美国国家公共电台 NPR How Do Americans Feel About The Courts? Let Hollywood Be The Judge

 

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

There has been drama in Washington lately over the judiciary. Take the political fight over the vacant Supreme¹ Court seat or the president calling some in black robes so-called judges. All this has got movie critic Bob Mondello thinking about the judges he's seen in movies and how their depiction² has intersected with public opinion through the years.

BOB MONDELLO, BYLINE³: When a teenaged Mickey Rooney had a problem in the Andy Hardy⁴ movies, he turned to his onscreen dad, Judge Hardy.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "A FAMILY AFFAIR")

MICKEY ROONEY: (As Andy Hardy) I need $5.

LIONEL BARRYMORE: (As Judge Hardy) What for?

ROONEY: (As Andy Hardy) Well, for things.

BARRYMORE: (As Judge Hardy) Now, look, Andy. When you're earning your own money, you won't ever have to explain to anybody - theoretically, that is. But when you're spending someone else's, it's only fair to the partner that's supplying it to know where it's going.

ROONEY: (As Andy Hardy) Gee⁵, Pa, sometimes I wish you weren't a judge.

BARRYMORE: (As Judge Hardy) Why?

ROONEY: (As Andy Hardy) Because it's kind of taking advantage of a guy to keep showing him two sides of a question.

MONDELLO: Two sides of a question - this was the 1930s, and the fact that Judge Hardy was a judge made him unassailable, thoughtful, wise, all-American-rectitude-made-flesh. Somewhere along the way - in Hollywood, at least - judges lost a bit of the rectitude.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "WHAT'S UP, DOC?")

LIAM DUNN: (As Judge Maxwell) They're a foul⁶ and depraved-looking lot, bailiff.

GRAHAM JARVIS: (As Bailiff) Those are just the spectators, your honor.

MONDELLO: The farce⁷ "What's Up, Doc?" in 1972 featured a judge who'd adopted the rhythms of vaudeville⁸.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "WHAT'S UP, DOC?")

DUNN: (As Judge Maxwell) What are these people being charged with?

AUSTIN PENDLETON: (As Frederick Larrabee) They broke into my home.

DUNN: (As Judge Maxwell) That's breaking and entering.

PENDLETON: (As Frederick Larrabee) And they brought her with them forcibly.

DUNN: (As Judge Maxwell) That's kidnapping.

MADELINE KAHN: (As Eunice) They tried to molest¹⁰ me.

DUNN: (As Judge Maxwell) That's unbelievable.

MONDELLO: Call him a precursor¹¹ of sorts for the small-town accent-perplexed judge in "My Cousin Vinny."

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "MY COUSIN VINNY")

FRED GWYNNE: (As Judge Chamberlain Haller) Did you say yutes (ph)?

JOE PESCI: (As Vinny Gambini) Yeah, two yutes.

GWYNNE: (As Judge Chamberlain Haller) What is a yute?

MONDELLO: And they're both descendants of a comic tradition that goes back at least as far as the Marx Brothers, Groucho having picked up a gavel in "Duck Soup," remember?

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "DUCK SOUP")

GROUCHO MARX: (As Rufus T. Firefly) I suggest that we give him ten years in Leavenworth, or eleven years in Twelveworth.

CHICO MARX: (As Chicolini) I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll take five and ten in Woolworth.

MONDELLO: Being held generally in high esteem¹³, judges, like anyone on a pedestal, become targets to be knocked down, which is another way of saying Hollywood's depiction of judges has been just as complicated as the public's perception of judges. Hollywood's version is easier to read, though, especially in terms of tone.

When Groucho played a judge, no one thought he was mocking the judiciary. He was just being Groucho. Something slightly different is going on in, say, "Miracle On 34th Street" when a judge caves to public opinion.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET")

JOHN PAYNE: (As Fred Gailey) Your honor, every one of these letters is addressed to Santa Claus. The post office has delivered them.

GENE¹² LOCKHART: (As Judge Henry X. Harper) Since the United States government declares this man to be Santa Claus, this court will not dispute it.

MONDELLO: Still a joke, but this time it's a judge who's caving, not a comedian¹⁴. And something far more judgmental is happening a few decades later in "The People Vs. Larry Flynt" about the rabble-rousing publisher of the adult magazine Hustler. In that 1998 film, the producers gave the real Larry Flynt a cameo as an appellate judge. He got to sentence himself, as it were, in a film where the whole point was that the judiciary kept getting First Amendment¹⁶ freedoms wrong. Often you can tell what filmmakers think of judges by looking at who they cast as judges. In "Anatomy¹⁷ Of A Murder," arguably the most riveting¹⁸ courtroom drama ever...

