美国也出了个活雷锋?

EVERY so often, while munching on popcorn in front of a movie, we encountera character who moves us. Mind you, I'm not talking about the sexy actress who takes off her bra, or the secret agent with a fancy phone and a helicopter. I'm referring to the character who acts more or less how we would in the same circumstances – only a little better.

Such "model" characters are found both in Chinese and Western cinema, although their attributes often differ.

The approach of the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China has, in recent months, brought several "role model" characters to the big screen. For instance, there's the biopic Yuan Longping, based on the life of "The father of hybrid rice" (played by Guo Jinglin). Yuan is depicted as a model worker whose hybrid rice spread througout the world.

Another recent film, Iron Man, depicts the self-sacrifice of Wang Jinxi (played by Wu Gang), who, during The Great Leap Forward, jumped into a vat of wet cement to stir it with his body.

Chinese "role model" characters like Yuan and Wang are almost always selfless. They may be poor or unattractive or helpless, but they are rarely shown to have any deep personal flaws. Most notably, they often put the nation's interests above their own.

Western movies have their own share of "role model" characters, of course, but the Western type tends to value individualism and community before the nation.

For example, in the 2005 film Cinderella Man, love for family trumps all else. An aging boxer named James J. Braddock (played by Russell Crowe) risks his life and returns to the ring. This is the only way he can put bread on the table during the Great Depression.

He becomes an inspirationnot only to his family, but also to his community. As his wife, played by Renee Zellweger, tells him, "You just remember who you are... you're the Bulldog of Bergen, and the Pride of New Jersey, you're everybody's hope, and the kid's hero, and you are the champion of my heart."

In the end, the best biopics tend to present their "heroes" as flawed. Take, for example, the Oscar-winning film Milk, released last year. It's based on the life of America's first openly gay politician, Harvey Milk (played by Sean Penn). As Todd Heywood of the independent newspaper Michigan Messenger notes, "[Milk] is there for everyone to see, blemishes and all. …And yet in spite of, or perhaps because of, all this, [he] rises to the level of an everyday hero."

When we meet these everyday heroes in the cinema, we're not supposed to follow them into the field, or the wet cement, or the boxing ring. However, we can ask ourselves a question that each of these heroes had to answer: "What am I living for?" Our own conclusions may differ, but they will hopefully focus us on our own mission and give us a sense of purpose that can carry us through the humdrum of ordinary life.

Western role model

Because of the cultural differences, it's difficult to find any real equivalent to Chinese role models in Western films. However, there are some fun counterparts to use for a comparison:

Chris Garner in the film The pursuit of happine

(think Wang Jinxi)

Chris Gardner (played by Will Smith), is a salesman struggling to build a future in the US. He has an opportunity to be a stockbroker but first he has to go through a hard internship which means no pay. His wife leaves him and he's homeless, but he's still determined to make it.

John Nash in the biopic film A beautiful Mind (think Yuan Longping)

John Nash is a Nobel Prize economics winner who develops an "original idea" that revolutionizes the world of mathematics. Tragically, Nash's mind starts going downhill in his late years.

BONUS

distract

给予致命一击，杀死

Ask me later about that. I'm working on a report and don't want anyone to distract me now.

revelation

启示，揭示, 意外的发现(新事, 新经验)

The poem was like a revleation to him when he finally got its meaning.

当他理解了这首诗的含义的时候，他好像受到了启示。

flaw

缺点，缺陷

He's a person who doesn't have any major character flaw, but a few blemishes in his behavior.

他是个性格上没有大缺陷但行为上有一些问题的人。