從各種意義上，Koenig Books於2013年出版的Birds of Paradise: Costume as Cinematic Spectacle是我見過其中一本最美的書。
這本書有著一個極為優美的主題：電影發展初期，電影裡的服裝如何構成從未有人見過，如夢境一般的映像。
波特萊爾是其中一個最早在作品中討論現代生活的作家。他認為時尚和服裝迷人之處，在於時尚幾乎是「理想」這個詞語的定義，一種輕輕啃咬著人類思想，永遠不能滿足的慾求。
波特萊爾逝世後28年，1895年12月28日，盧米埃兄弟在巴黎卡普辛大道十四號的Salon Indien du Grand Café放映十齣電影，次年將電影帶到布魯塞爾、孟買、倫敦、蒙特尼爾、紐約、布宜諾斯艾利斯，正式展開一個新的時代。
一個人類共同做夢的時代。
1890年代，一種稱為「蛇形舞」（Serpentine Dance）的舞蹈風行北美與歐洲大陸。作為對學院派芭蕾的反抗，蛇形舞的創始者Loïe Fuller偶然發現舞臺光線穿透薄紗裙時，會在地面投下的美麗的影子，並依此創作出這種充滿力量的舞蹈。舞者穿上數百碼由中國絲綢造成的舞服，雙手執著裙擺，像波浪一樣舞動著，形態令人想起花、雲、雀鳥和蝴蝶。
蛇形舞作為當時的「時代精神」（zeitgeist）的化身，吸引了剛發展的電影技術。電影技術的出現是為了回應一種捕捉一連串完整動作的需要，蛇形舞靈動敏捷的舞步正好讓電影表達了這種媒介的力量，展示了電影如何捕捉、複製了動作的美感和靈光。
在YouTube上，可以找到這些在一百多年前拍攝的蛇形舞短片。舞者隱沒在舞服的波浪中，一瞬間顯露臉孔，然後又消失在舞服中。這些影片吸引觀眾的，也許是這種遮蔽與揭露的觀看經驗。我們一再重複觀看的，是一個未完成的視覺雕塑，在影片中持續地重組、解構、再重構自身。
1910年代，女吸血鬼的電影非常受歡迎。女吸血鬼身穿各種詭異浮誇的戲服，塑造一種異國風情的想像，游走於危險和挑釁的邊界。在1920年代的Jazz Age，一種摩登女性的形象開始出現在電影中，開啟了以電影主導的消費主義時代，觀影者跟隨電影角色的品味，購買當時風潮的個人物品、家俱和汽車等。
這自然引起學術界的批評，例如以阿多諾（Theodor W. Adorno）為首的法蘭克福學派，就建基於對大眾媒介和消費文化的批評上。然而，對我來說，正是電影，才讓我們開始真正面對物質和風景。
假如回到電影尚未存在的世界，世界的物質都會隨著時間而消逝，無論是食物、衣服、石頭或是肉體；而我們見過的風景，也必將消逝。電影出現以後，拍攝下人類的動作和故事，拍下了物件和風景。所隱含的意思就是，我們做過的事，我們見過、觸碰過的東西，是可以以某種形式被保留下來的。在那一刻開始，彷彿我們才第一次真正看見這個世界，才真正看出物質本來就蘊含的豐富語言。
電影作為一種媒體，它從一開始就不只是「特別的機器」，而是一種觀看世界的方式。透過電影，我們獲得一種看見這個世界的方式。很少藝術形式像電影一樣，有如此清晰的發展脈絡，可以一直追溯至形式的源頭；很少藝術形式如此深刻、全面地連結人類，塑造了我們的視覺神經和記憶形式。翻看電影片單時，就像翻閱人類的記憶數據庫一樣。
1982年的康城影展期間，德國導演Wim Wenders邀請了另外幾位導演，包括尚盧高達、韋納荷索、史提芬史匹堡等到Hotel Martinez的666號房，坐在一臺電視機旁邊，回答幾題問題。其中一條是這樣的：「電影是否即將失落的語言？一種即將死亡的藝術？」
尚盧高達回答：「我們終須離開，我終將一死。」安東尼奧尼說：「我想我們要轉換自己成為新人類，以適應新科技，並不是很困難的事。」
在手上拿著一臺智能手機就能看電影的時代，是不是如同David Lynch所說，用IPHONE看電影看一兆年，也得不到電影的感覺呢？也許答案不是如此負面的，但我的確懷念在近乎黑暗的空間中，凝視著發光銀幕的時刻，那種介乎存在與不存在之間的感覺。
以及離開電影院以後，那種稍稍離心的飄浮感。
心裡非常乾淨，彷彿重新降生於世一樣。
Published by Koenig Books in 2013, Birds of Paradise: Costume as Cinematic Spectacle, is, in every sense, one of the most beautiful books I have ever read.