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "ANATOMY OF A MURDER")

JOSEPH N WELCH: (As Judge Weaver) And now the last-minute witness is being brought dramatically down the aisle¹⁹. The whole thing has obviously been rigged.

MONDELLO: ...The judge is played by real-life attorney Joseph N. Welch, famous off-screen for facing down Senator Joseph McCarthy during his communist witch hunts with an impassioned, have you no sense of decency²⁰, sir? But in "Anatomy Of A Murder," Welch was just a non-actor surrounded by seasoned pros²¹ George C. Scott, Ben Gazzara and increasingly desperate defense²² attorney Jimmy Stewart.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "ANATOMY OF A MURDER")

JIMMY STEWART: (As Paul Biegler) That's like trying to take the core from an apple without breaking the skin. I beg the court to let me cut into the apple.

BROOKS²³ WEST: (As Dist. Atty. Mitch Lodwick) Our objection still stands, your honor.

MONDELLO: Director Otto Preminger knew the way to give his non-actor a big moment here was to pause in what was becoming a rush to judgment¹⁵. The judge flips²⁴ open his pocket watch, winds it and, with great deliberation, makes up his mind.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "ANATOMY OF A MURDER")

WELCH: (As Judge Weaver) Objection overruled.

MONDELLO: That pause encapsulated what judges are supposed to do - step back from the fray²⁵, look at things impartially²⁶ and render their considered judgment. "Anatomy Of A Murder" came out at a time when the federal judiciary was respected as much as it has ever been - not universally, mind you.

Under Chief Justice Earl Warren, the Supreme Court had handed down a number of controversial decisions, including the one that outlawed²⁷ racial segregation²⁸ in public schools. That meant there were impeach²⁹ Earl Warren signs on many lawns, but it also meant that the power of the judiciary to change society was on vivid display.

Hollywood harnessed that power in early 1960s courtroom dramas "Inherit The Wind," "To Kill A Mockingbird" and the classic "Judgment At Nuremberg" where Spencer Tracy presides over a military court holding Nazis³⁰ accountable for crimes against humanity.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "JUDGMENT AT NUREMBERG")

SPENCER TRACY: (As Chief Judge Dan Haywood) This trial has shown that under a national crisis, even able and extraordinary men can delude³¹ themselves into the commission of crimes so vast and heinous³² that they beggar the imagination.

MONDELLO: The accused are themselves judges, guilty, as Burt Lancaster's Judge Janning notes on the stand, of being swept up in a national hysteria.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "JUDGMENT AT NUREMBERG")

BURT LANCASTER: (As Dr. Ernst Janning) There was a fever over the land. We had a democracy, yes, but it was torn by elements within. Only when you understand that can you understand what Hitler meant to us. He said be proud to be German. There are devils among us, communists, liberals, Jews, gypsies.

MONDELLO: It was the ancient story of the sacrificial lamb, says Janning, who goes on to explain how judges who are sworn to protect society from barbarism convinced themselves that barbarism was the lesser³³ of two evils.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "JUDGMENT AT NUREMBERG")

LANCASTER: (As Dr. Ernst Janning) Why did we take part - because we loved our country. What difference does it make if a few political extremists lose their rights? The country is in danger.

MONDELLO: Other movie judges have been swayed by love of country or love of God rather than insisting on the primacy of the law. In "A Man For All Seasons," which was released that same decade, Sir Thomas More, an English philosopher now venerated³⁴ as a saint, challenges both his king and his church, eventually losing his head for arguing that the law must be paramount³⁵.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS")

PAUL SCOFIELD: (As Thomas More) What would you do, cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil?

CORIN REDGRAVE: (As Roper) Yes, I'd cut down every law in England to do that.

SCOFIELD: (As Thomas More) Oh, and when the last law was down and the Devil turned round on you, where would you hide with the laws all being flat? This country is planted thick with laws from coast to coast - man's laws, not God's. And if you cut them down, do you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? I'd give the Devil benefit of law for my own safety's sake.

MONDELLO: The great Paul Scofield won an Oscar playing More. Not all movie magistrates³⁶ live up to his standard, of course. Film genres³⁷ require different approaches from, say, an action hero...

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "JUDGE DREDD")

ADRIENNE BARBEAU: (As Central) The DNA⁹ is a perfect match for Judge Joseph Dredd.

SYLVESTER STALLONE: (As Judge Dredd) It's a lie. I never broke the law. I am the law.

MONDELLO: ...Or a cartoon like Roger Rabbit's nemesis³⁸, Judge Doom³⁹.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT")

CHRISTOPHER LLOYD: (As Judge Doom) When I killed your brother, I talked just like this.

