《我是布萊克》

1.肯·洛奇電影新作《我是布萊克》的成功及其引發的爭議

肯·洛奇（Kenneth/“Ken” Loach， 1936— ），是當代英國為數不多的關注下層社會小人物和貧困現象的獨立現實主義導演[另一位則是邁克爾·李（Michael Leigh）]。他的電影以批判不公正的英國社會來映射他的社會主義政治理想，導演風格則是新現實主義的，例如反映小人物的日常生活、喜怒哀樂和他們在英國社會遭受的不公正待遇，使用非職業演員即興出演他們本身的角色等。在長達半個世紀的導演生涯中，洛奇拍攝了許多現實主義佳作，并獲獎無數，成為在國際上最有聲望的英國導演之一，例如其反映愛爾蘭獨立運動的影片《風吹麥浪》（2006）和《我是布萊克》（2016）為他先后兩次贏得了戛納電影節金棕櫚獎。作為社會活動家，洛奇認為英國政府制定的領取社會福利的嚴苛規定極具卡夫卡式的荒謬和第22條軍規*般的自相矛盾，旨在辱沒申領者的尊嚴，迫使他們放棄應得的福利。

Kenneth Charles Loach is an English director of television and independent film. He is known for his socially critical directing style and for his socialist ideals， which are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as poverty， homelessness and labour rights. Loachs film Kes（《小孩與鷹》，1969）was voted the seventh greatest British film of the 20th century in a poll by the British Film Institute. Two of his films， The Wind That Shakes the Barley（《風吹麥浪》，2006）and I， Daniel Blake（《我是布萊克》，2016）received the Palme dO（金棕櫚獎）at the Cannes Film Festival， making him the ninth filmmaker to win the award twice. Loach， a social campaigner for most of his career， believes the current criteria for claimingbenefits in the UK are “a Kafka-esque， Catch 22 situation designed to frustrate and humiliate the claimant（申領者） to such an extent that they drop out of the system and stop pursuing their right to ask for support if necessary”.

洛奇的新作《我是布萊克》自上映以來獲得了觀眾和影評界的贊賞和好評，也斬獲了多個重要的國際獎項，例如2016年戛納電影節金棕櫚獎和2016年洛迦諾國際電影節觀眾選擇大獎。《我是布萊克》在票房上也取得了成功，成為50年來洛奇在英國票房最高的影片，在全球獲得了1，245萬美元的票房收入。影片講述了木工布萊克（Blake）因心臟病被社區醫生斷定不適合繼續工作但卻在申領工作困難補助費時遭到刁難和拒絕而不幸死去的故事，并同時描述了英國單親媽媽凱蒂（Katie）因貧困而不得不賣身的悲慘景象。影片也因此引發了英國右派（保守黨）和左派（工黨）政治家對英國福利制度的有關機制（主要是失業和貧困救濟方面）的爭論。

I， Daniel Blake became Ken Loachs biggest success at the UK box office， especially as the film sparked（引發）debate in the country. There has been a wide variety of both praise and criticism of the film from politicians. Former Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith criticised the film for its unfair portrayal of Job centre staff（就業服務中心的工作人員）， saying： “This idea that everybody is out to crunch（壓碎，打擊）you， I think it has really hurt Job centre staff who dont see themselves as that.” Conversely， Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn（工黨領袖科爾賓）appeared at the films London premiere（首映式）with the director， then subsequently praised the film on his Facebook page. In a session of Prime Ministers Questions（首相在下議院接受議員質詢的時間）on 2 November 2016， he advised Prime Minister Theresa May（英國首相特蕾莎·梅）to watch the film， as he criticised the fairness of the welfare system.

2.英國的福利制度設計——有關失業和貧困福利申領的規定

1948年12月10日，成立不久的聯合國大會通過了世界人權宣言（Universal Declaration of Human Rights），其中第22項條款規定世界上的每個人作為社會成員擁有社會保障（Social Security）的權利，包括經濟、社會和文化方面的權利，尤其是弱勢群體（例如兒童、老人、病人和失業者）獲取充足食物和住所以及醫療保健的權利。這些權利是個人尊嚴和自由發展所不可或缺的。當然，這只是聯合國對理想人權狀態目標的描述，需要國際合作以及每個國家人民的努力才能變成現實。

Everyone， as a member of society， has the right to social security and is entitled to（有……的資格）the economic， social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity realization. Social security may also refer to the action programs of government intended to promote the welfare of the population through assistance measures guaranteeing access to sufficient resources for food and shelter and to promote health and well-being for the population at large and potentially vulnerable segments such as children， the elderly， the sick and the unemployed.

