美国国家公共电台 NPR Parker Posey Writes Her Own Myth In 'You're On An Airplane'

 

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

Parker Posey is not the kind of movie star who seems distant and unapproachable. Instead, people shout her most famous lines at her when they pass her on the street.

PARKER POSEY: I've gotten air raid for, you know, 25 years.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "DAZED AND CONFUSED")

POSEY: (As Darla, shouting) Air raid. That was pathetic.

SHAPIRO: That's from "Dazed And Confused," 1993.

POSEY: And busy bee - you know, where's my busy bee?

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "BEST IN SHOW")

MICHAEL HITCHCOCK: (As Hamilton Swan) You want your busy bee. You get your busy bee.

POSEY: (As Meg Swan) You get the busy bee. I need to trim her whiskers. It's in the crate¹.

HITCHCOCK: (As Hamilton Swan) Where is it?

POSEY: (As Meg Swan) It's in the crate.

SHAPIRO: "Best In Show," 2000 - 1 of 5 semi-improvised documentary-spoof films she's made with the director Christopher Guest. There's also a couple Woody Allen films, a new Netflix reboot of "Lost In Space," some soap opera work as a teenager.

POSEY: And "Josie And The Pussycats." Yeah, it's mainly "Josie And The Pussycats."

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS")

POSEY: (As Fiona) I was too late. They were already taking off the ears.

SHAPIRO: "Josie And The Pussycats," 2001. She gets that from her younger fans. Now, the actress once called the queen of independent film has a new book. It's called "You're On An Airplane." The entire narrative² is written as though Parker Posey is speaking to someone sitting next to her on a long flight. It's sprinkled with collages³, cocktail⁴ recipes and stories from her life, in no particular order. She calls it a self-mythologizing memoir⁵.

POSEY: Every memoir is self-mythologizing. But since you read the book, you know that I'm pronouncing it me-moir (ph).

SHAPIRO: (Laughter) Yes.

POSEY: (Laughter) It's so dumb.

(LAUGHTER)

SHAPIRO: It makes me think of somebody referring to their grandmother as Me-Maw (ph).

POSEY: Yes. Did you have a Me-Maw?

SHAPIRO: No, I'm Jewish. Jews don't have Me-Maw's.

POSEY: Oh.

SHAPIRO: But what does self-mythologizing mean in this book?

POSEY: It was a certain attention that I wanted to give to these stories that kind of repeat themselves in images, you know, really a part of me. I think actors can tap into this kind of archetypal thing. I think that's what the job is, you know.

SHAPIRO: What do you mean by that?

POSEY: Just like whether it's a queen or princess or a fool or a Medusa, an Iago, a - the old Greek mythology⁶ and...

SHAPIRO: The roles that keep coming back again and again...

POSEY: The stories were just...

SHAPIRO: ...To tell us something about ourselves.

POSEY: Exactly. And we keep, you know, Rubik's Cubing (ph) them. And there were things in my childhood that I remember that were animated⁷ and, for me, that were like characters, like the Morton salt girl or the devil on the deviled ham, and growing up as a, you know, as a Catholic, a southern Catholic, and so there's a relationship to the father and to God.

SHAPIRO: But when I think of the roles that you play, I don't think of the Medea character or the Lady Macbeth or the archetypal figures. I think of the figures who seem so unique and like they've been invented for the first time.

POSEY: Oh, that's really - that's nice of you to say. Thank you. I think Dr. Smith is a total Medusa, though.

SHAPIRO: This is in "Lost In Space."

POSEY: Yes.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "LOST IN SPACE")

IGNACIO SERRICCHIO: (As Don West) What about the rest of your family?

POSEY: (As June Harris/Dr. Smith) They won't be coming.

SERRICCHIO: (As Don West) Oh, sorry, Miss...

POSEY: (As June Harris/Dr. Smith) Doctor - Dr. Smith.

