fc2ブログ

Uncharted Territory

自分が読んで興味深く感じた英文記事を中心に取り上げる予定です

RSS     Archives
 

ジェンキンスさんは今

 
拉致被害者の曽我さんの旦那さんであるジェンキンスさんがアトランティックの記事になっていました。

SKETCH SEPTEMBER 2013
The U.S. Soldier Who Defected to North Korea
... and now lives in Japan selling crackers

GRAEME WOODAUG 14 2013, 8:20 PM ET


When I met Jenkins, his top priority was to sell me senbei, light-brown honey-flavored crackers. He is employed by a historical museum, where he wears a yellow kimono-like jacket called a happi and hawks cracker boxes to tourists in the gift shop. “You must be Mr. Jenkins,” I said to him, and he responded affirmatively in a hillbilly drawl, a legacy of his dirt-poor childhood in rural North Carolina. Like the Japanese tourists who flock to see him, I found his diminutive, jug-eared appearance endearing, and bought a box of crackers immediately. A minute later, he told me he’d sent a box of senbei to his military lawyer, a Texan. “He told me it was the awfulest cookie he ever tasted,” Jenkins said.

The Japanese consider Jenkins and Soga’s story a great modern romance: two people find love under Orwellian conditions, and through mutual devotion win their freedom. When visitors stroll into the shop, they whisper to each other (“Jenkins-san!”) and stare at Jenkins until he beckons them to pose for a picture. “Photo” is one of the few words he knows in Japanese—he speaks Korean at home.


「せんべい」はcrackerになるのですね。今回の記事の書き出しは「一般から特殊」という流れです。

We all do stupid things when we’re drunk, but among bad decisions, this one deserves special distinction

曽我さんとのコミュニケーションは朝鮮語なのですね。
 

Be Optimistic

 




Everything you’ve been through, how do you feel about America in 2013?という質問に対するギフォード元議員の言葉には心から勇気づけられます。

マララさんやギフォードさんが参加していたのは、7月上旬に開かれたアスペン・アイデア・フェスティバル。協賛である雑誌アトランティックが特設サイトを作り、最新号はIdea Issueとなっています。

日経新聞も先日このフェスティバルを記事にしていました。有料会員向け記事なのでさわりだけ。

米国磨くアスペンの夏 
産官学が育む知的交流
2013/7/14付
 コロラド州アスペン。毎年夏になると、スキーで有名なこの山岳リゾートに米国中から産官学の有力者たちが集まる。その舞台は山麓にあるアスペン研究所だ。
 研究所の起源は1949年、ドイツの文豪ゲーテの生誕200年を記念した国際会議にさかのぼる。毎夏、半世紀以上にわたって様々な分野の有識者が議論を交わしてきた。多くは非公開で謎に包まれていた。
 だが、9年前にジャーナリスト出身のウォルター・アイザックソン氏が理事長になると変革が始まった。討論の一部を公開し、研究所だけではなく市内のホテルも使って討論会を開くようになった。
 7月2日まで開かれた主要イベントの「アスペン・アイデア・フェスティバル」に足を運んでみた。


(補足)
アスペン・アイデア・フェスティバルに関しては、英語ではAspen Ideas Festivalとなっています。マララさんもIdeasと発音していますよね。でも、日本語にしたときに アスペン・アイデアズ・フェスティバルとしたら、英語に詳しくない人にとっては「アイデアズって?」となりわかりにくくなってしまいそうです。英語学習者は単複に意識を向けながらも、カタカナは英語ではないと割り切った方がいい場合もありそうです。
 

『アメリカ英語背景辞典』の威力

 
前のブログのセルフカバーの記事です(苦笑)



今月のアトランテックの特集記事はゲイカップルから多いに学べることでした。

mag-issue-large.jpg

The Gay Guide to Wedded Bliss
Research finds that same-sex unions are happier than heterosexual marriages. What can gay and lesbian couples teach straight ones about living in harmony?
LIZA MUNDY MAY 22 2013, 9:58 PM ET

個人的な思い出話で恐縮ですが、学生のバイト時代の知り合いに同性愛者の父親を持っている人がいました。その父親は世間体のために偽装結婚をしていたそうです。そんなドラマみたいな世界があるのかと実感した忘れられないエピソードですが、そんな世間体のために結婚とかをするくらいなら、好きな人と結婚している同性愛者同士から学べることは大いにありそうです。

