今日主題：Disney Star Wars, Disney and myth-making 迪士尼 星際大戰, 迪士尼和神話創造
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Disney Star Wars, Disney and myth-making
迪士尼 星際大戰, 迪士尼和神話創造
How one company came to master the business of storytelling
一個公司如何成為兜售故事的商業傳奇
FROM a galaxy far, far away to a cinema just down the road: “The Force Awakens”, the newest instalment of the Star Wars saga, is inescapable this Christmas. The first Star Wars title since Lucasfilm, the owner of the franchise, was acquired by Disney in 2012 for $4.1 billion, it represents more than just the revival of a beloved science-fiction series. It is the latest example of the way Disney has prospered over the past decade from a series of shrewd acquisitions (see article). Having bought Pixar, Marvel and Lucas film, Disney has skilfully capitalised on their intellectual property—and in so doing, cemented its position as the market leader in the industrialisation of mythology. Its success rests on its mastery of the three elements of modern myth-making: tropes, technology and toys.
從遙遠的星際抵達你周邊的電影院—《星際大戰7：原力覺醒》這部星戰系列的最新影片就在聖誕期間上映，不容錯過。早期星戰系列電影出自盧卡斯影業名下，該 公司在2012年被迪士尼以41億美元收購。不僅又讓擁躉頗多的科幻系列重回影迷視野，還成為迪士尼公司另一個成功收購案例—在過去十年，迪士尼走了一條 通過成功收購而實現蒸蒸日上的發展路徑（另見文）。它先後收購了皮克斯，漫威和盧卡斯影業，並巧妙的利用自己的智慧財產權獲益。在這一過程中，迪士尼也鞏 固了奇幻題材故事產業的領導者地位.。它的成功依賴于掌握了現代奇幻電影製作的三大要素：類型化，高科技和相關玩具產品。
From Homer to Han Solo
從荷馬到韓•索羅
Start with the tropes. Disney properties, which include everything from “Thor” to “Toy Story”, draw on well-worn devices of mythic structure to give their stories cultural resonance. Walt Disney himself had an intuitive grasp of the power of fables. George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars, is an avid student of the work of Joseph Campbell, an American comparative mythologist who outlined the “monomyth” structure in which a hero answers a call, is assisted by a mentor figure, voyages to another world, survives various trials and emerges triumphant. Both film-makers merrily plundered ancient mythology and folklore. The Marvel universe goes even further, directly appropriating chunks of Greco-Roman and Norse mythology. (This makes Disney's enthusiasm for fierce enforcement of intellectual-property laws, and the seemingly perpetual extension of copyright, somewhat ironic.)
先從類型化說起。迪士尼旗下的眾多作品，包括《雷神》、《玩具總動員》等等，都採用了老調重彈的神話故事架構來讓觀眾產生文化共鳴。沃特•迪士尼自身非常 清楚寓言故事的魅力。星戰系列導演喬治•盧卡斯熱衷於借鑒約瑟夫•坎貝爾的作品。坎貝爾是一名比較神話學者，他提出了“神話故事原型論” （Monomyth）。即在一個英雄的旅程當中，英雄主角需要完成一個使命，他通常在某個導師的指引下去到另一個世界，歷經千難萬險最終成功。兩大電影製 作公司也鍾情借用古代神話和民間傳說。漫威超級英雄更誇張，直接取材于許多古希臘羅馬和中世紀斯堪的納維亞的神話。（這讓一向嚴格實施版權保護，並不停延 長其版權期限的迪士尼公司，看起來多少有些諷刺。）
The internal mechanics of myths may not have changed much over the ages, but the technology used to impart them certainly has. That highlights Disney's second area of expertise. In Homer's day, legends were passed on in the form of dactylic hexameters; modern myth-makers prefer computer graphics, special effects, 3D projection, surround sound and internet video distribution, among other things. When Disney bought Lucas film it did not just acquire the Star Wars franchise; it also gained Industrial Light & Magic, one of the best special-effects houses in the business, whose high-tech wizardry is as vital to Marvel's Avengers films as it is to the Star Wars epics. And when Disney was left behind by the shift to digital animation, it cannily revitalised its own film-making brand by buying Pixar, a firm as pioneering in its field as Walt Disney had been in hand-drawn animation. Moreover, modern myths come in multiple media formats. The Marvel and Star Wars fantasy universes are chronicled in interlocking films, television series, books, graphic novels and video games. Marvel's plans are mapped out until the mid-2020s.
神話故事架構可能未隨時間流轉變樣，但是讓其流傳開來的技術手段卻日新月異。這也是迪士尼公司科技特長的精彩所在。在荷馬史詩的年代，英雄故事要用長短格 六步格韻體寫就；而在現代，電腦繪圖，特效，3D，環繞身歷聲，線上視頻轉發等等媒介就能夠承載這些故事。迪士尼買下盧卡斯影業不僅獲得了星際大戰系列的 版權，還同時把光影魔幻工業（特效行業最佳公司之一）收入囊中，這家公司對星戰系列的重要性不亞於它對成就復仇者聯盟做出的貢獻。動畫製作在數位化轉型， 老牌迪士尼曾一度跟不上腳步，但收購皮克斯使其動畫製作重煥生機。畢竟皮克斯在數位動畫製作領域的地位堪比當時手繪動畫時代的沃特•迪士尼。而且，現代奇 幻作品通常採用多平臺推廣，漫威和星戰就陸續出品系列電影、電視劇，圖書，漫畫和電遊。漫威影業要推出的作品續集已經排到了2020年。
But these days myths are also expected to take physical form as toys, merchandise and theme-park rides. This is the third myth-making ingredient. Again, Walt Disney led the way, licensing Mickey Mouse and other characters starting in the 1930s, and opening the original Disneyland park in 1955. Mr Lucas took cinema-related merchandise into a new dimension, accepting a pay cut as director in return for all the merchandising rights to Star Wars—a deal that was to earn him billions. Those rights now belong to Disney, and it is making the most of them: sales of “The Force Awakens” merchandise, from toys to clothing, are expected to be worth up to $5 billion alone in the coming year. In all, more than $32 billion-worth of Star Wars merchandise has been sold since 1977, according to NPD Group, a market-research firm. Even Harry Potter and James Bond are scruffy-looking nerf-herders by comparison.
