Why?
Because the detective itself has a dual identity:
Goole is a homophone of Ghoul (ghost), and Goold is a homophone of God (God).
For Eva, Gould is her god, and in another way, Goul is the ghost of the Billing House.
This story was created in 1945 and the background is 1912. From the structure of the story, it can be seen that it is an indictment of the evils of capitalism, the persecution of the upper class against the lower class.
But one hundred years later, the world has undergone earth-shaking changes. Does this story still inspire us today?
If this story is put into the present, will the Billings still be prosecuted?
Well, let's take a look at it one by one:
If I were Arthur: I was in charge of a factory with thousands of people, and a female worker suddenly appeared, specializing in making troubles, and threatening to plan a strike, can I keep her? She said why don't you raise your salary for two years. I can answer confidently: the operating cost of the company is too high, the competition among peers is too fierce, and the company will lose money if the salary increases. Besides, the market economy, if you think the treatment is not good, go elsewhere, who will let you rely on it here? No one will stop you when you leave, but you dare to plan a strike, which is definitely a violation of the employee code! Fired!
If I'm Sheila: Come to a high-end clothing store, like LV, shouldn't the customer be God? God I'm in a fucking bad mood, how dare you laugh at me as a "servant"? You are self-inflicted, my complaint is just to teach you a lesson, let you know that if you do not have the spirit of service, you are not worthy of doing this business!
If I were Gerald: Seeing a beautiful woman being molested in a bar, wouldn't it be okay to help? Can't you invite her for a drink? Can't you invite her to dinner? I have a spare house, is it wrong to send charcoal to her to live in? I paid so much to her, but I didn't force her to love me. Did I make a promise to her? Isn't the matter of love what you want and what I want?
If I'm Mrs. Billing: That's even more innocent, my mother, I have to receive so many laid-off workers every day, and I'm full to investigate one by one? Which of the words you said is true, if you ask three questions without answering, the answer is full of flaws, and you want me to give you money, how can I explain it to the taxpayers! ?
If I were Eric: I really loved her, I needed her, I needed her to talk to me, I needed her to soothe my lonely heart, I was really drunk that day, and I didn't expect her to get pregnant. I didn't abandon her either. She chose to leave. I even went to my father's company and stole money for her to continue living. I'm... I'm... just a helpless child...
So, did this family really make a big mistake?
If they can all be understood and forgiven, then Eva can only be blamed for her own bad luck?
Everyone should have heard this passage of Hu Shi: In a clean country, if everyone does not follow rules but talks about morality, it will eventually degenerate into a dirty country full of hypocrites. Start to talk about rules instead of morals, and eventually it will become a normal country with a human taste, and morality will gradually return!
Is it really so?
The Billings, who doesn't follow the rules?
Arthur fires employees?
Mrs. Billing refused to give aid?
Sheila complained to the salesperson?
There is no denying that there are no rules. There are good rules and bad rules in this world, but there are no perfect rules from ancient times to the present, because -
there cannot be any dead rule that can solve the contradictions between infinite possibilities of living people.
Therefore, in addition to the rules, there is an indispensable thing, which is called "goodness" in Western terms, and is called conscience in the terms of our ancestors.
Here, Starling came up with a book that had a considerable influence on me: "Justice"
, the author of the book, Professor Sandel, has been teaching a course called "Justice" at Harvard for more than 30 years, which is the history of Harvard University. One of the courses with the largest cumulative number of students enrolled. There are so many topics covered in the book, one point that impressed Starling:
The more we see our success as a result of our actions, the less we feel we should be against those who are left behind all responsibilities.
How to understand this sentence?
First of all, is the world fair?
Of course not, it's not just wealth, IQ, looks, health, and even character and opportunities that are unfair.
Second, what is the foundation of success?
As long as you are willing to work hard in the right way, you can be successful.
This is the biggest scam of the twentieth century.
Because even the "effort" itself cannot happen to everyone fairly.
Understanding this is the rational basis for "goodness," "conscience," or what we often call "gratitude."
After talking for a long time, is the Billing family innocent?
When measured by the standard of "rules", they are naturally innocent, but when viewed with the eyes of "God", they must be guilty. This is not a legal sin, but a moral sin.
That's the need for a big twist in the plot - when they learn that there is no detective and no woman who committed suicide, they completely forget about the harm they had done to a low-level woman, and can't wait to do it. Celebrate escaping punishment.
In fact, this truth is directly expounded in the movie. The words that the inspector said when he left the Billing House can basically be understood as the revelation of this old story in the current society:
There are countless Evas in the world, their lives and deaths, their hopes and fears, their struggles and their right to pursue a better life, are all inseparable from our lives, closely related to our ideas, words, and actions. None of us can be independent of the world, we should love each other. If one does not understand this truth, the day will soon come when people will be baptized with fire, flesh, and bruises.
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