美利坚想象合众国


五一长假前,世界银行发布预测,按购买力平价计算,中国经济规模将在今年超过美国成为世界第一。对中国成为世界第一的预测近些年层出不穷,很容易让人产生错觉,似乎中国一夜间就从昨日那个衣衫褴褛、萎靡不振的病夫变成了地球超人。

其实中国还在浑浊的河里乱摸石头、濒于走投无路之境,其形象是可笑的、经不起想象的,而美国则不同,年轻的美国本身就是想象的产物,自由精神令这个国家充满活力、长盛不衰。

69岁的加拿大摄影师Pierre Guimon从小对美国着迷,1998年开始花了十年时间走遍美国,用摄像镜头探究美国的奥秘,制作人ian boyd率领创作团队从Pierre Guimon拍摄的18000张唯美图片和现场音响中剪辑出近一个半小时的纪录片《美利坚想象合众国》(Imagined States of America/Les états inventés d'Amérique ),加拿大艺术家对南方这个神奇的邻国做了解构和重建,用宏大静止的唯美画面配以动感活力的音乐来探寻美国的奥秘。

正如该片撰稿ALBERTA NOKES开门见山的言辞:有人说,从某种意义上来讲,美国是不存在的,但从另一个角度上来看,美国又是多面的,无所不在的。

美国不是个传统的民族国家,也不会像中国那样煽动民族主义情绪来凝聚国家,但美国是由世界各地带着梦想的人组成的,他们使这个国家具备了两种特质:具体而丰富的物质,以及充满想象的自由精神。这两种特质使得美国坚不可摧,用片中的话来说就是“最高级的国家”(pays de superlatives)。

美利坚合众国把人类文明带进了耀眼的美国世纪,连中国共产党的高官显贵都争相把家眷亲属送到这里来唱诵《星条旗永不落》,ian boyd在美利坚想象合众国结尾时使用了Woody Guthrie在1940年于纽约时代广场创作的《这是你的土地》(This Land Is Your Land),他似乎认为这首歌更适合成为美利坚想象合众国的国歌:

这片国土是你的土地,这片国土是我的土地

从加利福尼亚到纽约岛,

从墨西哥湾流到红杉林;

这片国土是你和我而建立。  


当我漫步在蜿蜒如带的公路,

仰头看见高架公路伸向无边的天际;

在我下方是金色的溪谷;

这片国土是为你和我而建立。


我漫游四方,任脚步把我带进

她的沙漠闪光的沙丘;

我的四周迴响着一个声音:

这片国土是为你和我而建立。



辉煌的太阳升起,我正缓缓而行,

看麦浪滚滚,烟云翻捲。

雾气渐渐消散,一个声音在唱吟:

这片国土是为你和我而建立。



世上没有任何能阻止我前进,

当我踏上那自由之路;

世上没有任何人能令我折回原地,

这片国土是为你和我而建立。



 漫步中我看见一块标牌,

 赫然写着:」不得入内」,

 但牌子的另一面却空白无字,

 那一面是为你和我而设立。



This land is your land, this land is my land
From California to the New York island,
From the redwood forest to the Gulf Stream waters;
This land was made for you and me.

As I was walking that ribbon of highway
I saw above me that endless skyway;
I saw below me that golden valley;
This land was made for you and me.

I've roamed and rambled and I followed my footsteps
To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts;
And all around me a voice was sounding;
This land was made for you and me.

One bright Sunday morning in the shadows of the steeple
By the Relief Office I seen my people;
As they stood there hungry, I stood there whistling;
This land was made for you and me.

When the sun came shining, and I was strolling,
And the wheat fields waving and the dust clouds rolling.
As the fog was lifting a voice was chanting:
This land was made for you and me.

Nobody living can ever stop me,
As I go walking that freedom highway;
Nobody living can ever make me turn back,
This land was made for you and me.

As I went walking, I saw a sign there,
And on the sign it said, "No Trespassing,"
But on the other side it didn't say nothing,
That side was made for you





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