《我是布莱克》

1.肯·洛奇电影新作《我是布莱克》的成功及其引发的争议

肯·洛奇（Kenneth/“Ken” Loach， 1936— ），是当代英国为数不多的关注下层社会小人物和贫困现象的独立现实主义导演[另一位则是迈克尔·李（Michael Leigh）]。他的电影以批判不公正的英国社会来映射他的社会主义政治理想，导演风格则是新现实主义的，例如反映小人物的日常生活、喜怒哀乐和他们在英国社会遭受的不公正待遇，使用非职业演员即兴出演他们本身的角色等。在长达半个世纪的导演生涯中，洛奇拍摄了许多现实主义佳作，并获奖无数，成为在国际上最有声望的英国导演之一，例如其反映爱尔兰独立运动的影片《风吹麦浪》（2006）和《我是布莱克》（2016）为他先后两次赢得了戛纳电影节金棕榈奖。作为社会活动家，洛奇认为英国政府制定的领取社会福利的严苛规定极具卡夫卡式的荒谬和第22条军规*般的自相矛盾，旨在辱没申领者的尊严，迫使他们放弃应得的福利。

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（《小孩与鹰》，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（《风吹麦浪》，2006）and I， Daniel Blake（《我是布莱克》，2016）received the Palme dO（金棕榈奖）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（申领者） 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《我是布莱克》自上映以来获得了观众和影评界的赞赏和好评，也斩获了多个重要的国际奖项，例如2016年戛纳电影节金棕榈奖和2016年洛迦诺国际电影节观众选择大奖。《我是布莱克》在票房上也取得了成功，成为50年来洛奇在英国票房最高的影片，在全球获得了1，245万美元的票房收入。影片讲述了木工布莱克（Blake）因心脏病被社区医生断定不适合继续工作但却在申领工作困难补助费时遭到刁难和拒绝而不幸死去的故事，并同时描述了英国单亲妈妈凯蒂（Katie）因贫困而不得不卖身的悲惨景象。影片也因此引发了英国右派（保守党）和左派（工党）政治家对英国福利制度的有关机制（主要是失业和贫困救济方面）的争论。

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（就业服务中心的工作人员）， saying： “This idea that everybody is out to crunch（压碎，打击）you， I think it has really hurt Job centre staff who dont see themselves as that.” Conversely， Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn（工党领袖科尔宾）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（首相在下议院接受议员质询的时间）on 2 November 2016， he advised Prime Minister Theresa May（英国首相特蕾莎·梅）to watch the film， as he criticised the fairness of the welfare system.

2.英国的福利制度设计——有关失业和贫困福利申领的规定

1948年12月10日，成立不久的联合国大会通过了世界人权宣言（Universal Declaration of Human Rights），其中第22项条款规定世界上的每个人作为社会成员拥有社会保障（Social Security）的权利，包括经济、社会和文化方面的权利，尤其是弱势群体（例如儿童、老人、病人和失业者）获取充足食物和住所以及医疗保健的权利。这些权利是个人尊严和自由发展所不可或缺的。当然，这只是联合国对理想人权状态目标的描述，需要国际合作以及每个国家人民的努力才能变成现实。

Everyone， as a member of society， has the right to social security and is entitled to（有……的资格）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国家，涵盖了医疗、教育、就业、住房和社会保障各个方面，尤其以“国民保健”制度（免费医疗）著称于世。然而随着人均寿命的延长和老龄化的加剧，英国的福利支出大幅增加，使财政入不敷出。在主张自由市场经济的保守党主政时期，英国政府通常采取紧缩财政支出、减税和削减有关福利的政策来刺激经济增长，使得英国社会的贫富分化加剧，低收入和失业人群的生活水平大幅下降。另外，为防止“福利依赖”症，政府规定福利申领需要经过复杂而漫长的审核评估过程，尤其是对工作困难补助申领和丧失劳动能力救济申领的要求颇为严格。

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，工作困难补助费）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（测量）eligibility（资格）for ESA， the Work Capability Assessment（WCA，工作能力评估）， 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（评估者）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（公务员）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”.

失业救济申领程序和要求则更为严格，申领者必须参加有关求职培训并证明自己在几个月的时间里一直在积极寻找工作而不果，也就是说并非自己的主观原因而是确实找不到工作，才能获得失业救济。影片中的布莱克正是在“工作困难补助费”与“失业救济费”申领的环节中被有关机构来回踢皮球而陷入贫困的。

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……的条件）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”（签到，报到）， that is， to certify（证明）that they are still actively seeking work.

此外，对于衣食住行均无保障的贫困人群，英国的福利制度还通过一些机制（例如，无家可归者庇护所homeless shelters和食物银行food bank）提供最低限度的保障，以免这些人群陷入食不果腹、流离失所的境地。但通常这些贫困人群的尊严和羞耻感使他们只有在万不得已时才訴诸这些机制。另外，对于那些连丧葬费都出不起的穷人，地方社区也提供最基本的丧葬服务，被称作“乞丐葬礼”（paupers funeral）。这些概念和机制在《我是布莱克》中都有提及或涉及。

Homeless shelters， also referred to as “Rescue Missions”， are a type of homeless service agency（代理机构）which provides temporary residence for homeless individuals and families. A food bank or foodbank is a non-profit， charitable organization（慈善组织）that distributes（分发）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（济贫法）. The phrase is still sometimes used both in the UK and some Commonwealth countries（英联邦国家）to describe a public health funeral （or equivalent service outside the UK）， a basic burial（葬礼）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. 《我是布莱克》故事情节

Widower Daniel Blake， a 59-year-old joiner（制作门窗等的细木工）living in Newcastle， has had a heart attack at work. Though his cardiologist（心脏病科医师）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（被拒绝）employment and support allowance. He is frustrated to learn that his doctor was not contacted about the decision， and applies for an appeal（上诉）， a process he finds difficult because he is not computer literate（不会使用电脑）.

Daniel befriends a single mother， Katie， after she is sanctioned（受到惩罚）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（精神崩溃）. After she is caught shoplifting（在商店里顺手牵羊）， a security guard offers her work as an escort（应召女郎，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（工业厂房）. He is offered a job in a scrap yard（废品堆放场）， 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（用喷漆喷涂）“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（离群索居）.

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（厕所）， where he suffers a fatal heart attack. At his “paupers funeral”， Katie reads the eulogy（悼词）， 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（应付的税费）to society.

4. 《我是布莱克》精彩台词

A. At the CV（简历）Training Class

CV Teacher： Ten seconds. Ten short seconds. Thats how much a typical employer spends flipping through（翻看，過滤） 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（只有一次机会）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（教堂最便宜的时段）， 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（偷懒的人）， a scrounger（拾荒者）， a beggar， nor a thief. Im not a National Insurance Number（国民保险卡号）or blip（光点）on a screen. I paid my dues， never a penny short（从不短一分一毫）， and proud to do so. I dont tug the forelock（崇拜别人）， 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（仅此而已）.” Thank you.