【美剧文化】揭秘美剧独特魅力的背后.

　　每周一集、逢假必停。美剧到底有何魅力令众多美剧迷们乐此不疲地追剧?现在，我们就在知名剧评人的带领下，一起揭开美剧的独特魅力。

　　US dramas and their magic touch

　　揭秘美剧独特魅力的背后

　　Fans of US television dramas watch their favorite series for different reasons: some want to improve their English skills, others just want to kill time.

　　美剧迷们追美剧的理由五花八门：有人为了提高英语水平，也有人只是为了打发时间。

　　No matter what type of series you prer or why you watch them, some TV series are more than pure entertainment ― they have a certain depth. Mad Men, which returned with a sixth season recently; Monday Mornings, which just finished its first season; and Modern Family, which sweeps the awards every year, are just a few examples.

　　不管你喜欢哪类美剧，也不管你出于什么目的来追剧，总有些剧集不仅仅只是娱乐那么简单——自有深意在其中。比如近日携第六季回归的《广告狂人》、第一季刚刚落下帷幕的《周一清晨》、还有每年都会横扫各大颁奖礼的《摩登家庭》，这样的例子还有很多。

　　Why do these shows stand out among so many similar ones? 21st Century talked to well-known film/TV critics Raymond Zhou and Bi Chenggong to give you an idea of why some shows are better than others and what we get from them.

　　是什么使得这些剧集能够从众多的同类中脱颖而出?《二十一世纪英文报》就这一问题采访了知名影评人周黎明与毕成功，以便你能更好地了解这些美剧的高明之处并从中得到启发。

　　Period drama

　　历史剧

　　More than time travel

　　不仅只是穿越

　　Period dramas are intended to capture the *ambience of a particular era. Directors must therore attract audiences as much by their recreation of a historical setting as by an *engrossing storyline.

　　历史剧旨在捕捉一个特定时代的历史环境。因此，为吸引观众，导演必须再现历史情境，并打造出引人入胜的故事情节。

　　Mad Men is an excellent example of this balance being struck. Set in New York during the 1960s, it accurately depicts US *ideology and attitudes in the workplace through the alcoholism, sexism, and chain-smoking common of the time, and places an absorbing plot right in its center.

　　在这两个方面，《广告狂人》都可称得上是个中翘楚。该剧的故事背景设定在上世纪六十年代的纽约，剧中通过再现那个时代常见的酗酒、性别歧视以及烟不离手的场景，准确地刻画了当时美国人的思想意识以及工作态度，而引人入胜的剧情也是恰到好处。

　　But rather than merely portraying a past decade with an *exquisite set and *props, Mad Men’s subtle depiction of the internal struggles of white-collar workers at the time, both male and female, makes it stand out.

　　但该剧并不仅仅只是动用精美布景与道具来再现那样一个逝去的十年，《广告狂人》对当时白领男女内心挣扎的细微刻画，也使得该剧脱颖而出。

　　“The series’ attention to detail is legendary,” Raymond Zhou said. “For example, creator Matthew Weiner makes Don Draper ― the *protagonist of the series ― drive a Buick instead of a Cadillac, because Weiner thinks the ad man lacks the self-esteem to buy a luxury car. It’s this kind of attentiveness that raises the show’s *connotation and artistic value.”

　　“该剧以专注细节而著称。”周黎明说：“举例来说，编剧马修•维纳让主角唐•德雷柏驾驶一辆别克而非凯迪拉克，因为维纳认为，身为广告策划人的这位主角，并没有自负到要购买豪华轿车的程度。正是这种专注提升了整部剧的内涵与艺术价值。”

　　What may appear on the surface as a carree era of adultery and drug abuse, is, deep down, an unsettling environment in which individuals are *alienated from each other and themselves. The market forces they seek to control are, in fact, controlling them.

　　表面上看起来那是一个毒品泛滥的滥情年代，而究其根本，则是在一个动荡不安的环境中，人们相互疏离，甚至对自己也是如此。人们一心想掌控市场力量，而实际上却被它玩弄于股掌之间。

　　Whether we are conscious of these issues while watching the series is a different matter, but subconsciously we can relate to the characters, their struggles and their loss of identity, because we know it’s the same today.

　　我们在追剧时是否意识到这些问题尚且别论，但在潜意识里，剧中人物的挣扎与自我迷失都令我们感同身受，因为我们知道，今时今日，并无不同。

　　Critics also recommend

　　同类剧推荐

　　Another period drama that works on a similarly subconscious level is Broadwalk Empire, set during the prohibition period of the 1920s and 1930s in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

　　与之异曲同工的历史剧集还有《大西洋帝国》，故事发生在上世纪二三十年代刚刚颁布禁酒令的新泽西州大西洋城。

　　Heather Havrilesky at Salon magazine, noted how the show “revels in the oddities of its time, peeling back the layers of polite society to reveal a *giddy shadow world of criminals and politicians collaborating to keep the liquor flowing.”

