To see . Life is what life is for
This is a shortened version of the inaugural opening sentence of the defunct magazine "Life", and it is also a heart-pounding line in the movie "Daydreamer".
The film "Daydreamer" is an adaptation of Ben Stiller's short story "The Secret Life of Wald Mitty" by American author and cartoonist James Thurber, about a little man who loves to daydream , because of an accidental event, he escaped from his ordinary life and briefly embarked on a dream adventure.
Many people see this movie as a romantic and posturing with a bit of a man, and some people see it as an inspirational movie. I thought so too at first, and when I watch it again, I feel that this movie is not just superficial. The content presented above, as well as some of the stories behind it.
1. The film is an adaptation of the original book and an extension of the original book
"Daydreamer" is based on the short story "The Secret Life of Wald Mitty" by American author and cartoonist James Thurber by Ben Stiller.
This novel is very short, with only more than 4,000 words, and there is no coherent storyline. It only selects a certain time period of a certain day for the protagonist Mitty to describe. Although the story is short, the connotation is very rich.
- ① Mitty in the original book is a "dwarf in reality, giant in daydream"
In the original book "The Secret Life of Wald Mitty", Mitty is a middle-aged man whose occupation is unknown. He drives his wife to a store in front of a building, and his wife goes to curl her hair. He goes to buy galoshes and puppy biscuits. Back at the hotel, the wife then went back, they went home together, and on the way, the wife went to buy something else.
During this period of no more than an hour, Mitty had five daydreams.
Each of Mitty's daydreams is seamlessly connected to the real world, his powerless resistance to reality.
In the dream, Mitty accelerated the plane to 8,500, and in reality he drove the car to fifty-five miles before being scolded by his wife.
In the dream, Mitty was an excellent attending doctor who treated a big banker and a friend of Roosevelt, and his colleagues were full of money. In reality, he was suspected of being nervous by his wife and asked him to see a doctor.
In the dream, Mitty was an expert in playing guns. Just a few words made the atmosphere of the courtroom tense. In reality, he almost crashed the car when reversing. It was the waiter who helped him park the car. Silently mocking, he wanted to remove the chain from the car, but wrapped it around the axle. Later, a young auto mechanic helped him fix it. He envied and even envied that others were experts in certain aspects.
In his dream, he was the captain of a bomber in World War II. Amidst the cannon fire, he flew a bomber over a 40-kilometer purgatory with a mortal determination. In reality, he watched the forgotten German attempt to conquer the world with a bomber in an expired magazine. event, drowsy.
In the dream, he is a death row prisoner who will never be defeated and incomprehensible. In reality, he is about to go home and accept his wife's temperature measurement.
Whenever something went wrong in reality, Mitty would daydream that he was a great man doing a great cause, and hit back at those who looked down on him.
In fact, everything in reality is beyond his power to face, and he is just relying on daydreams to satisfy himself.
- ② The film extends the theme of the novel and enriches and excavates the characters
Because the novel has only more than 4,000 words and no complete storyline, it is just a short and philosophical fable, which is very difficult to adapt. In 1947, the famous producer Samuel Goldwyn tried to adapt it. The author Thurber was very dissatisfied. Call it "The Public Life of Danny Kaye."
Works from 1947
The general idea of this version is that the ordinary and mediocre Mitty, who dreams of adventure, is drawn into a conspiracy, begins a life of great adventure, and then discovers the impracticality and difficulty of the daydream, and finally realizes his mediocrity .
In the 1940s and 1950s, this kind of storyline wasn't that great, like a crappy adult fairy tale, but nothing like a real fairy tale like Alice in Wonderland.
Ben Stiller's adaptation, both in terms of storyline and character, is closer to reality.
Mitty in the movie is also a small person who will be forgotten in the crowd.
He worked in the nationally famous magazine "LIFE", doing film processing. Although he was a manager, there were actually only two employees in the department, and the work place was in a dark and easily forgotten place.
When his father died when he was seventeen, he came out to work early, and has been working step by step since then. Working in the magazine for 16 years, working diligently and well-behaved, neither made a fortune nor impoverished.
