迪斯科末日

USA conversationalist Whit Stillman’s third feature, THE LAST DAYS OF DISCO trades on his personal experiences of NYC'sdisco-scene (salted with Harvard-disparaging quips)inthe early 80s, ebulliently scrutinizing a coterie of freshly out-of-college yuppie-wannabes, who are habitually congregated in their common haunt, an unconscionably popular nightstand, meantime, their love life and career path wax and wane variably, signposted by its title when their disco days are unexpectedly being put paid to, time to grown up when reality bites.

Alice (Sevigny), a self-contained sylph dithering about making the right decisions - don’t be judgmental, be sexy, always at the bidding of her more popular but stuck-up friend Charlotte (a fresh-faced Beckinsale, looking ghastly under the slap), both girls work in the same publishing house and mingle with the likes of Tom (Leonard), a spiffy environmental lawyer, Jimmy (Astin), an enterprising adman, No.1 and No.2 prospects on Alice’s infatuation list, then there are Josh (Keeslar), a young assistant district attorney and Des (Eigeman), a college-dropout who becomes one of the managers of the said nightclub, both take a fancy on the quiet but intelligent Alice.

Gender study and sex politics are thrown into the mix where philandering and mendacity (using“gay excuse” to break off relationships), gender double standards (you are a titillating slut, I will not forfeit our chance of a one-night-stand, but afterwards, we are finished.), treacherous friendship (Beckingsale is totally in her wheelhouse as the paradigm of the so called "green tea bitch", avant la lettre), even venereal disease, collectively roil the dynamism of their pairing-off games, to somewhat wacky but consistently buoyant vibes, however, a byplay relative of an undercover police investigation is only patchily introduced as a frivolous plot device, fails to emphasize what is at stake, and the manic-depressive Josh, accorded with a forthright quirkiness and spontaneous elocution, potentially the most fascinating character among the posse, is wasted by the wooden, stilted performance from the blandly handsome Keeslar, whose recapitulation of the film’s tenor near the finish-line comes off as a deleterious overkill.

However, club-scene hasn’t died out, has been continuing luring new generations of hipsters and scenesters with theme-specific variations to this day, over three decades later, THE LAST DAYS OF DISCO is, to each their own, a sparkling eulogy of Whitman’s own youthful abandon and disillusion, and on a sociological level, a zeitgeist-reflecting conversation piece that thankfully doesn’t belie its maker's undue conceit and guile.

referential films: Stillman’s LOVE & FRIENDSHIP (2016, 7.2/10); Dylan Kidd’s ROGER DOGER (2002, 7.3/10).

（简单写些东西，有机会再来整理）

Disco来自法语discothèque，图书馆和光碟合并而成，字面意思光碟收藏或者光碟的殿，强调空间的性质一目了然。另外，迪斯科作为舞曲，主要是配合跳舞这个动作，也暗示了其空间属性，你不可能像60年代的摇滚音乐节一样再去露天了。

再来聊聊迪斯科的其它属性，我没有专门学过音乐，这些是看书所得，仍然待求证。迪斯科每分钟120个鼓点，并循环往复，没有停顿。这样的属性适合逃避，遁世，仿佛在节奏里可以一直快乐下去。另外就是DJ的伟大发明：不断混合音乐，以及节奏，刺激着享受迪斯科的人们。这里就和电影接上了，电影中的男男女女生活的结构就如DJ手中的迪斯科一样，爱情友情相互配对，片中也出现了pair off的讨论。

迪斯科的兴起是60年代各种解放运动的余温，迪斯科构成的空间，各种club，从Andy Warhol的Factory，Studio 54 到Club Kids将disco文化带入汉堡店/废旧车间，从隐秘到公开，从匿名到压倒一切的出名，从地下文化变成流行文化，迪斯科是革命的。迪斯科文化是对主流文化的反叛，是对白人/异性恋/男性主导的社会的挑战 ，年轻人寻求身份认同，逃离压迫的LGBT，追求独立的有色人种和女性在这里大放异彩，用音乐和服装语言表达自我。电影对此也是认同并且展示给观者，为什么角色们爱迪斯科，人性里面总有地方被迪斯科吸引，在迪斯科获得认同/爱情，展示个性和独立。

但是迪斯科成为主流文化之后，那么它的没落也来临了。我认为的原因有，大众消费音乐的方式变了，音乐从伴舞，变成的主菜，Music Video的兴起极大改变了迪斯科，我们用视觉去享受音乐，而不是用身体去展示节奏了，电影中Charlotte不断说自己是要去电视行业，就在暗示。另外，性病和毒品埋葬了伟大的迪斯科，在逃避者中，毒品的出现加强的遁世和享乐，也让人更无所忌惮，各种STI的泛滥，电影中提到的G和H，最致命的是AIDS的出现（有趣的是Chloe Sevigny在这部片子前几年正好扮演了无辜感染HIV的少女），保守势力的反对声音和城市的监管权力给迪斯科关了起来。导演不知道短短几年后的911，将完全封印迪斯科，恐怖分子改变了公共空间的认知，联想到今天的covid19，之后的公共空间研究会更有趣，这些都是题外话了。还有一点，在迪斯科中，空间的二元对立（主要是公共与私隐）消解了，两位女主角因为经济原因住在同一屋檐下，因为空间共享，产生了矛盾，但是到了迪斯科的空间，一方面她们的私人空间延展至此，另一方面，她们解决问题也在迪斯科空间，比如提出搬出去以及和解。

但是我们知道，迪斯科没有死，Josh的宣言其实也是Whit Stillman的，面对迪斯科的历史和遗产，我们还有很多故事可以去挖掘和讲述。迪斯科是伟大的，它可能是个幻境，如电影一样，但它也是真实的，如记忆，如历史。