VOA慢速英语2021--《水芹菜(MINARI)》讲述旅美韩裔的移民故事

Minari is a vegetable known as Korea's water celery or watercress. It is also the name of a film nominated¹ for a number of Academy Awards, known as Oscars, on Sunday.

The film, produced by Christina Oh, received nominations² for best picture and best original score from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Lee Isaac Chung who wrote and directed the film is nominated for best director and best original screenplay. Its actors, Steven Yeun and Youn Yuh-jung, are nominated for best actor and best supporting actress.

Lee Isaac Chung based the movie on his own family's story. They moved from California to the southern state of Arkansas to start a farm growing Korean vegetables in the 1980s.

Steven Yeun plays the father, Jacob, who hopes to sell vegetables to markets and restaurants with a large number of Korean American customers. He wants to start a new life for his family, which includes his wife, Monica, and his children Anne and David. The 73-year-old Youn plays Soon-ja, a grandmother who comes from Korea to live with them.

The movie centers on the family's struggles in rural America.

Jacob has trouble finding water and growing his vegetables. Monica is unhappy living on a farm. The children, who see themselves as Americans, think of their grandmother as a stranger from a foreign country. They also deal with racism³ in a part of the U.S. where everyone else is white.

It is the story of a husband and a wife whose life has not gone as planned. It is the story of immigrants trying to fit in while keeping their own culture. It is the story of a little boy and his grandmother. And it is the story of an American family. The Korean language, however, is the main language in the movie.

The Golden Globes, another movie award event, gave Minari the best foreign film award. But many people were unhappy that it was not able to compete with other American movies. It also added to a conversation that Asian-Americans, especially those born in the U.S., worry that white people do not think of them as American.

The issue became even more important with news reports of violence against Asian people in the U.S. and the killing⁴ of Asian-American workers at businesses in the state of Georgia in early March.

Youn, who plays the grandmother, said she thinks life must be difficult for young Asian-Americans who "think they are Americans but in the eyes of Americans, they don't look American." She added many Asians came to the U.S. in the 1970s and 1980s because they saw the country as a "dream land."

The movie is up against seven others for the best picture award. They are: The Father, Judas and the Black Messiah, Mank, Nomadland, Promising⁵ Young Woman, The Sound of Metal and The Trial of the Chicago 7.

Even if Minari does not win one of the major awards, those involved in making the movie think it will make an emotional connection with everyone who sees it.

Speaking with the Associated Press, Chung and others said anyone who has ever taken a risk or tried something new will see some part of themselves in the Minari story. Especially, he added, those who came to the U.S. from another country to start a new life.

Words in This Story

score –n. the music that is written for a movie or play

screenplay –n. the lines in a script written for a film

grandmother –n. a female family member who is the mother of a child's parent

1 nominated   

adj.被提名的，被任命的 动词nominate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• She has been nominated for the presidency. 她已经获得了董事长职位的提名。
• The movie was nominated for an Oscar. 这部电影获奥斯卡金像奖提名。

2 nominations   

n.提名，任命( nomination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nominations are invited for the post of party chairman. 为党主席职位征集候选人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Much coverage surrounded his abortive bids for the 1960,1964, and 1968 Republican Presidential nominations. 许多消息报道都围绕着1960年、1964年和1968年他为争取提名为共和党总统候选人所做努力的失败。 来自辞典例句

3 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

4 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

5 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。