Octavio Paz, a famous Mexican writer and Nobel Prize in Literature laureate, said: "Death is actually a reflection of life. If death is meaningless, then his life is meaningless. " "Death shows the highest meaning of life; It is the opposite of life and a supplement to life. " This has not only become a cultural phenomenon with Mexican national characteristics, but also shows Mexican values and philosophical concepts.
Mexicans inherited this outlook on life from ancient Indian philosophy. Therefore, they celebrate the completion of the life cycle and welcome the annual reunion of the living and the dead. The annual Day of the Dead is influenced by Aztec philosophy and customs. People pay homage to the dead, but there is no sorrow. They even sang and danced all night, intending to celebrate the festival with their dead relatives. According to folklore, 165438+ 10 1 is the "young spirit" festival; The next day is the "Spirit" Festival.
People scatter yellow petals on the way from the cemetery to the village or town, and let the dead return along the fragrant path. At night, light a pumpkin lantern at home to guide the dead; There are offerings such as corn soup, chocolate, bread, zongzi, hot sauce, pumpkin, candy and dessert on the altar for the deceased to enjoy. The bread on the altar of "Day of the Dead" is different from the bread you usually eat. Different shapes have different meanings. Some are made into "human" shapes, and some "human" shapes without "legs" represent "ghosts"; The spiral bread named "Ross Kate" represents the cycle of life; The bread "Ochal Della" is made into the shape of a thousand-layer cake and decorated with decorations to welcome the return of the deceased. During the festival, men, women and children can wear masks and ghost clothes with white bones printed on them and March in the streets to show the return of the dead.
In Mexico, children are told about this tradition from an early age. The Day of the Dead is listed as one of the most important traditions in the civic knowledge textbooks for fourth-grade primary school students in Mexico. Children know from textbooks: "165438+10.2 Day of the Dead is a festival we hold for those who are no longer around. This is not a sad festival, on the contrary, it is a festival full of colors; People decorate altars for the dead with food and other things; Play music in the cemetery, write some' skeleton' poems and tease each other. This is an Indian custom and culture that existed before the Spanish colonial era; This is how the Aztecs celebrated. "
On the Day of the Dead, the newspaper also published full-page cartoons of presidents, cabinet ministers and celebrities with epitaphs. People who are painted as skeletons are also proud of it, which shows the optimistic and open-minded character of the Mexican nation and its attitude towards death humor.
In Mexico City, the capital, in order to show this ancient culture, the relevant government departments specially organized the cultural departments of various districts to set up various altars on the Constitution Square in the center of the city. The participating units, "Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea, each displaying his magical powers", made every effort to make the altar beautiful and artistic. So as to express the inheritance of national cultural characteristics. Small vendors are also specially allowed to sell all kinds of traditional food around the square. The tourists are beaming, just like a holiday. Although Mexico's Festival of the Dead is similar to other western countries, it has the dual ancestry of Indians and Spaniards before Spanish colonization, but it essentially inherits the traditions of Indians and shows their cultural characteristics, as well as their unique humor and thoughts. Mexicans generally believe that this culture mainly inherits the ideas of ancient Indians, especially the Mayans or Aztecs. It also comes from the most developed period now known as "Central American culture". Although, as a cultural phenomenon, it was also influenced by European culture in colonial times. However, Mexicans are always willing to take their ancient civilization and culture as national characteristics to distinguish them from other western countries. This kind of consciousness is deeply rooted. "Ghost Party" exposed the fourth set log, and director sam mendes led the entire shooting team to Mexico to faithfully reproduce one of Mexico's most iconic festivals "Day of the Dead", and together with 1500 extras, tried to create the "best" opening film in the history of 007 series movies. The Day of the Dead is a grand Central American festival with a history of 3,000 years. During the festival, people sing and dance all night. It is not difficult to imagine what kind of fierce life-and-death confrontation James Bond will have with the mysterious "Ghost Party" in this passionate carnival in the name of death.
"Day of the Dead" is the best representative of Mexican culture. Director sam mendes emphasized that the Day of the Dead has a very "special, exciting and colorful scene". In the video, colorful altars, ugly skulls, elegant dresses sprinkled with marigolds and a 4-meter-high "Catherine" float reproduce a grand carnival on the Day of the Dead.
For the whole crew, clothing is the highlight of the whole Day of the Dead. Fashion designer Jenny Temimei said that the crew respected Mexican local culture to the greatest extent; Anna Terrazas, a Mexican costume director, deliberately added the element of the dead to every costume. Obviously, in an industry dominated by CGI, such a large-scale performance lineup will personally bring every audience into this unprecedented national carnival.
For Mexicans, "death is not the end of life, but the beginning of a new life". When the Ghost Party encounters the Day of the Dead, James Bond once again stands in a foreign land, symbolizing the back of the ghost of death, which may really be the beginning of a brand-new journey.
The origin of festivals
The Day of the Dead is a product of the combination of Indian culture and Spanish culture, which is dominated by Indian native culture. Indian aborigines' Day of the Dead is held in July and August every year. Indigenous people believe that only by being kind to the dead and letting them go home happily for the holidays can the living be blessed by the dead in the coming year and the crops will be harvested.
After the Spaniards came to America, they combined the "All Hallows' Day" in the West, the festival for the dead of the aborigines and the burial and sacrifice customs of some aborigines, and created today's Day for the Dead, with the dates of 1 1 and 6543810.2. Nowadays, in Mexico and other Latin American countries, every year 1 65438+1October1is the "young spirit" festival, which is a festival to commemorate the dead children, and the 2nd is the "adult spirit" festival, which is a day for everyone to remember the dead adults.