It centers on an extremely elegant theme — how costumes created dream-like spectacles that no one had ever seen before in the early days of cinema.
One of the pioneers who explored the various concepts of modern life was a man named Baudelaire. He suggested that fashion and clothing are fascinating in a sense that fashion is almost the very definition of “ideal”. It is a desire that constantly weighs on the human mind and can never be satisfied.
On 28 December 1895, twenty-eight years after Baudelaire’s passing, the Lumière brothers held a film screening at the Salon Indien du Grand Café at 14 Avenue Capucine in Paris. The ten films that were shown on that day were subsequently brought to Brussels, Mumbai, London, Montreal, New York, and Buenos Aires in the following year, marking the beginning of a new era.
An era in which mankind dreams together.
In the 1890s, a form of dance called “serpentine dance” grew out of a rebellion against the “academic” forms of ballet and became popular throughout North America and Europe. Loïe Fuller, the founder of this dance form, developed the dance by chance when she accidentally discovered that the stage light cast on the gauze fabric of a costume would produce beautiful shadows on the ground. During the serpentine dance, the dancers wear costumes consisting of hundreds of yards of China silk. They hold the skirt in their hands and wave it around. It takes shapes reminiscent of flowers, clouds, birds, and butterflies.”
The serpentine dance not only captured the zeitgeist of the 1890s, but also the attention of those who were advancing the film technology of the time. While film technology emerged in response to the need to capture a complete sequence of movements, the serpentine dance, which was known for its nimble and agile moves, presented itself to be an ideal film subject that showcased how film can capture and replicate the beauty and agility of movement.
Short films of serpentine dance that were made over a hundred years ago can be found on YouTube. Veiled by the waving costume, the dancer’s face can only be seen intermittently; this is perhaps why these short films are appealing — the act of concealing and revealing. What we watch repeatedly is a visual sculpture that is yet to finish; perpetually constructing, deconstructing, and reconstructing.
In the 1910s, female vampire films became a big hit. These films usually feature the female vampires, dressed in grotesque, overly dramatic, and exotic costumes, venturing into the world of danger and provocation. In the 1920s, which is also known as the Jazz Age, the concept of a modern woman began to gain attention and even made its way into movies. It was also when movies started to lead the way of consumerism by making an impact on buying behavior — moviegoers would buy the merchandise they saw in movies such as personal items, furniture, and even cars.
This inevitably caused much criticism from the academic circles, including the Frankfurt School that was headed by Theodor W. Adorno and known for their criticism of mass media and consumer culture. Yet, in my opinion, it is cinema that allows us to take a real look at different things – ideas, cultures, and even physical landscapes.
If there were no movies in this world, the various things that we are seeing now would eventually disappear and be lost without a trace; whether it is food, clothes, stones, our body, or the landscape. With movies, we are able to capture human actions and stories, things and forms. In other words, what we have done, seen, and touched can be preserved in a certain way. It is as if, from that moment on, we could finally see the world for real for the very first time and come face to face with the inherent essence that lies in different things.
Film, as a medium, is not merely a “special machine”, but a way of viewing the world. Through films, we manage to see the world from another perspective. There are only a few art forms, film being one of them, that have such a clear development path which allows viewers to trace back to the origin, while at the same time, connecting human beings so profoundly and comprehensively and shaping our visual ability to help form memories. Flipping through a list of movies is like going through a memory database of mankind.
During the 1982 Cannes Film Festival, German director Wim Wenders invited several directors, including Jean-Luc Godard, Werner Hesso, and Steven Spielberg, to Room 666 of Hotel Martinez to sit for an interview next to a TV. One of the questions asked was: “Is cinema a language about to get lost, an art about to die?”
Jean-Luc Godard said, “We have to leave eventually, and I will die eventually.”
Michelangelo Antonioni said, “I think it is not very difficult for us to transform ourselves into new human beings to adapt to new technologies.”
We live in an era where movie-watching is easily done with a smartphone. David Lynch once said, “If you’re playing the movie on a telephone, you will never in a trillion years experience the film.” The reality might not be as bad as he makes it sound, but I do miss time spent sitting in darkness, staring at the large glowing screen; it offers a feeling that lies between existence and non-existence.
And a slight floating sensation when leaving the cinema.
