Tang Monk Shirley

Bianka 2022-04-23 07:01:15

This movie is considered a politically correct movie in today's American society. If this movie could have been made twenty or thirty years earlier, I might give him a full score.

At first I also thought that Shirley was a man who lived in a castle, he was like a canary in a cage and made beautiful music for white people every day. He did not understand the sinister nature of this society and the prejudice against black people in the southern states of the United States.

But as we can see from the dialogue that follows, Shirley actually knows the social status quo. "He could have been paid three times more in New York, but he decided to go out and tour." Six years ago, when another musician was performing, he was caught on the spot for playing a white piece of music. If he dragged it down and played, he, who was also a musician, would not have known it.

In fact, each of us will more or less have stereotypes and prejudices about unfamiliar people and things, because the lack of understanding caused by our limited knowledge horizon can only help us remember through a simple definition (in view of the current public opinion ethos, I don’t even want to give examples), the problem is that few people will reflect on whether this simple and stereotyped impression of themselves has a correct logical basis. What’s even more ridiculous is that people not only do not realize their shallowness and ignorance, but also often Immediately fight back, ridicule, and get angry when exposed to information that is different from the inherent cognition. This is not something that can be solved by occasionally reflecting on it or keeping a sane mind and thinking it makes sense. In fact, this stereotype has already seeped into the blood to guide people's subconscious behavior.

Tony can endure being asked by the police to get out of the car on the highway, tormented and rudely questioned in the heavy rain, and he can endure Shirley being called out of the car to get in the rain. He can even tell the police calmly that he is working for this black man, because His philosophy of existence is called - this society is like this. I also know a lot of irrationality, and I can see what's wrong with them, but what can I do? I am just an ant at the bottom of the society, I can only find a way to adapt to the rules of this society.

But he couldn't stand the police saying he was half black. Because he does not agree with black people in his subconscious mind, and he also looks down on this race. When he talks about black blood, he must subconsciously think of black people as being dull, poor, vulgar, and dirty. It cannot be a black person like Shirley.

In the movie, Tony was more open-minded, so he was able to take on this job, even though 100 people were reluctant at first. He changed quickly, and the more time he spent with Shirley, the more he could ignore the difference in skin color. He found Shirley the exact opposite of what he once thought of black people: noble, refined, clean, polite, personable. But this is only for Shirley as a body rather than a re-recognition of the entire black race. He had always regarded Shirley as a variation of the Negroes.

Tony is commenting on Don's playing music. I think what he said is worth pondering: "Anyone can play Beethoven and Chopin's music, but your performance is unique, and people just want to see your performance." ——Beethoven and Chopin's music is so difficult. It's natural that a white man can play it well, but isn't it more interesting that a black man can play this kind of music well? Or to put it another way, a normal person performs addition and subtraction within ten and no one sees it, but if a dog comes to perform addition and subtraction, people are willing to pay to watch it.

Not only do other races despise blacks, but blacks themselves despise their own people. "Why are you wearing such a strange dress? Why don't you have a drink with us? Why don't you work in the fields like us and be a servant for white people?" - We don't envy how much Jack Ma has more than us money, but would be jealous that Zhang San and Li Si from the next village made tens of thousands more in compensation for demolition and relocation today. We can live together like dogs in this world wagging our tails and begging for mercy, but we cannot tolerate our companions turning into wolves one day.

"Why can people's prejudice and hatred continue like this for 50 years, 100 years, or even 500 years?" This is the reason why Tang Sanzang went to the West to study scriptures. ——At this time, Shirley made me feel more like a Tang monk: an idealist, with high morals, high education, clear purpose, strong self-discipline, and not understood by the world. When Shirley said that sentence angrily in the heavy rain, we could feel his loneliness and helplessness. In the whole movie, he was more like a preacher, a missionary, and an ascetic, and Tony was his Monkey King.

Shirley enlightened Tony to improve his ideological realm and cultivation. Tony also added a lot of secular reality to Shirley's ideal world, making his life experience more complete and profound. The most impressive and touching scene in this movie is also the part of the quarrel in the rain, but the reason I like it is that the two sides are still able to maintain their rationality and think about the meaning of each other’s words while arguing so intensely. Instead of letting your emotions run wild. Tony understood Shirley at that moment, his heart was hit hard, and the sad emotion quickly showed on his face, which was very contagious. Think for yourself, do we usually really care what the other person has to say when we fight? When we fight, we usually just want to win the fight.

Get rid of the ideological prejudices and stereotypes that others have instilled in you, and think more, understand and experience yourself. At the very least, don't be led by the nose and blindly follow suit when you don't know the truth, and use rational thinking instead of perceptual knowledge. In the past, we may not have the right to choose to change the knowledge structure and can only be passively instilled, but after entering the society and being able to live independently, we should correct the wrong prejudice in our minds for the truth and the facts.

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Extended Reading

Green Book quotes

  • Dr. Don Shirley: [Tony offers him a fried chicken] Come on.

    Dr. Don Shirley: I told you not to get grease on my blanket.

    Tony Lip: [mockingly] Oooh, I'm going to get grease on my blanket.

  • Dr. Don Shirley: You never win with violence. You only win when you maintain your dignity.

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