英國是西方最早建立福利制度的國家，涵蓋了醫療、教育、就業、住房和社會保障各個方面，尤其以“國民保健”制度（免費醫療）著稱于世。然而隨著人均壽命的延長和老齡化的加劇，英國的福利支出大幅增加，使財政入不敷出。在主張自由市場經濟的保守黨主政時期，英國政府通常采取緊縮財政支出、減稅和削減有關福利的政策來刺激經濟增長，使得英國社會的貧富分化加劇，低收入和失業人群的生活水平大幅下降。另外，為防止“福利依賴”癥，政府規定福利申領需要經過復雜而漫長的審核評估過程，尤其是對工作困難補助申領和喪失勞動能力救濟申領的要求頗為嚴格。

The welfare state of the United Kingdom comprises expenditures（支出）by the government intended to improve health， education， employment and social security. Employment and Support Allowance（ESA，工作困難補助費）is the welfare benefit designed to give financial support to people having difficulty finding a job because of a long-term illness or disability， and to help them get back to work despite their disability. The test used to gauge（測量）eligibility（資格）for ESA， the Work Capability Assessment（WCA，工作能力評估）， has been strongly criticised over its accuracy and the way the assessments have been carried out. WCA was issued by the British Governments Department for Work and Pensions （DWP） to decide whether jobless welfare claimants are entitled to sickness benefits. A medical assessor（評估者）gives the DWP a description of the claimants disabilities and a recommendation on their work capability， after which the claimant is put into one of the three categories：

* Fit for work

* Unfit for work but fit for “work-related activity”

* Unfit for work and unfit for “work-related activity”

A civil servant（公務員）uses this report， plus any other relevant information they have， to decide on entitlement to Employment and Support Allowance， and on whether a successful claimant will be required to take part in “work-related activity”.

失業救濟申領程序和要求則更為嚴格，申領者必須參加有關求職培訓并證明自己在幾個月的時間里一直在積極尋找工作而不果，也就是說并非自己的主觀原因而是確實找不到工作，才能獲得失業救濟。影片中的布萊克正是在“工作困難補助費”與“失業救濟費”申領的環節中被有關機構來回踢皮球而陷入貧困的。

Jobseekers Allowance （JSA） is a form of unemployment benefit paid by the government to people who are unemployed and actively seeking work. It is part of the social security benefits system and is intended to cover living expenses while the claimant is out of work. To be eligible for（符合……的條件）JSA， claimants must state that they are actively seeking work by filling in a Jobseekers Agreement form and attending a New Jobseeker interview （NJI）. They must also go to a Job Centre every two weeks to “sign on”（簽到，報到）， that is， to certify（證明）that they are still actively seeking work.

此外，對于衣食住行均無保障的貧困人群，英國的福利制度還通過一些機制（例如，無家可歸者庇護所homeless shelters和食物銀行food bank）提供最低限度的保障，以免這些人群陷入食不果腹、流離失所的境地。但通常這些貧困人群的尊嚴和羞恥感使他們只有在萬不得已時才訴諸這些機制。另外，對于那些連喪葬費都出不起的窮人，地方社區也提供最基本的喪葬服務，被稱作“乞丐葬禮”（paupers funeral）。這些概念和機制在《我是布萊克》中都有提及或涉及。

Homeless shelters， also referred to as “Rescue Missions”， are a type of homeless service agency（代理機構）which provides temporary residence for homeless individuals and families. A food bank or foodbank is a non-profit， charitable organization（慈善組織）that distributes（分發）food to those who have difficulty purchasing enough food. In the UK， a paupers funeral was a funeral for a pauper paid for under the poor law（濟貧法）. The phrase is still sometimes used both in the UK and some Commonwealth countries（英聯邦國家）to describe a public health funeral （or equivalent service outside the UK）， a basic burial（葬禮）paid for by the local authority when the estate（家庭）of the deceased person（死者）or the relatives of the deceased person do not have sufficient funds to cover the cost.