ただ、記事を詳しくまだ読んでいませんが、変に同性婚を理想化してしまうとそれは単に偏見の裏返しにしかすぎなくなりますから、同じように悩み、過ちを犯す等身大の人間として理解してく方が大事なのではと個人的には思います。そういった点で、同性愛同士の結婚を山あり谷ありで描いたキッズオーライトという映画はよかったです。



『アメリカ英語背景辞典』の話はこれからです、すいません。この特集記事で思い出したのは先月の母の日に合わせて出た雑誌New Yorkerの表紙です。このような家族のかたちが普通になっていくのでしょうか。日本では20年後でも難しい感じですが。。。

この表紙について触れているニューヨーカーの記事が以下で、話の切り出しにクラシックなテレビ番組All in the Familyを引き合いに出しています。

130513_2013_p290.jpg

MAY 6, 2013
COVER STORY: HAPPY MOTHERS’ DAY
POSTED BY CHRIS WARE

As a kid, my grandparents, and millions of other viewers rarely missed an episode of the television program “All in the Family.” For those too young to know, Norman Lear’s aboriginal must-see TV hilariously highlighted the friction between the nineteen-sixties’ “progressive” generation and their parents via the bigoted, but strangely lovable, character of Archie Bunker. I suspect most of its viewers shared more in common with Archie’s prejudices than they wanted to admit, but laughing at him allowed one to take the first step towards changing one’s own biases, whether one knew it or not.
(中略)
Well, okay. In the spirit of openheartedness and what life is really all about, I’ll go so far as to say that the fear of others may mask some deep-seated desire to understand, and maybe even to love. Because really, what is there to be afraid of? Few people today don’t know—or have in their families—at least one loving couple who are raising children, same-sex or not. And it’s really just the loving part that matters. That same-sex marriage could go from its preliminary draft of “diagnosable” to the final edit of “so what?” must indicate some positive evolution on the part of the larger human consciousness. My wife, being a biology teacher, puts it even more succinctly: “Why are all these people so worried about who everybody else is sleeping with, anyway?” (Score two for Moms.)

So, a final draft: happy Mothers’ Day, moms. We are grateful to, and love, you all.

All in the Familyは以前の記事で、アクターズスタジオのジェームスリプトンがこれまで一番影響力の大きいテレビ番組としてあげていたものですね。

James Lipton, host, Inside the Actors Studio
All in the Family gave us not stereotypes but archetypes—Archie, Edith, Meathead—and drew a line between all TV comedy that went before and everything that has come after.



ニューヨーカーの記事ではこのテレビ番組のことをhilariously highlighted the friction between the nineteen-sixties’ “progressive” generation and their parents via the bigoted, but strangely lovable, character of Archie Bunkerと紹介してくれていますね。

アメリカ英語背景辞典アメリカ英語背景辞典
(1994/11)
渋谷 彰久

商品詳細を見る

お待たせしましたが『アメリカ英語背景辞典』ではArchie Bunker 「アーチー・バンカー」として見出しがたっていました。

テレビ番組All in the Family (1971-83)の主人公Archie Bunkerは頑迷固陋なブルーカラー労働者である。保守思想の持ち主でタブー語も遠慮なく口にする。キャロル・オコナーCaroll O’Connor(1924-)が演じて好評であった。Archie Bunkerは「保守的で頑固でズバズバものを言う人」の意味で使われる。

日本だと小林亜星の『寺内貫太郎一家』みたいなものなのでしょうか。どちらのテレビ番組も見たことのない奴の適当な意見ですが。。。(汗)

ここで重要なのは、「Archie Bunkerは「保守的で頑固でズバズバものを言う人」の意味で使われる。」ですね。まさにニューヨーカーの記事も同性婚に反対する人の典型例としてArchie Bunkerが挙げられています。

随分と遠回りしてしまいましたが、『アメリカ英語背景辞典』はこのように外国に住む日本人が理解しづらい表現の背景とそのニュアンスを伝えてくれるとてもありがたい本です。良心的に取り組んでいる英語教師の方を批判しているばかりで申し訳ありませんが、言語を学ぶことは喜怒哀楽があふれた人間世界を理解するという方向性も忘れてほしくないと思います。ええ、分かっていますよ、英語教師の需要は短期間で合格に導くノウハウを伝えることこそにあるというのは。。。
 

アメリカで影響が大きかったテレビ番組

 
アトランテックで以下のようなアンケートをとっていました。サタデーナイトライブ、エドサリバンショー、60ミニッツ、シンプソンズなど、いろいろな番組名が日本人でも浮かびそうですね。