He is forty-two, has no wife, and has a crush on his new female colleague, Shel Mehoff.
There is nothing outstanding about him, his mediocre life, his step-by-step work, is extremely boring. When Todd of the online dating site met him later, he said, "I thought you were going to be a gray person," which he did at first. He was not good at communicating and was stubborn.
These characters of Mitty in the film are very similar to the original book, especially the stubbornness. In the original book, the wife asked Mitty to wear gloves, and Mitty was unwilling to wear them. When the wife got out of the car, he immediately took off the gloves. There is also the incredible "Never Say Never" later.
Mitty's stubbornness in the film is reflected in his pursuit of the No. 25 negative.
Sean O'Connell is the exclusive photographer of "LIFE" magazine, but he never wants to have direct contact with company executives. He only has contact with Mitty. After he heard that the magazine went bankrupt, he sent Mitty a gift, A wallet, and the No. 25 negative in the wallet.
But Mitty didn't know that the No. 25 negative was in her purse, searching all over the world.
The film retains the characteristics of Rimiti's character in the original work, and expands and excavates on the basis of the reservation.
In the first half of the film, Mitty is also daydreaming anytime, anywhere. Because of the loss of the No. 25 negative, which was the only mistake he had made in his 16 years of work, he wanted to find the No. 25 negative, so he embarked on an adventurous journey.
The loss of the No. 25 negative was an opportunity for Mitty to start his journey, but what really changed him was his desire for adventure, and the encouragement from his sweetheart and his family.
After embarking on the journey, Mitty, compared with Mitty in the original book, has a more plump and three-dimensional character. He is no longer a low-level little person who can only daydream, but a bottom-level person who loves life, loves adventure, and bravely pursues happiness. little people. Mitty is still a little guy, but not a "little guy" anymore.
2. The perfect fusion of the magazine "LIFE" and the theme of the movie
One of the wonderful things about the movie is that the theme of the movie, the growth of the characters, and the suspension of the magazine "LIFE" are perfectly integrated and echoed.
This echo and integration is not only reflected in the changes in the cover of the magazine and the actions of the characters, but also in the connotation of the magazine and the changes in the psychology of the characters.
- ① Mitty's actions echo the cover art of the magazine "LIFE"
The covers of each issue of LIFE magazine are praiseworthy, and the film also prints out those interesting and great covers and posts them on the walls as backdrops in the film.
The wonderful thing is that the location and timing of each cover corresponds to Mitty's identity and thoughts and actions.
Mitty stepped out of the elevator and entered the company. Mitty and the new leader turned left and right respectively. On Mitty's side was a picture of the crowd watching a movie. Mitty was one of those ordinary people with glasses. one.
On the side of the new manager is a single-person photo with the theme "man moves into a rich new realm sea probe", a man entering a rich new field to explore, which fits the identity of the new manager.
Afterwards, Mitty sees Shell, and Shell greets friends, and Shell jokes about taking a weekend bath in an arctic ice spring while her Latin lover recites poems to her.
Mitty immediately had a daydream in which he was an extreme athlete, climbing snowy peaks and challenging human limits. He returned from climbing the snowy mountains and gave Shell a teaser falcon.
At this time, there was a photo of the snow mountain photography cover in his sight, and the snow mountain in his imagination was also obtained from this.
The picture in Mitty's imagination is derived from reality, which is also very close to the original.
In addition to providing a backdrop for the daydream, the cover photo of LIFE magazine also aligns with the actions of the characters.
After the new manager announced that the magazine would be discontinued after the last issue, he asked Mitty for a photo of the magazine's cover. Encouraged by Schell, pressured by the new manager, seduced by Sean's photo and the motto on his wallet, Mitty picked up her work bag and ran to the airport.
On the way he was running, he passed a piece of paper on the cover of "LIFE". The photos were all great moments in history or personal, the moment the rocket was launched, the moment the brave man surfed the whirlpool, the moment the boxing champion defeated his opponent and fell to the ground, Young Kennedy's confident face as the swimmer hits the Olympics.
And these great moments belonged to others and had nothing to do with him, but in the last photo, his face appeared.