3. 《我是布萊克》故事情節

Widower Daniel Blake， a 59-year-old joiner（制作門窗等的細木工）living in Newcastle， has had a heart attack at work. Though his cardiologist（心臟病科醫師）has advised him not to return to work， Daniel is deemed（被判定）fit to do so after a work capability assessment and denied（被拒絕）employment and support allowance. He is frustrated to learn that his doctor was not contacted about the decision， and applies for an appeal（上訴）， a process he finds difficult because he is not computer literate（不會使用電腦）.

Daniel befriends a single mother， Katie， after she is sanctioned（受到懲罰）for arriving late for a job centre appointment. Katie and her children have moved to Newcastle from a London homeless persons hostel， with no affordable accommodation available in the capital. Daniel helps the family by repairing objects， teaching them how to heat rooms without electricity， and crafting wooden toys for the children.

During a visit to a food bank， Katie is overcome by hunger and breaks down（精神崩潰）. After she is caught shoplifting（在商店里順手牽羊）， a security guard offers her work as an escort（應召女郎，暗娼）. Daniel surprises her at the brothel（妓院）， where he begs her to give up the job， but she tearfully insists that she has no choice.

As a condition for receiving jobseekers allowance， Daniel searches for work on an industrial estate（工業廠房）. He is offered a job in a scrap yard（廢品堆放場）， but has to turn it down for health reasons. Without money， he begins to go hungry.

When Daniels work coach tells him he must work harder to find a job， angry Daniel spray paints（用噴漆噴涂）“I， Daniel Blake， demand my appeal date before I starve”on the building of the job center. He gets the support of passersby， including other benefits claimants， but is arrested and given a police warning. Daniel sells most of his belongings and becomes withdrawn（離群索居）.

On the day of Daniels appeal， Katie accompanies him to court. A welfare adviser tells Daniel that his case looks sound（合理的，可靠的）. On glimpsing the judge and doctor who will decide his case， Daniel becomes anxious and visits the lavatory（廁所）， where he suffers a fatal heart attack. At his “paupers funeral”， Katie reads the eulogy（悼詞）， including a speech Daniel had intended to read at his appeal. Daniels speech describes his feelings about how the welfare system failed him， treating him like a number and not a man who was proud to say he had paid his dues（應付的稅費）to society.

4. 《我是布萊克》精彩臺詞

A. At the CV（簡歷）Training Class

CV Teacher： Ten seconds. Ten short seconds. Thats how much a typical employer spends flipping through（翻看，過濾） a CV. Fact. Sixty applications for every low-skilled job. Fact. For a skilled job， its twenty to one. Fact. Costa Coffee advertised eight jobs. Do you know how many applications they got from that？ Over 1，300. Fact. So， what does that mean？

Blake： （murmuring） We should all be drinking a lot more bloody coffee. CV Teacher： Yeah， do you want share that with us？ Blake： I said， we should all be drinking a lot more bloody coffee then.

CV Teacher： This is serious business and people have only got one shot（只有一次機會）at this， all right？

Blake： Well if you can count， its obvious. Theres not enough jobs. Fact.

B. Katies Eulogy at the “Paupers Funeral” for Daniel Blake

Erm…They call this a “paupers funeral” because its the cheapest slot（教堂最便宜的時段）， at 9：00. But Dan wasnt a pauper to us. He gave us things that money cant buy. When he died， I found this on him. He always used to write in pencil. Erm…And he wanted to read it at his appeal but he never got the chance to. And I swear that this lovely man， had so much more to give， and the State drove him to an early grave. This is what he wrote：“Im not a client， a customer， nor a service user. Im not a shirker（偷懶的人）， a scrounger（拾荒者）， a beggar， nor a thief. Im not a National Insurance Number（國民保險卡號）or blip（光點）on a screen. I paid my dues， never a penny short（從不短一分一毫）， and proud to do so. I dont tug the forelock（崇拜別人）， but look my neighbor in the eye and help him if I can. I dont accept or seek charity. My name is Daniel Blake. I am a man， not a dog. As such（因此）， I demand my rights. I demand you treat me with respect. I， Daniel Blake， am a citizen， nothing more and nothing less（僅此而已）.” Thank you.