喉舌

影片在平行的两个空间里展开：一个是深圳的一个电视新闻栏目《第一现场》。新闻机构内，“喉舌”们过着单位生活——开会、发稿、追求收视率和市场份额；另一个空间是深圳这座城市。新闻机构外，“喉舌”们走向街头，于是，城市百态展现出现——各种各样的人在镜头前申诉自己的遭遇。最后，随着一声巨响，城中村的农民房被炸掉；一个同事也死于癌症；而“喉舌”们在自己的办公区域平静地睡着午觉……

The documentary unfolds in two parallel spaces: one, the Shenzhen TV news programme ‘First Spot’. In the news organization, the “mouthpiece” members live their work routines—they hold meetings, send articles, worry about viewing rates and market shares… the other, the city of Shenzhen. Outside the news organ, “the mouthpiece” folks walk out to the streets, and the city displays itself in all kinds of forms—all sorts of people deliver their misfortunes to the camera. Finally, following loud blasts, the houses of immigrants in Chengzhong are blown up, a colleague dies of cancer, and the “mouthpiece” folks doze off in their offices during their lunch break…

1997年，陈虻、林旭东在北京搞了个国际纪录片研讨会，第一次见到怀斯曼和他的片子，也见到了小川绅介的片子。我那时，满脑子“社会”、“历史”，
决心和我过去的“形式主义”的先锋艺术告别，用纪录片这把刀子直捅“社会”心脏。于是，1998年有了《渡口》，1999年有了《迁镇》，我从来不承认这两部片子是“体制内”的，就像我从来不承认有任何片子是“体制外”的一样，天下熙熙，天下攘攘，谁都别把自己洗得太干净，我喜欢自己身上的“赃”。　
有关国企倒闭、城镇拆迁的题材在《渡口》、《迁镇》前没人涉及，而此后是一片狂潮。“反动是唯一的出路”，出于对纪录片作为一种“手艺”的尊重，拍完这两部题材激越的片子后，我在考虑朝三个方向突围：第一是从“现实主义”重回“形式主义”，于是有了《典型》；第二是从“向外”转向“向内”，于是有了《回到原处》；第三是保持“现实主义”的“长期性”与“复杂性”，用十年、二十年的时间干一部片子—《渡口编年》，做干货。
我们这些从八十年代过来的“文艺中年”，都喜欢唱一支叫“新的总是美好的”歌。其实，看看曾经意气万丈的先锋文学，在今天已经“新”成咋样了，就该警惕纪录片界的维新运动了。至少，到目前为止，中国人拍机构，还没有一部超过怀斯曼老爹，而德巴东和菲利贝尔的法国手艺，别看你手里拿了多少纪录片“奖杯”，还远着呢，兄弟！我自己就是个学徒，我愿做怀斯曼老爹“青藤走狗”，做德巴东和菲利贝尔的“跟风小弟”。至少玩一次吧！
在中国，拍机构，我不会拍街道，也不会拍中学，更不会拍医院。我觉得最有意思的是中国的新闻机构，这是机构中的机构。跟怀斯曼不同的是，我自己就在这个机构里。跟怀斯曼的“外科医生”不同，我自己就是“病人们”的一员，在人群中端着镜头，我会喊：让你们领导来见我！当人们说，电视台是婊子，我会说：这里有无耻也有无奈；看着那“一地鸡毛”的相互撕咬又相互拥抱、相互折磨又相互抚摸、相互监视又相互勾结，我在问自己：哪儿不是这样呢？于是有了这部纪录片。三小时十七分，占用大家喝酒和做爱的时间，真是太无耻了。
需要补充的是，我并不反对维新，“寻找纪录片艺术的可能性”嘛，我还想像自己像古代炼丹师那样搞一堆石头烧出仙丹来，真的，不骗你，眼下我正把镜头对着自己的屁股猛轰，我要拍一部叫《出窍》的片子。“这是一部雅俗共赏的纪录片，谢谢！我也是这样想的！”
Back in 1997, Cheng Meng and Lin Xu organized in Beijing an International Documentary Conference, where I saw for the first time Fredrick Wiseman and his documentaries, as well as those of Ogawa Shinsuke. From that time on my head became filled with the concepts of “society” and “history”, and decided to bid farewell to the formalist vanguard art, using the tool of documentaries to stab at the heart of “society”. Consequently I made the film ‘Crossing’ in 1990, and ‘Moving a Town’ in 1999, films which I don’t admit are “within the system”, in the same way as I don’t admit that any documentary can be “outside the system”. A bright as well as chaotic world… nobody should wash themselves too clean; I’d rather like the “dirt” on me.　

As for company bankruptcy and demolishing, I hadn't touched the subject matter before ‘Crossing’ and ‘Moving a Town’, and after came a turbulent tide. “A reaction is the only way out”, is a phrase which esteems documentary making as a form of craftsmanship. After shooting both these subject matters, I thought of three possible breakthroughs: one to return from “externalism” to “realism”, thus we have ‘Representative’; the second, to turn from “outward” to “inward”, and so we have ‘Back to the Original Place’; the third, to maintain the “permanence” and “complexity” of “realism”, and to in ten or twenty years time make a hardcore film.

This middle aged generation of ours that lived through the literature and art wave of the eighties, all like to sing a song called “the new is always beautiful”. In fact, looking back in today’s totally “new” world at our lofty-spirited vanguard literature, we should vigilantly reform the motions of the documentary circles. Until the date, no Chinese has surpassed Fredrik Wiseman when making a documentary of an organization, nor French documentary craftsmanship, such as Raymon Depardon’s and Nicolas Philibert’s. One shouldn’t take into account the number of awards obtained; there’s a long way to go yet! I myself am an apprentice, and I’d be even willing to become a servile dog for Wiseman or Philibert. At least I should be allowed to have a go!


When filming an organization in China, I wouldn’t choose for example a secondary school, or a hospital. I feel that Chinese news organisms are most interesting; they are organisms within an organism. Differently from Wiseman, I find myself belonging to this same organism. And also differing from Wiseman’s film ‘Near Death’, I myself am one of these “sick people”… carrying a lens within the multitude, I will shout: “Tell your boss to come and see me!” When people say that TV stations are a pain in the ass, I reply that “there is shamelessness but also impotency”; if you watch the programme “Trivialities” with all the bitching and hugging, all the tormenting each other and fondling, I ask myself if there’s anywhere where it’s not like this. And so this documentary came into being. Three hours and seventeen minutes, enough time for anyone to get drunk and make love; shameless really.

One thing I should add is that I don’t object to reform “in its search for the possibilities of documentary art”. I imagine myself as an ancient Taoist trying to concoct pills of immortality… really, I’m not lying. I really am blasting out shooting my own ass, wanting to make a film called ‘Removed from of the Body’. What I think, is that his documentary suits both refined and popular tastes. Thank you!

4444(创建者)