美国国家公共电台 NPR--Can Hollywood magic help fix the current Navy pilot shortage?

Can Hollywood magic help fix the current Navy pilot shortage?

Transcript¹

The Navy is hoping that the new Top Gun sequel can help rescue naval² aviation from a pilot shortage. This comes nearly four decades after the original film helped to break recruiting records.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

In 1986, the film "Top Gun" debuted³. Navy recruitment soared, as well as the understanding that the Navy has fighter pilots. So can the sequel, 36 years later, help fix the current pilot shortage in the Navy? Steve Walsh with member station KPBS reports.

STEVE WALSH, BYLINE⁵: On a sunny day at a Navy base near San Diego, Tom Cruise was on message.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

TOM CRUISE: It's a celebration of the Navy. It's a celebration of aviation. It's a celebration, I think, of our country.

WALSH: Cruise was at Naval Air Station North Island for the premiere of "Top Gun: Maverick⁶." Several scenes were shot at the base. Surrounded by sailors in front of the base theater, Cruise worked the red carpet. The megastar said he shares the Navy's high hopes for the long-awaited sequel. Paramount⁷ paid the Navy more than $5 million. Much of the money was spent to retrofit real F-18 Super Hornets with cameras. Real Navy pilots do the flying, putting actors and the audience in the cockpit. It's part of a long tradition of Hollywood working with the military. Nick Cull⁸ teaches media and history at USC.

NICK CULL: On the Pentagon side of things, they wanted to have the best of the U.S. military represented, and they knew that if filmmakers wanted to have tanks and aircraft carriers and aircraft featuring in their movies, they would be willing to concede certain aspects of creative input⁹.

WALSH: Though it can be tough for the Pentagon to live up to the Hollywood hype, Cull says.

CULL: Why can't we succeed in Iraq or Afghanistan? The difficulties of operating in these kinds of situations are underestimated when we have these fantasies of exaggerated competence¹⁰.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "TOP GUN: MAVERICK")

ED HARRIS: (As Rear Admiral Chester Cain) You should be at least a two star admiral by now. Yet here you are, Captain.

ROBERT NEWELL: I do think that the country knows that they're going to see a movie, and they can make their own judgments¹¹.

WALSH: Bob Newell directs the Navy's program that works with the entertainment industry. He says the Navy reviews the script to see if it upholds the values of the service, realizing fewer people have a direct connection to the military.

NEWELL: That has started to wane¹². And so people don't have and communities don't have those connections that they used to. Everybody can't go out to an aircraft carrier, but everybody can go to a movie theater.

WALSH: And the Navy could use a hit right now. The original film is legendary¹³ among Navy recruiters, driving up interest in naval aviation 10 years after Vietnam. Captain Kevin Ferguson was the Navy's technical advisor¹⁴ on the "Top Gun" sequel. Standing⁴ in front of an F-18 on North Island, he admits he became a pilot after seeing the original film in the 1980s. Ferguson flies for both the reserves, as well as Delta¹⁵ Airlines. Commercial aviation has always drawn¹⁶ military pilots. And the competition for pilots, he says, is heating up.

KEVIN FERGUSON: You have to retire at age 65. So you do the math. You get a lot of people that are falling off the cliff there. The airlines, all of them, did not necessarily plan in advance. And then COVID hit, and a lot of people, you know, took early retirements¹⁷ and left. What we're left with now is a massive resurgence¹⁸ in travel demand and not enough people to fill it.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Then look at Eric (ph). There we go.

WALSH: Outside the premiere, a group of young sailors were waiting for the filmmakers. Some of them admitted they either hadn't seen the original or had watched it the night before. Seaman¹⁹ Recruit Charles Poindexter used to watch the film with his dad as a kid.

CHARLES POINDEXTER: My dad - he was excited. I called him yesterday. He was like, oh, man, you about to go see Tom Cruise. I was like, yeah, you know. He's like, oh, that's my favorite actor. You know, I got to - you got to get some pictures, get a whole lot of pictures.

