寓言〇｜冈田利规：失能魔毯
2016年2月参观东京都现代美术馆（MOT）时，《“东京”—感知都市文化熔岩》（"TOKYO"－Sensing the Cultural Magma of the Metropolis）是在展项目之一。展览中让我印象最为深刻的一部分叫做《失能魔毯》（Dis-functional Magic Capet），由日本剧作家冈田利规（Toshiki Okada）和艺术家小金沢健人（Takehito Koganezawa）共同完成。冈田为此创作了一则关于东京的寓言，将这座城市视为一条在传说中失去飞行能力的魔法飞毯。
寓言本身十分有趣，先行分享。中文部分是根据展览照片拼凑整理并自行翻译的，有小部分缺失。文末附英文文本。
“剧作家冈田利规将东京的独特性视为一种性早熟，这个城市在表面上青春活力，内部却在不停老去。日本歌唱团体Pizzicato Five是九〇年代日本涉谷系音乐的经典代表，受其作品《魔毯之旅》（Magic Carpet Ride）的启发，冈田创作了一则关于东京的寓言，将这个城市视为一条曾经可以凌云驰天但现在已永远失能的魔毯。艺术家小金沢健人的画作为寓言'东京魔毯'提供了视觉呈现，虚构了一个从八〇年代至今已经消亡的传说中的东京。"——策展人语
文 / 冈田利规
我听说，这曾经是一条有魔力的地毯。
曾几何时你可以乘上它，想飞多高就飞多高，想飞多远就飞多远。在那个时候，它让人们享受终极的乐趣。当然，只有很小一部分的特权者才能真正凌云骋天。尽管如此，传说中所有的人，包括那些过着平凡生活的普通人，都觉得自己好像真的骑在魔毯上。人们听真正飞行过的人讲述自己的经历或阅读他们的故事，借此重新体验这种感受并以此为乐。凝视着那条从天空中飞过的魔毯，那种感觉几乎和坐在上面是一样的；从飞行的魔毯上所看到的一切景象都似乎在闪闪发光。
几乎任何一个因魔毯而生活得兴高采烈的人都没去多想它到底为什么能飞起来；只有少数人在担心它有一天会无法飞翔。这样的担忧没人当真，只被一笑了之。然而，魔毯却逐渐开始失去飞行的能力，而且没人知道原因。后来有一天，它就突然再也飞不起来了。
[部分内容缺失]……有人宣称魔毯突然恢复了它的魔力。听到这个消息，人们惊喜万分。不过不同来源的报道很快就出现了，声称最初的新闻是错误的；但没有人把这则新消息当真。然而，大量证据的出现证实了新消息的可靠性，一大批人很快就被说服了。在那个时候，人们常常意见一致；但现在他们的理解和想法都产生了分歧，这主要是因为报道之间存在差异。
困惑接踵而至。很多人觉得那个时代的困惑已经世代承接，传至今日了。我们这些生于所谓摩登时代、远离魔毯事件的人，完全无法让自己相信这是一个会飞的地毯。老实说，我们甚至很难想象曾经会有人相信这样的事情。
I’m told that this was once a magic carpet.
There was a time when you could get on it and fly as high and as far as you wanted. In those days, it gave the people the ultimate high. Understandably, only a very small, privileged few were able to actually fly around the skies. Despite this, however, tradition tells that everyone, including the commoners lived their day-to-day lives feeling as if they were riding on the carpet. People were able to enjoy reliving the experience by listening to the stories of the selected few who actually flew on it, or by reading their accounts. Gazing upon the carpet as it flew through the air was almost the same as flying on it. Everything in the vista seen from the flying carpet appeared to shine.
Hardly any of the people living in the midst of high spirits caused by the magic carpet gave much thought at all to what principle might explain how it could fly. Only a small minority were concerned that a day might come when it would be unable to fly. Such worries were not taken seriously, but simply laughed away. Nevertheless, the carpet gradually began to lose its ability to fly, although no one knew why. Then one day, it suddenly was no longer able to fly at all.
This led to a… [partially missing]…announced that the carpet had suddenly recovered its magic ability to fly. Hearing this news, the people were filled with joy and excitement. But then, soon afterwards, another report from a different source circulated stating that the original announcement was wrong, but no one took the new report seriously. However, a large body of evidence emerged attesting to its credibility, and before long a surprising number of people were convinced. In those days, people generally held the same views, but now their understanding and thinking diverged， substantially due to the discrepancy between the reports.
