美国国家公共电台 NPR Hollywood Grapples With TV In The Age Of Trump

 

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST: 

How might TV change in the age of Trump¹? That's a question Hollywood is mulling. NPR TV critic Eric Deggans is in Los Angeles for the Television Critics Association gathering², and he asked writers, actors, producers and executives what they think.

ERIC DEGGANS, BYLINE³: Lee Daniels is known as a fiercely creative producer with a taste for controversy⁴. He tackles gay issues, race and class in the hit TV drama he co-created for Fox "Empire." He does the same in his new series for the network, "Star." I caught up with him after a press conference and asked how he felt about the election of Donald Trump. Daniels got unexpectedly emotional.

LEE DANIELS: I think that some of the great art will come from this time right now.

DEGGANS: Daniels shed a tear as he recalled his shock at Trump's victory which he believes was fueled by anger in Middle America.

DANIELS: I couldn't write. It really affected⁵ my everything. And then the next morning, I wrote the most brilliant scenes that I have ever written before in my life.

DEGGANS: After his emotions subsided⁶, Daniels says he was energized⁷, but it took a moment to get there. And he's not alone. Last week, ABC's comedy "Black-ish" aired an excellent episode showing the characters struggling with the implications of Trump's victory. But several of the actors, writers and TV executives I spoke⁸ to in Los Angeles said they were still trying to understand what the election of Donald Trump might say about the mood of the country and their audience.

Some were concerned about Trump's bruising⁹ rhetoric¹⁰ on Mexican immigrants, women and Muslims. They wondered if they should follow the example set by Meryl Streep, who delivered a speech critical of the president-elect at the Golden Globes. Others considered steering¹¹ clear of politics, wary¹² of involving their shows in partisan¹³ arguments.

It reminded me of the weeks immediately following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. A few shows back then tried to dramatize the nation's trauma¹⁴ quickly. "The West Wing" assembled an episode in a few weeks, but many found the event was too fresh to put into perspective.

In November, producers of the series "The Good Fight," a spin-off of the CBS drama "The Good Wife," had to swiftly rewrite a scene in their first episode that showed Hillary Clinton winning the election. Christine Baranski spoke during a press conference on playing attorney Diane Lockhart who starts over after losing all her savings¹⁵.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

CHRISTINE BARANSKI: Interesting thing is you have a lead character who is in moral practical free fall in a similar way to what the country is feeling right now. Like, how do you take the next step up when there's no foundation? Where are we? Where are we morally?

DEGGANS: Some TV shows written and filmed before the election may come across differently afterwards. Fox's new drama "APB" centers on a tech billionaire who takes control of the police department in a crime-filled district of Chicago, helping¹⁶ them with new equipment and technology. But a series that may have seemed like a nod to the altruism¹⁷ of people like Bill Gates before the election might now seem like an endorsement¹⁸ of handing over government power to a rule-breaking billionaire.

"APB" executive producer Matt Nix said during a press conference that he and the show's other producers talked after the election about what kind of show they wanted to make.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MATT NIX: If you're on this side of this issue and you believe that what America needs is a businessman taking things over and telling everybody what's what, great. And we've got a vision where we think this could be done responsibly.

DEGGANS: Producers on one series that features Washington, D.C., ABC's "Scandal," said they were unaffected by real-life politics. Their season returns next week with the results of an election where either a woman or a Latino with a gay running mate will win the presidency¹⁹.

Creator Shonda Rhimes presents a world where such diversity is a fact of life. Viewers get wrapped up in the characters before they even realize how groundbreaking the situation is, which might be just the blueprint²⁰ for navigating²¹ politically charged stories in a polarized country. I'm Eric Deggans.

(SOUNDBITE OF JINSANG SONG, "LEARNING")

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

3 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。

4 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

5 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

6 subsided   

v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的过去式和过去分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上

参考例句：

• After the heavy rains part of the road subsided. 大雨过后，部分公路塌陷了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• By evening the storm had subsided and all was quiet again. 傍晚， 暴风雨已经过去，四周开始沉寂下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 energized   

v.给予…精力，能量( energize的过去式和过去分词 )；使通电

参考例句：

• We are energized by love if we put our energy into loving. 如果我们付出能量去表现爱意，爱就会使我们充满活力。 来自辞典例句
• I am completely energized and feeling terrific. 我充满了活力，感觉非常好。 来自辞典例句

8 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

9 bruising   

adj.殊死的；十分激烈的v.擦伤(bruise的现在分词形式)

参考例句：

• He suffered cracked ribs and bruising. 他断了肋骨还有挫伤。
• He slipped and fell, badly bruising an elbow. 他滑倒了，一只胳膊肘严重擦伤。 来自辞典例句

10 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

11 steering   

n.操舵装置

参考例句：

• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration. 他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。
• Steering according to the wind, he also framed his words more amicably. 他真会看风使舵，口吻也马上变得温和了。

12 wary   

adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的

参考例句：

• He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。
• Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头，突然警惕起来。

13 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。

14 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

15 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

16 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

17 altruism   

n.利他主义，不自私

参考例句：

• An important feature of moral behaviour is altruism.道德行为一个重要特点就是利他主义。
• Altruism is crucial for social cohesion.利他主义对社会的凝聚是至关重要的。

18 endorsement   

n.背书；赞成，认可，担保；签(注)，批注

参考例句：

• We are happy to give the product our full endorsement.我们很高兴给予该产品完全的认可。
• His presidential campaign won endorsement from several celebrities.他参加总统竞选得到一些社会名流的支持。

19 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

20 blueprint   

n.蓝图，设计图，计划；vt.制成蓝图，计划

参考例句：

• All the machine parts on a blueprint must answer each other.设计图上所有的机器部件都应互相配合。
• The documents contain a blueprint for a nuclear device.文件内附有一张核装置的设计蓝图。

21 navigating   

v.给（船舶、飞机等）引航，导航( navigate的现在分词 )；（从海上、空中等）横越；横渡；飞跃

参考例句：

• These can also be very useful when navigating time-based documents, such as video and audio. 它对于和时间有关的文档非常有用，比如视频和音频文档。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Vehicles slowed to a crawl on city roads, navigating slushy snow. 汽车在市区路上行驶缓慢，穿越泥泞的雪地。 来自互联网