WALSH: Whether at the box office or the recruiter's office, we'll know soon enough whether the franchise²⁰ can handle one last mission.

For NPR News, I'm Steve Walsh.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DANGER ZONE")

KENNY LOGGINS: (Singing) Highway to the danger zone.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

3 debuted   

初次表演，初次登台（debut的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• In late 2003 a full-size SUV, the Pathfinder Armada, debuted. 2003年末，全尺寸SUV的探路者无敌舰队，推出。
• The album debuted at number two and quickly went platinum. 专辑一亮相就荣登排行榜第二名，很快就取得了白金销量。

4 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 maverick   

adj.特立独行的；不遵守传统的；n.持异议者，自行其是者

参考例句：

• He's a maverick.He has his own way of thinking about things.他是个特异独行的人。对事情有自己的看法。
• You're a maverick and you'll try anything.你是个爱自行其是的人，样样事情都要尝试一下。

7 paramount   

a.最重要的，最高权力的

参考例句：

• My paramount object is to save the Union and destroy slavery.我的最高目标是拯救美国，摧毁奴隶制度。
• Nitrogen is of paramount importance to life on earth.氮对地球上的生命至关重要。

8 cull   

v.拣选；剔除；n.拣出的东西；剔除

参考例句：

• It is usually good practice to cull the poorest prior to field planting.通常在实践上的好方法是在出圃栽植前挑出最弱的苗木。
• Laura was passing around photographs she'd culled from the albums at home.劳拉正在分发她从家里相册中挑选出的相片。

9 input   

n.输入(物)；投入；vt.把(数据等)输入计算机

参考例句：

• I will forever be grateful for his considerable input.我将永远感激他的大量投入。
• All this information had to be input onto the computer.所有这些信息都必须输入计算机。

10 competence   

n.能力，胜任，称职

参考例句：

• This mess is a poor reflection on his competence.这种混乱情况说明他难当此任。
• These are matters within the competence of the court.这些是法院权限以内的事。

11 judgments   

判断( judgment的名词复数 )； 鉴定； 评价； 审判

参考例句：

• A peculiar austerity marked his judgments of modern life. 他对现代生活的批评带着一种特殊的苛刻。
• He is swift with his judgments. 他判断迅速。

12 wane   

n.衰微，亏缺，变弱；v.变小，亏缺，呈下弦

参考例句：

• The moon is on the wane.月亮渐亏。
• Her enthusiasm for him was beginning to wane.她对他的热情在开始减退。

13 legendary   

adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学）

参考例句：

• Legendary stories are passed down from parents to children.传奇故事是由父母传给孩子们的。
• Odysseus was a legendary Greek hero.奥狄修斯是传说中的希腊英雄。

14 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

15 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

16 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

17 retirements   

退休( retirement的名词复数 )； 退职； 退役； 退休的实例

参考例句：

• We've had two retirements in our office this year. 今年我们办公室已有二人退休。
• Those may take the form of sackings redundancies, temporary layoffs or retirements. 这些形式有开除，作为编余人员，暂时解雇或退休。

18 resurgence   

n.再起，复活，再现

参考例句：

• A resurgence of his grief swept over Nim.悲痛又涌上了尼姆的心头。
• Police say drugs traffickers are behind the resurgence of violence.警方说毒贩是暴力活动重新抬头的罪魁祸首。

19 seaman   

n.海员，水手，水兵

参考例句：

• That young man is a experienced seaman.那个年轻人是一个经验丰富的水手。
• The Greek seaman went to the hospital five times.这位希腊海员到该医院去过五次。

20 franchise   

n.特许，特权，专营权，特许权

参考例句：

• Catering in the schools is run on a franchise basis.学校餐饮服务以特许权经营。
• The United States granted the franchise to women in 1920.美国于1920年给妇女以参政权。