MONDELLO: But serious dramas still lean heavily on the probity⁴⁰ and respectability of judges. In the movie "Amistad," when Steven Spielberg needed someone to read the Supreme Court verdict that set a slave ship's passengers free, he called on a real Supreme Court justice, Harry⁴¹ Blackmun.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "AMISTAD")

HARRY BLACKMUN: (As Associate Justice Joseph Story) It is the court's judgment. That the defendants⁴² are to be released from custody⁴³ at once.

MONDELLO: Judging judges is not in my brief, as it were. But in cinematic terms, I'd say this guy's judicial⁴⁴ bearing looks a lot like the real thing. I'm Bob Mondello.

(SOUNDBITE OF ERICH KUNZEL AND THE CINCINNATI POPS ORCHESTRA PERFORMANCE OF WILLIAMS' "THE LONG ROAD TO JUSTICE")

1 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

2 depiction   

n.描述

参考例句：

• Double rhythms, resounding through the lyric depiction and connecting with each other, indicate the thespian place of mankind and the cognition of the writer to this thespian place. 这双重旋律互为表里，表明了人类的某种悲剧性处境以及作家对这种悲剧性处境的感受和认识。
• A realistic depiction of scenes from everyday domestic life. 日常家居生活的写实画。

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 hardy   

adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的

参考例句：

• The kind of plant is a hardy annual.这种植物是耐寒的一年生植物。
• He is a hardy person.他是一个能吃苦耐劳的人。

5 gee   

n.马；int.向右！前进！，惊讶时所发声音；v.向右转

参考例句：

• Their success last week will gee the team up.上星期的胜利将激励这支队伍继续前进。
• Gee,We're going to make a lot of money.哇！我们会赚好多钱啦！

6 foul   

adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规

参考例句：

• Take off those foul clothes and let me wash them.脱下那些脏衣服让我洗一洗。
• What a foul day it is!多么恶劣的天气！

7 farce   

n.闹剧，笑剧，滑稽戏；胡闹

参考例句：

• They played a shameful role in this farce.他们在这场闹剧中扮演了可耻的角色。
• The audience roared at the farce.闹剧使观众哄堂大笑。

8 vaudeville   

n.歌舞杂耍表演

参考例句：

• The standard length of a vaudeville act was 12 minutes.一个杂耍节目的标准长度是12分钟。
• The mayor talk like a vaudeville comedian in his public address.在公共演讲中，这位市长讲起话来像个歌舞杂耍演员。

9 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

10 molest   

vt.骚扰，干扰，调戏

参考例句：

• If the man continues to molest her,I promise to keep no measures with the delinquent.如果那人继续对她进行骚扰，我将对他这个违法者毫不宽容。
• If I were gone,all these would molest you.如果没有我，这一切都会来骚扰你。

11 precursor   

n.先驱者；前辈；前任；预兆；先兆

参考例句：

• Error is often the precursor of what is correct.错误常常是正确的先导。
• He said that the deal should not be seen as a precursor to a merger.他说该笔交易不应该被看作是合并的前兆。

12 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

13 esteem   

n.尊敬，尊重；vt.尊重，敬重；把…看作

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• The veteran worker ranks high in public love and esteem.那位老工人深受大伙的爱戴。

14 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。

15 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

16 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

17 anatomy   

n.解剖学，解剖；功能，结构，组织

参考例句：

• He found out a great deal about the anatomy of animals.在动物解剖学方面，他有过许多发现。
• The hurricane's anatomy was powerful and complex.对飓风的剖析是一项庞大而复杂的工作。

18 riveting   

adj.动听的，令人着迷的，完全吸引某人注意力的；n.铆接（法）

参考例句：

• I find snooker riveting though I don't play myself.虽然我自己不打斯诺克，但是我觉得它挺令人着迷。
• To my amazement,I found it riveting.但令我惊讶的是，我发现它的吸引人处。

19 aisle   

n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道

参考例句：

• The aisle was crammed with people.过道上挤满了人。
• The girl ushered me along the aisle to my seat.引座小姐带领我沿着通道到我的座位上去。

20 decency   

n.体面，得体，合宜，正派，庄重

参考例句：

• His sense of decency and fair play made him refuse the offer.他的正直感和公平竞争意识使他拒绝了这一提议。
• Your behaviour is an affront to public decency.你的行为有伤风化。

21 pros   

abbr.prosecuting 起诉；prosecutor 起诉人；professionals 自由职业者；proscenium （舞台）前部n.赞成的意见( pro的名词复数 )；赞成的理由；抵偿物；交换物

参考例句：

• The pros and cons cancel out. 正反两种意见抵消。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We should hear all the pros and cons of the matter before we make a decision. 我们在对这事做出决定之前，应该先听取正反两方面的意见。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