What was the most … ever?という質問なので、選ばれたのはその番組が基本フォーマットになったものばかりです。こういうのを知らなくても資格もとれますし、テストでも良い点はとれるでしょう。でも、日本人だったら、「頭が高い!控えおろう!」という台詞を聞けば水戸黄門が想像できたり、太陽に吠えろと聞けばパラパ~ パパラ~ パラパ~ パパラパーパパーというテーマが想像できたりする人が多いですよね。

雑学の領域なんで、勉強素材なんかではないのですが、人の気持ちを理解するには、あなどれない要素だったりもします。雑誌Timeなどを定期的に読み続けるメリットはこういう感覚もつくからなんですよね。Yutaが知らなかった番組を中心にYoutube動画を一緒にして一部抜粋したものが以下です。今は、クラシックなテレビ番組もすぐに探せるので便利になりましたね。

THE BIG QUESTION
JUNE 2013
What Was the Most Influential TV Show Ever?
All in the Family, SNL, 60 Minutes, and more
MAY 22 2013, 9:58 PM ET



James Lipton, host, Inside the Actors Studio
All in the Family gave us not stereotypes but archetypes—Archie, Edith, Meathead—and drew a line between all TV comedy that went before and everything that has come after.

Jason Katims, co-creator and show runner, Parenthood
The triumph of All in the Family wasn’t that it introduced a racist character we could shake our heads at and disdain. The triumph was that it introduced a racist character we loved. The show paved the way for complexity on scripted television. It’s when TV started to grow up.



Liz Meriwether, creator and co–show runner, New Girl
Obviously, without a doubt, absolutely Saved by the Bell. Its influence on taste, fashion, and politics has reverberated throughout history and across the globe. Second only to Hey Dude, which aired during the Nickelodeon renaissance of the late ’80s and early ’90s.



Darlene Hunt, creator and show runner, The Big C
As a writer, I was most influenced by M*A*S*H. I watched it in real time when I was a kid, and watched reruns for years afterward. It molded my “laughter through tears” writing sensibility. If somebody ain’t dyin’, I ain’t laughin’.



David Benioff, co-creator and co–show runner, Game of Thrones
Hill Street Blues changed everything. The cops were flawed; the story lines were not resolved in a single episode; characters you loved died while having sex. It showed a generation of writers how ambitious television drama could be.



Beau Willimon, creator and show runner, House of Cards
Deadwood was the first show that made me think television could be a high art form. It took big risks, told bold stories, and employed elevated language—a revelation.



Chuck Lorre, co-creator, The Big Bang Theory and Two and a Half Men
Personally, it’s a tie between The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and The Ed Sullivan Show. Both were windows through which I could see the best singers, dancers, musicians, comedians, vaudevillians, raconteurs—and, of course, the Beatles. In my otherwise cloistered world, it was hugely impactful to have the opportunity to see mastery up close.



Lauren Zalaznick, executive vice president, NBCUniversal
Maude dared to portray a graying, three-times-divorced woman who wore a pantsuit and uttered the word abortion on national TV. Maude even scooped my beloved reality genre when both Bea Arthur and her character got a face-lift—all of this 40 years ago, on broadcast television, during prime time.

 

Difficulty of recognizing excellence in its own time

 


No one's loved as much as you. Don't, don't waste that power.

冒頭のサリフィールドのセリフの背景については以下の記事が詳しかったですが、映画のキャッチコピーも「史上最も愛された大統領」とリンカーンを評していますね。

アメリカ史のヒーロー 『リンカーン』: 台詞で学ぶアメリカ政治と歴史
清水純子 (映画英語教育学会・慶應義塾大学非常勤講師・筑波大学文学博士)

「史上最も愛された大統領」に関連して、アトランティックの記事で興味深いものがありました。同時代の人には この偉大な大統領も'Idiot,' 'Yahoo,' 'Original Gorilla'のような厳しい言葉を浴びせられていたというものです。

HISTORYJUNE 2013
'Idiot,' 'Yahoo,' 'Original Gorilla': How Lincoln Was Dissed in His Day
The difficulty of recognizing excellence in its own time
MARK BOWDENMAY 22 2013, 9:58 PM ET

By nearly any measure—personal, political, even literary—Abraham Lincoln set a standard of success that few in history can match. But how many of his contemporaries noticed?