You know, she can carry that. It's those big, kind of epic⁸ roles that you usually see in theater that you see on shows like "Game Of Thrones" now, or "Star Wars" where these actors are encompassing⁹ all this energy, you know, that are like those old Greek plays. But, yeah, this book - and as far as being inventive, you know, I come from a family of characters. I wish you could have met Nonnie and Granny and, of course, my own parents. They're entertaining people.

SHAPIRO: The first photo your mother took of you, or at least the first photo you have, your mother put fake eyelashes on your face.

POSEY: No one took a picture of me in the incubator during the six weeks I was in it. The false eyelashes to me is like - it was such a moment, right? It was just something that was so natural for my family to self-dramatize, to entertain each other and to expect entertainment from everyone else. Now, underneath¹⁰ all that is, of course, a lot of pain and a lot of drama because you create that humor out of I think a, you know, a brokenness or, like, I need to make myself laugh at this.

SHAPIRO: In this book, you write about interactions with people who have been caught up in #MeToo controversies¹¹. There's Woody Allen. There's Louis C.K. But you don't write a lot about sexual harassment¹², per se, or the way women generally can be mistreated in Hollywood. Was that ever part of your experience?

POSEY: Not so much. I feel very unusual, you know? I never really thought of myself as, like, you know, a babe because I'm more of a funny person. I'm more of a character actor. You know, when the veil was lifted and I was reminded of all the indignities¹³ as a whole, it was heartbreaking to me. And you're just like, I know some of you guys had good moms and great relationships with your sisters. Like, why is this still happening, you know? And then in the way that the press is dealing¹⁴ with it, too, and how actresses are supposed to position themselves as politicians - please, don't make me do that. I get - I start to sweat. It's not me. I ramble¹⁵. I want to be truthful¹⁶.

SHAPIRO: But this is also part of the flip¹⁷ side of fame that you were talking about, that with fame comes an expectation that you have a spotlight¹⁸ on you; you'll use the spotlight in a particular way.

POSEY: Yeah. And then it ends up being you're just on the spot, you know? And, I mean, I think we really like that right now, all right? I think it's call-out culture that is upstaged storytelling auteurs, great artists, and it makes me incredibly sad because I think stories in the screen of movies, television, these things that we hold in our hands, can make us feel connected, entertain us and make us nicer, more compassionate¹⁹ and more interested in each other.

SHAPIRO: Let's talk about something a little less serious.

POSEY: OK - on to brighter things.

SHAPIRO: It seems like you've lived so many lives as an actress from your youth doing soap operas and independent films to the whole Christopher Guest oeuvre to now being on the Netflix show "Lost In Space" and creating films with Woody Allen. At one point in the book, you say that Shirley MacLaine inspired the kind of woman you wanted to become.

POSEY: (Laughter).

SHAPIRO: So I'm wondering who your inspiration is for the kind of woman you want to be next?

POSEY: I have a lot of different parts that I think of that I create for myself. You know, I'd like to do something with food.

SHAPIRO: Like a cooking show?

POSEY: Not a cooking show but just, like, making cheese or growing mushrooms.

SHAPIRO: Get away from acting²⁰ altogether.

POSEY: Oh, yeah. And then I could write about that.

SHAPIRO: Are you saying that this memoir is not just Parker Posey celebrity²¹ memoir, but this is the beginning of a new chapter where Parker Posey expands into all kinds of other fields that we don't associate with you?

POSEY: I think so. Is that too weird²²?

SHAPIRO: I'm excited to see where it leads.

POSEY: Will I be in your victory garden?

SHAPIRO: (Laughter) You will have a place of pride in my victory garden, Parker Posey.

(LAUGHTER)

SHAPIRO: Thank you so much for talking with us today.

POSEY: Thank you, Ari.

SHAPIRO: Her new book is "You're On An Airplane: A Self-Mythologizing Memoir."

