最近在怒插港女的blog中，曾經對一篇文章留下這樣的comment：一篇文章如果除作者以外無人能懂，到底是作者溝通能力差言不及義，還是讀者理解力差、水平太低呢？
我寫這段comment的時候，固然有影射該篇文鬆散的意思，但這個問題當時是open-end question，沒有結論。而往後博主跟網友間的其他討論，已經令這個問題失去原來的意義。所以接下來想講的，已經跟怒插那邊無關。
大學電影課的美術評論和影評相當深澀難明，尤其一涉及近代美術就更嚴重。這些文章的作者對讀者有很多前設：例如假設讀者已經明白某種電影理論、假設讀者看過某幾套藝術電影甚至假設讀者是某個年代的人(例如文章寫於70年代，越戰是「時事」，自然就不多作解釋)
當然，這些文章刊登在文化雜誌或學術期刊，對像早已不是尋常百姓，是能夠硬啃學術火星文的學究和專業文化人，甚至可能不用那種程度的文字，就無法作深層的討論。
我認為寫文章如非必要，應以簡單易明有趣至上，文字無非是傳理手段一種，作者當然有責任顧及讀者的能力和感受，讀者看不懂也是作者的過失，因為文章發佈的方式渠道多少都受作者控制，你在快周刊談量子力學大家看不懂或不感興趣，是你選錯媒介，總不成怪讀者們膚淺無腦。
還記得有一次在明報讀影評，讀到某電影大師的專欄，內文大意是：「啊！(某大師的名字)我實在要向你告解，我沒有把你和(大師A)、(大師B)、(大師C)一起相提並論。你跟那些(某東歐小國)的電影大師相比，一點也不失禮！...下略數百內容相近的文字」
當時心中第一個反應是：屌！厄稿費，因為每個乜乜物物夫司機的名字加起來，的確可以輕鬆佔去四五十字。第二個反應是，假如我未聽過任何一位大師的名字，這篇文章基本上和火星文沒有兩樣。除了極少數別有用心的藝術電影史狂徒外(相信人數少於30人)，香港絕大多數讀者都只會看到火星文。
這位電影人曾經講過藝術電影難以在香港普及，他的指控字裡行間儘是指香港文化如何膚淺沒深度、香港人又怎樣被感官刺激娛樂蒙蔽了眼睛耳朵云云。大佬，你照照鏡，自己寫的電影專欄文章，講的又是不是人話呢？
本來我也認為看不懂這位前輩的深晦文字是自己問題，但先後讀了兩本梁文道書話，才發現新詩、文學、人類學等悶到爆的東西，原來可以很有趣又顯淺易明的。
梁道長和電影高人的分別在於：道長以最有趣的角度，勾起大家對主題的好奇心引起共鳴，而電影高人的文字是一道道的門檻，閒人與狗不得內進。果然，電影高人的自証預言再度應驗，他在日月報最後一個面向廣大讀者的地盤都被砍掉了，何苦呢？
2 則留言:
那麼你覺得我算唔算火星人?
Oh I was going to post a comment on here yesterday but the computer crashed just before I finished typing!
Anyway, just want to say that there are lots of pretentious art snobs in the West also, so it's not just a HK phenomenon (I guess wherever there are people there will always be a snob or two among them). But I guess the saving grace is that over here we have lots of mechanisms that allow for more genuine engagement between the general public and the arts. Apart from well-established galleries and art museums (generously funded from the public bourse in addition to private philanthropy), there are also public service programming on mainstream TV channels that periodically feature art and design, discussing not only the works of the old masters but also the contribution from contemporary artists. There are also specialist 24 hour channels devoted to art in all its forms, such as SkyArts, and art features regularly in the broadsheet newspapers, there are special arts correspondents that report on cultural events, so there are lots of outlets for art and design that a curious mind can indulge in with little to no effort.
In fact, the idea that art is an elitist pursuit has been turned on its head most recently by the UK artist Anthony Gormley's One and Other project, in which he invited members of the public to become "living statues" and occupy the fourth plinth in London's Trafalgar Square for an hour each, running 24/7 for several weeks. The project has been running for a week or so now and you can see updates of it on here: http://www.oneandother.co.uk/
A lot of times I think what HK needs is not just the presence of high quality exhibitions, but a genuinely curious audience. This audience doesn't have to be "high quality", doesn't need to have read art history, but they need to be genuinely interested in ideas and expressions, something I think is sadly lacking in HK, a city too driven by materialist consumption. Inculcating an appreciation of art and humanities from a very young age would help, but despite (or perhaps because of) the efforts of go-getting ambitious parents, HK kids sadly rarely have the opportunity to see and experience art, let alone learn to appreciate them. For example I don't recall ever being sent on a school tour to an art gallery when I was a primary school pupil in HK, although there were numerous occasions when we went on hiking tours or went to visit some historic sites. And whilst there are lots of extracurricular classes that teach youngsters how to draw and how to paint; it's just a shame that few classes exist that teach youngsters how to appreciate art as a medium of expression and communication, or why some artists and some artworks are particularly important because of the ideas that they bring to express the human condition and new ways of seeing the world. It is especially sad that art is being portrayed as this elitist pursuit when modern art from its very inception has been about breaking free from such societal constraints and bourgeois expectations all along.
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