哥伦布传 1492

All of them built by people like me. No matter how long you live,Sanchez, there is something that will never change between us.

I did it

You didn't

Columbus逐渐后退，走出镜头

Sanchez : [Columbus stops Sanchez after he leaves an audience with the Queen. Sanchez looks at him, disgusted] You're a dreamer.

Columbus : [shooting a glance out of a window] Tell me, what do you see?

Sanchez : [pausing to look] I see rooftops, I see palaces, I see towers, I see spires that reach... to the sky! I see civilisation!

Columbus : All of them built by people like me.

[Sanchez doesn't respond - shocked]

Columbus : No matter how long you live, Sanchez, there is something that will never change between us. I did it. You didn't.

随后哥伦布逐步淡出画面，成了远处一团模糊的光线，画面中只留下 Sanchez近处侧脸，但我们知道那可见的清晰的画面人物永远比不上那团光线——那团哥伦布留下的历史幕布下的余辉，无论画面中的侧脸存活多久，虚处的哥伦布比实在的Sanchez们更加恒久。Coz No matter how long you live, Sanchezs, there is something that will never change between us. I did it. You didn't.

——Frederick 2021.12.13

Alex Gendler: History vs. Christopher Columbus

Many people in the United States and Latin America have grown up celebrating the anniversary of Christopher Columbus's voyage, but was he an intrepid explorer who brought two worlds together or a ruthless exploiter who brought colonialism and slavery? And did he even discover America at all? It's time to put Columbus on the stand in History vs. Christopher Columbus. "Order, order in the court. Wait, am I even supposed to be at work today?" <i>Cough</i> "Yes, your Honor. From 1792, Columbus Day was celebrated in many parts of the United States on October 12th, the actual anniversary date. But although it was declared an official holiday in 1934, individual states aren't required to observe it. Only 23 states close public services, and more states are moving away from it completely." <i>Cough</i> "What a pity. In the 70s, we even moved it to the second Monday in October so people could get a nice three-day weekend, but I guess you folks just hate celebrations." "Uh, what are we celebrating again?" "Come on, Your Honor, we all learned it in school. Christopher Columbus convinced the King of Spain to send him on a mission to find a better trade route to India, not by going East over land but sailing West around the globe. Everyone said it was crazy because they still thought the world was flat, but he knew better. And when in 1492 he sailed the ocean blue, he found something better than India: a whole new continent." "What rubbish. First of all, educated people knew the world was round since Aristotle. Secondly, Columbus didn't discover anything. There were already people living here for millennia. And he wasn't even the first European to visit. The Norse had settled Newfoundland almost 500 years before." "You don't say, so how come we're not all wearing those cow helmets?" "Actually, they didn't really wear those either." <i>Cough</i> "Who cares what some Vikings did way back when? Those settlements didn't last, but Columbus's did. And the news he brought back to Europe spread far and wide, inspiring all the explorers and settlers who came after. Without him, none of us would be here today." "And because of him, millions of Native Americans aren't here today. Do you know what Columbus did in the colonies he founded? He took the very first natives he met prisoner and wrote in his journal about how easily he could conquer and enslave all of them." "Oh, come on. Everyone was fighting each other back then. Didn't the natives even tell Columbus about other tribes raiding and taking captives?" "Yes, but tribal warfare was sporadic and limited. It certainly didn't wipe out 90% of the population." "Hmm. Why is celebrating this Columbus so important to you, anyway?" "Your Honor, Columbus's voyage was an inspiration to struggling people all across Europe, symbolizing freedom and new beginnings. And his discovery gave our grandparents and great-grandparents the chance to come here and build better lives for their children. Don't we deserve a hero to remind everyone that our country was build on the struggles of immigrants?" "And what about the struggles of Native Americans who were nearly wiped out and forced into reservations and whose descendants still suffer from poverty and discrimination? How can you make a hero out of a man who caused so much suffering?" "That's history. You can't judge a guy in the 15th century by modern standards. People back then even thought spreading Christianity and civilization across the world was a moral duty." "Actually, he was pretty bad, even by old standards. While governing Hispaniola, he tortured and mutilated natives who didn't bring him enough gold and sold girls as young as nine into sexual slavery, and he was brutal even to the other colonists he ruled, to the point that he was removed from power and thrown in jail. When the missionary, Bartolomé de las Casas, visited the island, he wrote, 'From 1494 to 1508, over 3,000,000 people had perished from war, slavery and the mines. Who in future generations will believe this?'" "Well, I'm not sure I believe those numbers." "Say, aren't there other ways the holiday is celebrated?" "In some Latin American countries, they celebrate the same date under different names, such as Día de la Raza. In these places, it's more a celebration of the native and mixed cultures that survived through the colonial period. Some places in the U.S. have also renamed the holiday, as Native American Day or Indigenous People's Day and changed the celebrations accordingly." "So, why not just change the name if it's such a problem?" "Because it's tradition. Ordinary people need their heroes and their founding myths. Can't we just keep celebrating the way we've been doing for a century, without having to delve into all this serious research? It's not like anyone is actually celebrating genocide." "Traditions change, and the way we choose to keep them alive says a lot about our values." "Well, it looks like giving tired judges a day off isn't one of those values, anyway." Traditions and holidays are important to all cultures, but a hero in one era may become a villain in the next as our historical knowledge expands and our values evolve. And deciding what these traditions should mean today is a major part of putting history on trial.