(SOUNDBITE OF MEDESKI, MARTIN AND WOOD'S "UNINVISIBLE")

1 crate   

vt.(up)把…装入箱中；n.板条箱，装货箱

参考例句：

• We broke open the crate with a blow from the chopper.我们用斧头一敲就打开了板条箱。
• The workers tightly packed the goods in the crate.工人们把货物严紧地包装在箱子里。

2 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

3 collages   

n.拼贴画( collage的名词复数 )；杂烩

参考例句：

• My work includes mixed media, paintings and digital collages. 我的工作包括混合媒介，绘画和数码拼贴。 来自互联网
• I love making photo collages. 我喜欢做照片拼贴。 来自互联网

4 cocktail   

n.鸡尾酒；餐前开胃小吃；混合物

参考例句：

• We invited some foreign friends for a cocktail party.我们邀请了一些外国朋友参加鸡尾酒会。
• At a cocktail party in Hollywood,I was introduced to Charlie Chaplin.在好莱坞的一次鸡尾酒会上，人家把我介绍给查理·卓别林。

5 memoir   

n.[pl.]回忆录，自传；记事录

参考例句：

• He has just published a memoir in honour of his captain.他刚刚出了一本传记来纪念他的队长。
• In her memoir,the actress wrote about the bittersweet memories of her first love.在那个女演员的自传中，她写到了自己苦乐掺半的初恋。

6 mythology   

n.神话，神话学，神话集

参考例句：

• In Greek mythology,Zeus was the ruler of Gods and men.在希腊神话中，宙斯是众神和人类的统治者。
• He is the hero of Greek mythology.他是希腊民间传说中的英雄。

7 animated   

adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的

参考例句：

• His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion.他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。
• We had an animated discussion over current events last evening.昨天晚上我们热烈地讨论时事。

8 epic   

n.史诗，叙事诗；adj.史诗般的，壮丽的

参考例句：

• I gave up my epic and wrote this little tale instead.我放弃了写叙事诗，而写了这个小故事。
• They held a banquet of epic proportions.他们举行了盛大的宴会。

9 encompassing   

v.围绕( encompass的现在分词 )；包围；包含；包括

参考例句：

• Being too large and all-encompassing is a common defect among state-owned enterprises. 过分追求大而全，是国企的一大通病。 来自互联网
• Our services are: all-encompassing, love justice and high quality. 我们的服务目标是：全方位、真情义、高质量。 来自互联网

10 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

11 controversies   

争论

参考例句：

• We offer no comment on these controversies here. 对于这些争议，我们在这里不作任何评论。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史
• The controversies surrounding population growth are unlikely to subside soon. 围绕着人口增长问题的争论看来不会很快平息。 来自辞典例句

12 harassment   

n.骚扰，扰乱，烦恼，烦乱

参考例句：

• She often got telephone harassment at night these days.这些天她经常在夜晚受到电话骚扰。
• The company prohibits any form of harassment.公司禁止任何形式的骚扰行为。

13 indignities   

n.侮辱，轻蔑( indignity的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The soldiers who were captured suffered many indignities at the hands of the enemy. 被俘的士兵在敌人手中受尽侮辱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• What sort of indignities would he be forced to endure? 他会被迫忍受什么样的侮辱呢？ 来自辞典例句

14 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

15 ramble   

v.漫步，漫谈，漫游；n.漫步，闲谈，蔓延

参考例句：

• This is the best season for a ramble in the suburbs.这是去郊区漫游的最好季节。
• I like to ramble about the street after work.我下班后在街上漫步。

16 truthful   

adj.真实的，说实话的，诚实的

参考例句：

• You can count on him for a truthful report of the accident.你放心，他会对事故作出如实的报告的。
• I don't think you are being entirely truthful.我认为你并没全讲真话。

17 flip   

vt.快速翻动；轻抛；轻拍；n.轻抛；adj.轻浮的

参考例句：

• I had a quick flip through the book and it looked very interesting.我很快翻阅了一下那本书，看来似乎很有趣。
• Let's flip a coin to see who pays the bill.咱们来抛硬币决定谁付钱。

18 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

19 compassionate   

adj.有同情心的，表示同情的

参考例句：

• She is a compassionate person.她是一个有同情心的人。
• The compassionate judge gave the young offender a light sentence.慈悲的法官从轻判处了那个年轻罪犯。

20 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

21 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

22 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。