　　来自美国《沙龙》杂志的希瑟•赫里雷斯基指出该剧是如何“着迷于当时的一片光怪陆离，又是如何通过对上流社会抽丝剥茧，展现出一个罪犯与政客相互勾结来维持酒水交易的，令人眼花缭乱的阴暗世界。”

　　Why does it appeal to viewers? Because they know that the “liquor” is a metaphor for today’s political scandals.

　　它为何如此吸引观众?因为观众知道剧中的“酒”是对当下政治丑闻的一种隐喻。

　　Fans of US television dramas watch their favorite series for different reasons: some want to improve their English skills, others just want to kill time.

　　美剧迷们追美剧的理由五花八门：有人为了提高英语水平，也有人只是为了打发时间。

　　No matter what type of series you prer or why you watch them, some TV series are more than pure entertainment ― they have a certain depth. Mad Men, which returned with a sixth season recently; Monday Mornings, which just finished its first season; and Modern Family, which sweeps the awards every year, are just a few examples.

　　不管你喜欢哪类美剧，也不管你出于什么目的来追剧，总有些剧集不仅仅只是娱乐那么简单——自有深意在其中。比如近日携第六季回归的《广告狂人》、第一季刚刚落下帷幕的《周一清晨》、还有每年都会横扫各大颁奖礼的《摩登家庭》，这样的例子还有很多。

　　Why do these shows stand out among so many similar ones? 21st Century talked to well-known film/TV critics Raymond Zhou and Bi Chenggong to give you an idea of why some shows are better than others and what we get from them.

　　是什么使得这些剧集能够从众多的同类中脱颖而出?《二十一世纪英文报》就这一问题采访了知名影评人周黎明与毕成功，以便你能更好地了解这些美剧的高明之处并从中得到启发。

　　Family comedy

　　家庭喜剧

　　New, but familiar

　　新奇，但又熟悉

　　One of the top factors that makes a good comedy, undoubtedly, is that it makes you laugh. In that case, Modern Family, the family comedy that has won the Emmy’s Outstanding Comedy Series award for three consecutive years, deserves the crown.

　　毋庸置疑，一部喜剧佳作首要元素之一就是让人开怀大笑。如此看来，连续三年获得艾美奖喜剧类最佳剧集的《摩登家庭》可谓实至名归。

　　“Everything works with Modern Family, the clever writing, the brilliant acting, and the mockumentary-style, talking directly into the camera format,” Bi Chenggong said.

　　“巧妙的剧本、出色的表演，还有直接对着镜头讲话的伪纪录片风格，《摩登家庭》一切都是如此完美。”毕成功说。

　　The fundamental reason of its success, however, is the underlying philosophy, which is inoffensive and populist. “It give us something new in very familiar terms,” Bi said. “The contradictory title of the show reminds us of this reality. It’s a progressive (modern) sitcom about conservative stuff (family).”

　　而该剧大获成功的根本原因在于其中蕴含的温和的平民哲学。“它在我们所熟知的情境中给予我们新的启发。”毕成功说。“自相矛盾的剧名也说明了这一点，这是一部讲述传统家庭主题的摩登喜剧。”

　　The characters in the series are vividly particular and beautifully rendered, and they have what network executives used to call “relevance”.

　　剧中的角色个性鲜明，生动鲜活，人物表现非常完美，他们具有电视台高层们口中所称的“重要性”的东西。

　　“Clueless dad, bookish daughter, same sex couple with kids, there is quite literally something for everyone on a show like Modern Family,” TV critic Bruce Feiler wrote in his review for The New York Times. “Viewers are able to relate to them and being comfortable with the family.”

　　“呆头呆脑的爸爸，书生气十足的女儿，同性恋情侣和他们领养的小孩，每个人都能在《摩登家庭》这样的剧集中找到个人喜好。”电视评论员布鲁斯•费勒在《纽约时报》的评论中写道。“剧中的家庭让观众产生共鸣，毫无观剧障碍。”

　　“But the main thing about them is, they’re not going anywhere,” Feiler wrote. “Restless or reconciled, they’re all held nicely in the bonds of love.”

　　“而最重要的是，他们始终在一起，”费勒写道。“不管争执还是和解，他们因爱而相连。”

　　Critics also recommend

　　同类剧推荐

　　Shameless is another comedy that focuses on family life, but this time it’s a dysfunctional, middle-class family from Chicago’s South Side. With an alcoholic father, the other members of the family must fend for themselves physically, financially, and emotionally.

　　《无耻之徒》是另一部讲述家庭生活的喜剧，但它描绘的则是一个来自芝加哥南部、有些离经叛道的中产阶级家庭。由于父亲是酒鬼，家中其他成员不得不自己照顾和养活自己。

　　“Shameless reinvents this type of show by relying on both humor and poignant sentimentality,” Bi Chenggong said. “It’s aiming for the funny bone and the heart.”

　　“《无耻之徒》凭借打幽默与悲情牌重新定义了此种类型的喜剧。”毕成功说。“它旨在逗你开怀大笑的同时又触动你的心灵。”