影片上映时间为1992年，刚好是哥伦布航行美洲500周年，完全可看作是纪念献礼片。 1492年，不仅对于西班牙，更对于整个世界，都是极为不平凡和重要的年份。 就像影片进行到23分钟处显示的“伊斯兰弯月被基督十字所取代”的那样，这一年年初，即1月2日，摩尔人占据的最后一个城市格拉纳达陷落。至此，发生在伊利比亚半岛上长达7个世纪的基督徒对摩尔人的“再征服运动”结束。随后，西班牙建立了统一王权，并因新大陆的财富成为近代历史上第一个崛起的大国。 同样是这一年的8月份，哥伦布率领三条船只向西展开未知命运的航行。 片头三分钟红底黑线绘成的图画，雄浑磅礴大气的配乐直击观众心底深处。就像有评论指出的，影片配乐是一大亮点。 “500年前，西班牙是一个迷信和敬畏神的国家，统治者和残忍的宗教裁判所惩罚敢于梦想的人。但是，有一个人向这个发起挑战，穿越未知的海域去寻找黄金和荣耀，为了使上帝更加光芒四射。”“人类发展中的每一次进步都有反对的异议者，那些先驱们，必须坚忍不拔地追求，而不管这些干扰。” 影片中，航行途中竟然做到了船员零损失，断无可能。对发现陆地这场戏处理很好，先是哥伦布拍死吸血的蚊子，然后是看到围绕船灯飞虫，清晨时分，海上升起大雾，散去后，是满是绿色植被掩映下的陆地岛屿。这一幕，在2005版《金刚》中骷髅岛的出现以及《亚维隆迷雾》中的的。哥伦布第一个跳下船只，迈向新大陆土地的脚步稳健有力，堪比：阿姆斯特朗踏足月球。哥伦布命令众人对对面的土著示好的场景类似《玛丽·布莱恩特》中英国移民初次踏足澳洲大陆时。 临近结尾： 哥伦布从狱中出来觐见女王，哥伦布承认“现实超出了预料”。女王允许其再进行一次航海，随后说：“那个新世界，是一场灾难。”（女王是站在己方立场而言，事实是对于印第安人是一场灾难：《西印度毁灭述略》、《征服新西班牙信史》。）哥伦布反问：“但旧的世界，是一个功绩(achievement)？” 在把发现新大陆的荣誉授予亚美里哥维斯普奇后，哥伦布站在人群里，丝毫不起眼。这时，两个贵族的对话颇有意思。“真是一场悲剧，一生的浪费。”“浪费？如果你我的名字能被后世记住的话，也仅仅是因为他。” 《亚当斯一家的价值观》中，小时候的克里斯蒂娜里奇饰演的女儿在夏令营的一次有关感恩节的舞台演出中说了一番话，大意是：如果印第安人预见了后来发生之事，就不会信任新移民，会烧毁他们的村庄，等等。看此片不禁有同感。假如：印第安人一开始就让哥伦布一行人有去无回，新大陆的发现究竟会晚上多少年？又不禁慨叹：假如郑和的航行是以寻找金银财富、开疆拓土为目的就好了。 推荐《玛丽·布莱恩特》，同样是有关海上冒险，女主人公凭借一条只能载五个大人两个小孩的小船沿着澳洲海岸线从现在的墨尔本一直漂到东帝汶。

1492年8月3日，哥伦布受西班牙国王派遣，率领三艘百十来吨的帆船，从西班牙巴罗斯港扬帆出大西洋，直向正西航去。经七十昼夜的艰苦航行，1492年10月12日凌晨终于发现了陆地。

在基督教会的谆谆教导，以及火刑架的神圣光辉照耀下，

1492年的西班牙人，生活在一个美丽的谎言里：我们的世界是人间天堂。

世界是平的，太阳绕着地球转，海洋的尽头有怪兽等候，天使守在伊甸园的门口。

可地球其实是圆的

这个谎言依靠着一种秩序来维持：

上帝的真理牢牢扎根于每一个角落，任何离经叛道的思想都要被剿灭。

这种秩序压抑了所有超脱的思想、进取的精神。

任何企图挑战这个秩序的人，都要接受残酷的惩罚。

被绞死在火刑架上的女人

对死亡的恐惧，驯服了庸庸碌碌之辈，吓倒了懦弱犬儒之徒。

却激发了梦想家和探险者的梦想。

权力可以封上人的嘴，打断人的腿，消灭人的肉体。

但是消灭不了人的梦想。

因为梦想没有边界。

主教对思想的看法

人类克服了对火的恐惧，因而得到了进化。

人类克服了对海的恐惧，因而发现了新大陆。

人类克服了对权力的恐惧，因而创造了新世界。

什么也不敢去克服的人，什么也做不到。

伊莎贝尔女王对恐惧的看法

海洋波澜壮阔，一望无际，

有的人成功到达彼岸，有的人中途沉没，

沉没在中途的，是殉道者而非失败者。

真正失败的，是那些连第一步都没有迈出的人。

哥伦布的梦想

那些庸碌油腻，自怨自艾，还活着却早已死了的人，

会摆出一副看透人世的姿态来，

叫嚷着：

“这个世界不会改变，人要学会适应。”

不。一切都会改变。

因为有人在努力改变一切。

I did it.

这不是中国人批判了几十年的英雄史观。

因为创造世界的，

不是帝王将相，不是僧侣主教，

却也更不是伏地跪拜的奴才，和唯唯诺诺的臣民。

创造世界的，

是将不可能变为可能的实干家，

和将禁止变为允许的勇士。

海边是一个广场，中间有一柱高塔，直插云端。高塔底部，有费迪南国王和伊莎贝尔女王的雕像。高塔顶部，还有一尊立像。

这会是谁呢？连堂堂国王和女王都在那么低下的部位守护着他，难道他是上帝？

云在他身边飘荡，他全然不理，只抬头放眼，注视远方。我立即猜出来了，只能是他，哥伦布。

——余秋雨

位于巴塞罗那的哥伦布雕像