美國文學---Week1

*Movies

1.     為愛朗讀(The Reader, 2008)      

- is a novel by German law professor and judge Bernhard Schlink, published in Germany in 1995 and in the United States in 1997. The story is a parable, dealing with the difficulties post-war German generations have had comprehending the Holocaust; Ruth Franklin writes that it was aimed specifically at the generation Berthold Brecht called the Nachgeborenen, those who came after. Like other novels in the genre of Vergangenheitsbewältigung, the struggle to come to terms with the past, The Reader explores how the post-war generations should approach the generation that took part in, or witnessed, the atrocities. These are the questions at the heart of Holocaust literature in the late 20th and early 21st century, as the victims and witnesses die and living memory fades.

二次大戰後的德國， 15 歲的青少年麥可邂逅大他 21 歲的公車剪票員漢娜，展開一段充滿肉體歡愉和求知若渴的兩人世界。為了滿足原始肉慾本能，麥可不得不答應文盲漢娜的要求，唸書包裡的世界文學名著給她聽，無論是澡盆裡共浴的私密時光或床邊的戀人絮語，都參雜荷馬、托爾斯泰、海明威和契訶夫活化生姿的想像世界。

The Reader Movie Official Trailer (2008)

2.     足球尤物(She’s the Man, 2006)             

- is a 2006 American romantic comedy film directed by Andy Fickman, inspired by William Shakespeare's play Twelfth Night. The film stars Amanda Bynes, Channing Tatum, Laura Ramsey, and Vinnie Jones.

故事描述高校美眉薇拉 ( 亞曼達拜恩斯 飾 ) 是個足球女健將，卻意外發現自己學校的足球隊將慘遭解散的命運，於是她一氣之下，決定假扮她雙胞胎哥哥賽巴斯丁 ( 詹姆斯奇里克 飾 ) 去參加她哥即將入學的足球隊，但薇拉萬萬沒想到，在假扮的兩個禮拜時間裡，她卻意外愛上了她的室友頓克 ……

She's The Man Trailer

3.      吾愛吾師(To Sir, With Love, 1967)      

-is a 1967 Technicolor British drama film that deals with social and racial issues in an  inner-city  school. It stars Sidney Poitier  and features  Christian Roberts ,  Judy Geeson ,  Suzy Kendall  and singer  Lulu  making her film debut.  James Clavell directed from his own screenplay, which was based on  E. R. Braithwaite 's  semi-autobiographical 1959 novel   To Sir, With Love .

工程師出身的馬克奉派到倫敦東區一所中學教授一群頑劣的學生，由於他仍想擔任工程師之職，因而只打算做短期的教學，他對學生最大的要求便是：不分種族、男女皆要彼此尊重；後來不可避免地，馬克還是介入了學生們的生活，在他不斷地付出愛心與耐心後，學生們對這位黑人老師也產生了感情，但是當馬克嚮往的工程師職位有著落後，他會決定留下來照顧學生，還是接受新職位呢？

To Sir, With Love

* Death be Not Proud —John Donne

Death, be not proud, though some have called thee

Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;

For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow

Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.

From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,

Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow,

And soonest our best men with thee do go,

Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery.

Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,

And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,

And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well

And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou then?

One short sleep past, we wake eternally

And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.

John Donne