23 brooks   

n.小溪( brook的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Brooks gave the business when Haas caught him with his watch. 哈斯抓到偷他的手表的布鲁克斯时，狠狠地揍了他一顿。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ade and Brooks exchanged blows yesterday and they were severely punished today. 艾德和布鲁克斯昨天打起来了，今天他们受到严厉的惩罚。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 flips   

轻弹( flip的第三人称单数 )； 按（开关）； 快速翻转； 急挥

参考例句：

• Larry flips on the TV while he is on vacation in Budapest. 赖瑞在布达佩斯渡假时，打开电视收看节目。
• He flips through a book before making a decision. 他在决定买下一本书前总要先草草翻阅一下。

25 fray   

v.争吵；打斗；磨损，磨破；n.吵架；打斗

参考例句：

• Why should you get involved in their fray?你为什么要介入他们的争吵呢？
• Tempers began to fray in the hot weather.大热天脾气烦燥。

26 impartially   

adv.公平地，无私地

参考例句：

• Employers must consider all candidates impartially and without bias. 雇主必须公平而毫无成见地考虑所有求职者。
• We hope that they're going to administer justice impartially. 我们希望他们能主持正义，不偏不倚。

27 outlawed   

宣布…为不合法（outlaw的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Most states have outlawed the use of marijuana. 大多数州都宣布使用大麻为非法行为。
• I hope the sale of tobacco will be outlawed someday. 我希望有朝一日烟草制品会禁止销售。

28 segregation   

n.隔离，种族隔离

参考例句：

• Many school boards found segregation a hot potato in the early 1960s.在60年代初，许多学校部门都觉得按水平分班是一个棘手的问题。
• They were tired to death of segregation and of being kicked around.他们十分厌恶种族隔离和总是被人踢来踢去。

29 impeach   

v.弹劾；检举

参考例句：

• We must impeach the judge for taking bribes.我们一定要检举法官收受贿赂。
• The committee decided to impeach the President.委员会决定弹劾总统。

30 Nazis   

n.（德国的）纳粹党员( Nazi的名词复数 )；纳粹主义

参考例句：

• The Nazis worked them over with gun butts. 纳粹分子用枪托毒打他们。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Nazis were responsible for the mass murder of Jews during World War Ⅱ. 纳粹必须为第二次世界大战中对犹太人的大屠杀负责。 来自《简明英汉词典》

31 delude   

vt.欺骗；哄骗

参考例句：

• You won't delude him into believing it.你不能诱使他相信此事。
• Don't delude yourself into believing that she will marry you.不要自欺，别以为她会嫁给你。

32 heinous   

adj.可憎的，十恶不赦的

参考例句：

• They admitted to the most heinous crimes.他们承认了极其恶劣的罪行。
• I do not want to meet that heinous person.我不想见那个十恶不赦的人。

33 lesser   

adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地

参考例句：

• Kept some of the lesser players out.不让那些次要的球员参加联赛。
• She has also been affected,but to a lesser degree.她也受到波及，但程度较轻。

34 venerated   

敬重（某人或某事物），崇敬( venerate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• My father venerated General Eisenhower. 我父亲十分敬仰艾森豪威尔将军。
• He used the sacraments and venerated the saints. 他行使圣事，崇拜圣人。 来自英汉非文学 - 文明史

35 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。

36 magistrates   

地方法官，治安官( magistrate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to come up before the magistrates 在地方法院出庭
• He was summoned to appear before the magistrates. 他被传唤在地方法院出庭。

37 genres   

（文学、艺术等的）类型，体裁，风格( genre的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Novel and short story are different genres. 长篇小说和短篇小说是不同的类别。
• But confusions over the two genres have a long history. 但是类型的混淆，古已有之。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译

38 nemesis   

n.给以报应者，复仇者，难以对付的敌手

参考例句：

• Uncritical trust is my nemesis.盲目的相信一切害了我自己。
• Inward suffering is the worst of Nemesis.内心的痛苦是最厉害的惩罚。

39 doom   

n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定

参考例句：

• The report on our economic situation is full of doom and gloom.这份关于我们经济状况的报告充满了令人绝望和沮丧的调子。
• The dictator met his doom after ten years of rule.独裁者统治了十年终于完蛋了。

40 probity   

n.刚直；廉洁，正直

参考例句：

• Probity and purity will command respect everywhere.为人正派到处受人尊敬。
• Her probity and integrity are beyond question.她的诚实和正直是无可争辩的。

41 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

42 defendants   

被告( defendant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The courts heard that the six defendants had been coerced into making a confession. 法官审判时发现6位被告人曾被迫承认罪行。
• As in courts, the defendants are represented by legal counsel. 与法院相同，被告有辩护律师作为代表。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

43 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

44 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。