2022年经济学人 西德尼·波蒂埃是电影界的开路英雄（在线收听）

Books and Arts

文学与艺术

Hollywood legends -- The defiant one

好莱坞传奇——挑战者

Sidney Poitier was a trailblazing hero of cinema

西德尼·波蒂埃是电影界的开路英雄

He showed the world that black actors could be Hollywood heroes.

他向世界展示了黑人演员可以成为好莱坞的英雄。

In films such as “To Sir, With Love”, “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” and “In the Heat of the Night”, all released in 1967, Sir Sidney Poitier was not a loyal sidekick or a servant.

在1967年上映的电影《吾爱吾师》、《猜猜谁来吃晚餐》和《炎热的夏夜》中，西德尼·波蒂埃爵士演的不是忠诚的助手或仆人。

He was a blisteringly handsome, nuanced and charismatic leading man.

他是英俊潇洒、表演细腻、极具魅力的男主角。

His talent, elegance and class made him a superstar, and, in 1964, they made him the first ever black actor to win an Academy Award for a leading role, in “Lilies of the Field”.

他的才华、优雅和品位使他成为了一名巨星，并且在1964年，他凭借《野百合》成为了第一个获得奥斯卡最佳男主角的黑人演员。

Many in the film industry and beyond revered him as a trailblazer who refused to play any part that might reflect badly on black people.

电影行业内外的许多人都尊他为开拓者，他拒绝扮演任何可能有损黑人形象的角色。

A few critics called him bland and ingratiating.

一些评论家说他平平无奇且善于逢迎。

In the New York Times in 1967 Clifford Mason defined his benign on-screen persona as “a good guy in a totally white world…helping the white man solve the white man’s problem”.

在1967年的《纽约时报》上，克利福德·梅森将他银幕上的和善形象定义为“一个在全部是白人的世界中……帮助白人解决白人问题的好人”。

But no one could mistake the determination and skill it took for Sir Sidney, who died last week at the age of 94, to become Hollywood’s exemplar of African-American dignity.

但没有人会误解西德尼爵士（于上周去世，享年94岁）想要成为好莱坞非裔美国人尊严模范的决心和技能。

Born in 1927, he was the seventh child of farmers who grew tomatoes in the Bahamas.

他出生于1927年，是巴哈马群岛一对种植西红柿的农民的第七个孩子。

At 15 his parents sent him to live in Miami; the following year he moved to New York, where he worked on his diction by listening to radio announcers, and improved his literacy by poring over newspapers with a kind Jewish waiter at the restaurant where he washed dishes.

15岁时，父母将他送往迈阿密居住；第二年，他搬到纽约，在那里他通过听电台播音员的声音来练习发音，并与他洗盘子的餐厅里一位善良的犹太服务员一起研读报纸来提高自己的读写能力。

He joined the American Negro Theatre, and by the time he was cast in his first film, “No Way Out” (1950), he was as authoritative as any actor of any background, with a fiery glare, an imposing physical presence, exquisite poise and a penetrating voice.

他加入了美国黑人剧院，当他出演他的第一部电影《无路可走》（1950年）时，他已经与具有各种出身背景的演员一样具有权威性，他有着炽烈的目光、俊朗的外形、高雅的姿态和具有穿透力的声音。

It was hard for any viewer to look away from him, or down on him.

任何观众都很难将目光从他身上移开，或者小瞧他。

Most of his films tackled racism.

他的大部分电影都与种族主义相关。

In the 1950s they included “Cry, the Beloved Country”, the filming of which let him see South African apartheid first-hand (he later played Nelson Mandela in a made-for-television biopic); “Blackboard Jungle”, a seminal rock ’n’ roll high-school drama; and “Porgy and Bess”, Otto Preminger’s film of George Gershwin’s musical.

其中1950年代的作品有：《非洲的愤怒》，这部电影让他亲眼目睹了南非的种族隔离状况（他后来在一部电视传记片中扮演纳尔逊·曼德拉）；《黑板丛林》，一部开创性的高中摇滚戏剧；以及《乞丐与荡妇》，这是奥托·普雷明格改编的乔治·格什温的音乐剧。

In “The Defiant Ones”, his chain-gang fugitive was manacled to a southern bigot played by Tony Curtis. Both were nominated for Oscars.

在《逃狱惊魂》中，他和托尼·柯蒂斯饰演的南方偏执狂被铁链锁在一起一同逃亡。两人都获得了奥斯卡提名。

Still, the criticisms hurt.

尽管如此，批评还是伤害到了他。

Tired of being a figurehead, Sir Sidney switched to lighter comic roles in the 1970s and directed several raucous comedies; “Stir Crazy” (1980) was his biggest hit.

厌倦了被人们说名不副实，西德尼爵士在1970年代转演轻松的喜剧角色，并执导了几部喧闹的喜剧。《油腔滑调》（1980年）是其中最成功的一部。

Knighted in 1974, he took a decade-long break from acting in his 50s, returning to the screen all too rarely afterwards.

1974年，他被封为爵士，并在50多岁时停演休整了长达十年的时间，之后便很少再出现在银幕上。

But he had already achieved as much as anyone in Hollywood history.

但他已经取得了好莱坞历史上任何一个人都没有的成就。

It wasn’t until 2002 that a second black star, Denzel Washington, received an Oscar for his performance in a leading role.

一直到2002年，才出现了第二位黑人明星丹泽尔·华盛顿，他凭借其在影片中的出色表现获得奥斯卡奖。

On the same evening, Mr Washington presented Sir Sidney with an honorary award for his extraordinary life’s work.

当天晚上，华盛顿先生向西德尼爵士颁发了荣誉奖，以表彰他这一生杰出的成果。