4050

“4050”人员是中国政府对男性50岁、女性40岁以上没到退休年龄而失业的国企职工的简称，这批人基本在1950年以后出生，由于经历了文化大革命，他们只有初中的文化程度，文革结束以后，这批人从农村回到了城市，大部分被分配到工厂做工人，随着大批国有企业的破产倒闭，这一代人开始分批地下岗失业。社会戏称他们“上有老，下有小，退休尚早，再就业已老”。我的母亲就是其中的一员，本片记录的就是她和她周围人的生活。

“4050” is an official name for those jobless people who had once worked for state-owned enterprises for a long time. With China’s economic reform, these people are becoming laid-off workers and forced to retire earlier or get a one-time compensation in their forties (female) or fifties (male).This unemployed middle-aged group, mostly born after 1949, experienced Cultural Revolution, had a lower education of only primary school or junior high school. After the Cultural Revolution, these so-called “educated urban youth” working in the countryside, were assigned to be factory workers when they returned to towns or cities. Now they have to, as it is said, “Care for the old, and care for the young; too young to retire, but too old to start a new career.” My mother is one of them and what I want to document is her and her fellows’ true lives.

我在铁西区生活了25年，又在北京生活了5年。我从2000年开始创作表现铁西区工厂废墟的绘画作品，从这时起我开始研究铁西老工业区从产生到消失的历史，当我站在工厂的废墟上时，我脑中不时闪现着过去工厂辉煌时工人生活和工作的记忆碎片。
至于说我的家庭，可以说是不幸的，它是无数工人家庭中的一个。我的亲属全都是工人，我的母亲退休后，做了很多工作，每月工资在500元左右；我的父亲从病退以后在家呆了十多年，没做任何工作，整日上网聊天，炒过股票后来全赔了；我的大姑父因被工厂买断而上火病发尿毒症去世；我的二舅被买断后一直没找到合适的工作，得了糖尿病；我的老姨夫被买断后开了一家家电维修店维持生活，去年检查出得了脑瘤。这些现实可以说让我痛心，让我激愤，童年的美好与现实的残酷在我的头脑中搅动着，让我处于精神崩溃的状态。
2007年冬我回沈阳过春节，我一进家门爸妈就在吵架要离婚，我也被卷入到家庭的动荡之中，母亲对着摄像机不停的抱怨着这些年的不幸。我开始跟着母亲进入了一个个工人的家庭，他们谈话的内容大多是过去的往事，现在的收入和家庭的不幸……


I had lived in Tie Xi Area in Shen Yang, Liao Ning province for 25 years before I stayed in Beijing for 5 years. Since 2000, I began to paint remains of old factories in Tie Xi Area. From then on, I began to study the history of Tie Xi old factory area, from its beginning to its ending. When I stood on the relics, fragments of memories about the best time of old factories flashed in my brain.

As for my family, it is unlucky, but still a common one of thousands of unlucky workers families in my city. All my folks are workers. My mother did a lot of jobs after she retired but only earned a salary of 500 RMB per month; my father stayed at home for dozens of years after retirement due to illness. He did nothing but chatting and stock speculation on internet, and eventually run out of money on stock market. My uncle was fired by factory, and became very depressed, later he died of uremia. Another uncle was also fired, he got nothing to do and also suffered from diabetes; and my youngest uncle opened a household appliance maintenance shop after being fired, but he was just checked having a brain tumor last year. All these things strike me a lot. Happiness of childhood and the cruelty of reality stir in my brain, which drives me almost breaking down.
In the winter of 2007, I came back Shen Yang for Spring Festival. My parents were fighting for divorce at that time, and I was naturally involved in the family turbulence. My mum complained a lot about the misfortunes for all these years in front of the camera, and I was guided into one another different worker’s family, about the past, about the low income and other misfortunes of family.

1233212(创建者)