但是，目前神話故事也將以實體形式呈現，如玩具、商品和主題公園等形式，這也是神話創作的第三要素。沃特•迪士尼成為了行業中的典範，從二十世紀30年代 開始，他們為米老鼠以及其他的一些角色申請專利，並於1955年開放了最初的迪士尼樂園。盧卡斯將電影相關產品帶上了新的維度，作為導演他接受降低薪資以 換取所有有關星際大戰的商品權——這個協議讓他賺了數十億。這些商品化權現在隸屬於迪士尼，並得到了充分利用：從玩具到服裝，《原力覺醒》相關商品的預期 銷售額僅明年一年就能達到50億美元。美國市場調研機構NPD集團的調研報告顯示，自1977年起累計，銷售星際大戰附加品已帶來320億美元的收入。與 之相比，甚至連哈利波特和詹姆士邦德看起來都是如此的上不了檯面。
Those other franchises are reminders that Disney's approach is not unique. Other studios are doing their best to imitate its approach. But Disney has some of the most valuable properties and exploits them to their fullest potential. It is particularly good at refreshing and repackaging its franchises to encourage adults to revisit their childhood favourites and, in the process, to introduce them to their own children. This was one reason why Pixar, whose films are known for their cross-generational appeal, was such a natural fit. Now the next generation is being introduced to Star Wars by their nostalgic parents. At the same time, Disney has extended its franchises by adding sub-brands that appeal to particular age groups: children's television series spun off from Star Wars, for example, or darker, more adult tales from the Marvel universe, such as the “Daredevil” and “Jessica Jones” series on.
其他系列電影表明，迪士尼的策略不是唯一的。其他一些影城也竭盡全力地效仿迪士尼的做法。但迪士尼擁有最有價值的資源，並能最大程度開發這些資源，尤其 擅長再更新和再包裝其產品，以此鼓勵成人回憶他們的童年最愛，在此過程中，將喜好介紹給自己的孩子。皮克斯擅長製作吸引兩代人的電影，這也使得它與迪士尼 的合作成為天作之合。現在，懷舊的父母們也將把星際大戰傳承給下一代。與此同時，迪士尼通過增加吸引特定年齡的子品牌拓寬系列經營權：例如，源於《星際大 戰》的少兒電視節目，始於漫威宇宙系列的更黑暗、更成人化的故事，比如網飛公司的《超膽俠》和《潔西嘉鐘斯》等電影。
Do, or do not—there is no try
要麼去做，要麼放手，沒有嘗試一說
What explains the power of all this modern-day mythology? There is more to it than archetypal storytelling, clever technology and powerful marketing. In part, it may fill a void left by the decline of religion in a more secular world. But it also provides an expression for today's fears. The original “Star Wars” film, in which a band of plucky rebels defeat a technological superpower, was a none-too-subtle inversion of the Vietnam war. The Marvel universe, originally a product of the cold-war era, has adapted well on screen to a post-9/11 world of surveillance and the conspiratorial mistrust of governments, large corporations and the power of technology. In uncertain times, when governments and military might seem unable to keep people safe or stay honest, audiences take comfort in the idea of superheroes who ride to the rescue. Modern myths also have the power to unify people across generations, social groups and cultures, creating frameworks of shared references even as other forms of media consumption become ever more fragmented.
當代神話故事為何有如此大的魅力？絕不僅僅是原始的講述故事、靈活的科學技術和強大的行銷能力。在某種程度上，這種神話可以彌補當下越來越世俗的世界中宗 教地位下降帶來的空虛。然而，這也表現出了現代人的恐懼。在最初的電影《星際大戰》中，講述了一個勇敢的反叛者對決強大的科技超能量者，這實際是越南戰爭 的寫照。漫威宇宙系列，最初是冷戰時代的產物，在後911時代，監視無處不在以及人們對政府、大公司和科技力量等的不信任，漫威調整創作，將後911時代 精彩地呈現於螢幕。在不穩定時期，當政府和軍隊似乎無法保證民眾以及自身絕對忠誠時，民眾便只能寄希望於拯救世界的超級英雄。即使在媒體消費的其他形式變 得越來越碎片化的時候，當代神話也可以跨越時代、階層、文化將人們聯合起來，創造出一個擁有一些共性的架構。
Ultimately, however, these modern myths are so compelling because they tap primordial human urges—for refuge, redemption and harmony. In this respect they are like social-media platforms, which use technology to industrialise social interaction. Similarly, modern myth-making, reliant though it is on new tools and techniques, is really just pushing the same old buttons in stone-age brains. That is something that Walt Disney understood instinctively—and that the company he founded is now exploiting so proficiently.
然而，究其根源，現代神話的魅力是因為它激發了人們對於庇護、救贖與和諧的原始訴求。在這方面，它們更像是工業化的社交平臺，使用技術使得社交產業化。同 樣地，現代神話創作加入了新工具和新技術，也不過是舊瓶裝新酒。這是沃特•迪士尼領悟到—並正在有效地運用于他所創立的公司。
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