Confusion ensued. Many feel the confusion of that time has been passed down the years and is still with us today. We, who were born long after this series of events occurred and live in a world referred to as modern times, simply cannot bring ourselves to see this as a flying carpet. To be honest, it is hard to even imagine that there were once people who believed in such things.
寓言本身十分有趣，先行分享。中文部分是根据展览照片拼凑整理并自行翻译的，有小部分缺失。文末附英文文本。
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“剧作家冈田利规将东京的独特性视为一种性早熟，这个城市在表面上青春活力，内部却在不停老去。日本歌唱团体Pizzicato Five是九〇年代日本涉谷系音乐的经典代表，受其作品《魔毯之旅》（Magic Carpet Ride）的启发，冈田创作了一则关于东京的寓言，将这个城市视为一条曾经可以凌云驰天但现在已永远失能的魔毯。艺术家小金沢健人的画作为寓言'东京魔毯'提供了视觉呈现，虚构了一个从八〇年代至今已经消亡的传说中的东京。"——策展人语
文 / 冈田利规
我听说，这曾经是一条有魔力的地毯。
曾几何时你可以乘上它，想飞多高就飞多高，想飞多远就飞多远。在那个时候，它让人们享受终极的乐趣。当然，只有很小一部分的特权者才能真正凌云骋天。尽管如此，传说中所有的人，包括那些过着平凡生活的普通人，都觉得自己好像真的骑在魔毯上。人们听真正飞行过的人讲述自己的经历或阅读他们的故事，借此重新体验这种感受并以此为乐。凝视着那条从天空中飞过的魔毯，那种感觉几乎和坐在上面是一样的；从飞行的魔毯上所看到的一切景象都似乎在闪闪发光。
几乎任何一个因魔毯而生活得兴高采烈的人都没去多想它到底为什么能飞起来；只有少数人在担心它有一天会无法飞翔。这样的担忧没人当真，只被一笑了之。然而，魔毯却逐渐开始失去飞行的能力，而且没人知道原因。后来有一天，它就突然再也飞不起来了。
[部分内容缺失]……有人宣称魔毯突然恢复了它的魔力。听到这个消息，人们惊喜万分。不过不同来源的报道很快就出现了，声称最初的新闻是错误的；但没有人把这则新消息当真。然而，大量证据的出现证实了新消息的可靠性，一大批人很快就被说服了。在那个时候，人们常常意见一致；但现在他们的理解和想法都产生了分歧，这主要是因为报道之间存在差异。
困惑接踵而至。很多人觉得那个时代的困惑已经世代承接，传至今日了。我们这些生于所谓摩登时代、远离魔毯事件的人，完全无法让自己相信这是一个会飞的地毯。老实说，我们甚至很难想象曾经会有人相信这样的事情。
 |
I’m told that this was once a magic carpet.
There was a time when you could get on it and fly as high and as far as you wanted. In those days, it gave the people the ultimate high. Understandably, only a very small, privileged few were able to actually fly around the skies. Despite this, however, tradition tells that everyone, including the commoners lived their day-to-day lives feeling as if they were riding on the carpet. People were able to enjoy reliving the experience by listening to the stories of the selected few who actually flew on it, or by reading their accounts. Gazing upon the carpet as it flew through the air was almost the same as flying on it. Everything in the vista seen from the flying carpet appeared to shine.
Hardly any of the people living in the midst of high spirits caused by the magic carpet gave much thought at all to what principle might explain how it could fly. Only a small minority were concerned that a day might come when it would be unable to fly. Such worries were not taken seriously, but simply laughed away. Nevertheless, the carpet gradually began to lose its ability to fly, although no one knew why. Then one day, it suddenly was no longer able to fly at all.
This led to a… [partially missing]…announced that the carpet had suddenly recovered its magic ability to fly. Hearing this news, the people were filled with joy and excitement. But then, soon afterwards, another report from a different source circulated stating that the original announcement was wrong, but no one took the new report seriously. However, a large body of evidence emerged attesting to its credibility, and before long a surprising number of people were convinced. In those days, people generally held the same views, but now their understanding and thinking diverged， substantially due to the discrepancy between the reports.
Confusion ensued. Many feel the confusion of that time has been passed down the years and is still with us today. We, who were born long after this series of events occurred and live in a world referred to as modern times, simply cannot bring ourselves to see this as a flying carpet. To be honest, it is hard to even imagine that there were once people who believed in such things.
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Manuelalala 转发了这篇日记 2022-01-27 07:37:44
