be buried because of wisdom. Only in the light of wisdom can people face the reality, and in the dark ignorance, they will lose themselves and cannot keep their souls. However, how many people are ignoring the existence of the soul, and when it is deprived, they will no longer realize it.



Why am I citing the Bible, because I think this video is telling a story similar to 'Noah's Ark'. It's just that the story of Noah's Ark relies on water as the punishment for the doomsday and the baptism of new life, while this story relies on light. Noah's Ark is by the flood of water, and this story is by the absence of light. Light and fire both mean something in the Bible, but what? This is another difficult proposition. But I think that both water and light are related to truth in the Bible: the experience of truth and the support of truth. Those who really survived the disaster in the end actually acted as the keepers and defenders of the truth at the end, and they kept the light that never dies. They are children, who are illuminating the new world with the only remaining, pure perspective (perhaps close to the perspective of God) and faith (rather than relying on means), groping forward. What this world has meant to them in the past and what it will be like in the future can only be understood from their perspective. This may be the revelation of the doomsday. How can people who have not been baptized in the doomsday understand it? "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eye is bright, your whole body is light; if your eye is dim, your whole body is dark. If the light within you is dark, how great is the darkness!" (The Bible-- --- Matthew 6:22 6:23)

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