This photo was originally a February 2, 1962 issue of the magazine, which featured the cover of American astronaut (and future statesman) John Glenn wearing a space helmet, with the caption "making of a brave man. ", "Be a Brave Man".
Mitty was originally walking fast, and then ran. When he passed this photo, the person in the photo became himself, which means that he has gone from dreaming of an adventure to going into reality and starting a real adventure.
- ② Mitty's change is the best interpretation of the concept of "LIFE" magazine
"LIFE" magazine was founded in 1936. The first issue of the inaugural preface, the full version is:
To see life; to see the world; to witness great events; to see the faces of the poor and the gestures of the proud; to see strange things--robots, armies, jungles and shadows on the moon; to see the works of man-- His paintings, his heart, towers and new discoveries; seeing worlds thousands of miles away; people and things hidden in walls and rooms; inaccessible and dangerous scenes; women loved by men and many children; See and enjoy seeing; see and be moved; see and be taught.
One word emphasized here is "see".
See, the subtext also includes "to experience".
As a 16-year-old employee of "LIFE" magazine, Mitty is obviously ashamed of this preface. His experience was lackluster, and he just skipped it when filling out his personal experience on the online dating site.
So the film arranged for Mitty to see, to experience, to experience those thrilling moments .
He flew to the town of Nuuk, Greenland, and nearly got into a fight at a bar. Then he found out that the photographer Sean had photographed each other's thumbs. A passing ship sends radio tools.
The pilot was drunk, but Mitty mustered up the courage to get on the plane. As a result, he did not understand the meaning of the pilot and the crew, jumped into the sea, and was almost bitten by a shark.
On the boat, he learned about Sean's shooting schedule for the next day. He disembarked in Iceland and rode his bicycle to Eyjafjallajökull. He lost his mind on the way and the car was destroyed. He exchanged a birthday gift from his sister for a child. Skateboard, use a skateboard to get around, find where Sean is, but encounter a volcano eruption.
These thrilling moments, though forced upon Mitty, inspired the courage and determination to take risks in the short trip.
So, when he knew where Sean was going, he found out the mountaineering bag and travel notebook that he had never used, and resolutely went to the chaotic Afghanistan and the Himalayas.
Mitty used practical actions to interpret the inaugural words of "LIFE". He went to see the world, experienced inaccessible and dangerous scenes, watched, enjoyed, and moved.
- ③ Mitty finally returned to ordinary, still in line with "LIFE" magazine's understanding of "life"
The last cover photo of LIFE magazine in the film shows Mitty working in the plaza in front of the LIFE building, the most common moment of his sixteen years.
But Sean thought Mitty could understand the essence of LIFE best, so he secretly filmed him.
"LIFE" magazine is a graphic magazine covering politics, fashion, entertainment, war, etc., documenting the changes of the times in the United States from 1936 to 2000.
In each issue of pictures, there is a high-level president, there are ordinary unknown people on the street, there are top stars, and there are young actors who are just starting out. There are sorrows of the times and joys of new life.
The lens of the photographers of LIFE magazine focuses on all aspects of social life and captures the moments they think are worth recording.
Life is not only about great moments, but also ordinary efforts.
Therefore, Sean's focus on Mitty, who will be submerged in the sea at any time, is also an affirmation of ordinary life.
The title of the final edition reads: "final issue, dedicated to the people who made it", the final edition, dedicated to the people who made the magazine.
The title uses "people" instead of "person", and "people" is plural, indicating that this last paper issue is dedicated to all ordinary people who understand and love "LIFE" magazine like Mitty. .
So far, I have also completed the question in my title: Every ordinary day is a disappointment to life?
of course not.
There are many possibilities for life, some people live like Sean and some people live like Mitty. Just because Mitty's life was mediocre, doesn't mean he's lived up to it.
Down-to-earth, close to life, isn't it also a kind of love for life?
At the end of the film, Mitty resigns from "LIFE" magazine, his "LIFE" is over, and his adventure is over, but his new life, which is ordinary but full of happiness and uncertainty, has just begun.
above.
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