Sure, we revere Lincoln today, but in his lifetime the bile poured on him from every quarter makes today’s Internet vitriol seem dainty. His ancestry was routinely impugned, his lack of formal learning ridiculed, his appearance maligned, and his morality assailed. We take for granted, of course, the scornful outpouring from the Confederate states; no action Lincoln took short of capitulation would ever have quieted his Southern critics. But the vituperation wasn’t limited to enemies of the Union. The North was ever at his heels. No matter what Lincoln did, it was never enough for one political faction, and too much for another. Yes, his sure-footed leadership during this country’s most-difficult days was accompanied by a fair amount of praise, but also by a steady stream of abuse—in editorials, speeches, journals, and private letters—from those on his own side, those dedicated to the very causes he so ably championed. George Templeton Strong, a prominent New York lawyer and diarist, wrote that Lincoln was “a barbarian, Scythian, yahoo, or gorilla.” Henry Ward Beecher, the Connecticut-born preacher and abolitionist, often ridiculed Lincoln in his newspaper, The Independent (New York), rebuking him for his lack of refinement and calling him “an unshapely man.” Other Northern newspapers openly called for his assassination long before John Wilkes Booth pulled the trigger. He was called a coward, “an idiot,” and “the original gorilla” by none other than the commanding general of his armies, George McClellan.

映画の冒頭でも取り上げられるGettysburg Addressについても、We pass over the silly remarks of the Presidentという批判があったのですね。

As for the Gettysburg Address—one of the most powerful speeches in human history, one that many American schoolchildren can recite by heart (Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth …) and a statement of national purpose that for some rivals the Declaration of Independence—a Pennsylvania newspaper reported, “We pass over the silly remarks of the President. For the credit of the nation we are willing that the veil of oblivion shall be dropped over them, and they shall be no more repeated or thought of.” A London Times correspondent wrote, “Anything more dull and commonplace it wouldn’t be easy to produce.”


No man is a hero to his valet.(英雄も従者にはただの人)ということわざがあったりするように、同時代の人にとって、利害関係が絡むこともあり、手放しの偉人というのはいないかもしれません。

Of course, Lincoln was elected twice to the presidency, and was revered by millions. History records more grief and mourning upon his death than for any other American president. But the past gets simplified in our memory, in our textbooks, and in our popular culture. Lincoln’s excellence has been distilled from the rough-and-tumble of his times. We best remember the most generous of his contemporaries’ assessments, whether the magnanimous letter sent by his fellow speaker on the stage at Gettysburg, Edward Everett, who wrote to him, “I should be glad, if I could flatter myself that I came as near to the central idea of the occasion, in two hours, as you did in two minutes”; or Edwin Stanton’s “Now he belongs to the ages,” at the moment of his death; or Frederick Douglass’s moving tribute in 1876 to “a great and good man.”

This process of distillation obscures how Lincoln was perceived in his own time, and, by comparison, it diminishes our own age. Where is the political giant of our era? Where is the timeless oratory? Where is the bold resolve, the moral courage, the vision?

Imagine all those critical voices from the 19th century as talking heads on cable television. Imagine the snap judgments, the slurs and put-downs that beset Lincoln magnified a million times over on social media. How many of us, in that din, would hear him clearly? His story illustrates that even greatness—let alone humbler qualities like skill, decency, good judgment, and courage—rarely goes unpunished.

それだけ評価は難しいものであると同時に、過去や外国を見る時は理想化しやすいということでしょうか。

映画に戻れば、ユークリッド原論の公理が出てくる場面が印象的でした。公理をCommon Notionsというんですね。

Common Notions
Common notion 1. Things which equal the same thing also equal one another.(同じものと等しいものは互いに等しい)
Common notion 2. If equals are added to equals, then the wholes are equal.(同じものに同じものを加えた場合、その合計は等しい)
Common notion 3. If equals are subtracted from equals, then the remainders are equal. (同じものから同じものを引いた場合、残りは等しい)
Common notion 4. Things which coincide with one another equal one another. (互いに重なり合うものは、互いに等しい)
Common notion 5. The whole is greater than the part. (全体は、部分より大きい)





Euclid's first common notion is this: Things which are equal to the same things are equal to each other. That's a rule of mathematical reasoning and its true because it works - has done and always will do. In his book Euclid says this is self evident. You see there it is even in that 2000 year old book of mechanical law it is the self evident truth that things which are equal to the same things are equal to each other.

エレクトロニクスを専門に取り上げるEE Timesでは、エンジニアはこの場面だけでもリンカーンを観に行く価値があるとまで言っています(笑)

One scene in particular should be of interest to the engineer. In it, Day-Lewis’ Lincoln is again at the Telegraph Office, the chief executive’s refuge from the unrelenting pressures of the White House, the place where news from the front is received, unfiltered.

Lincoln regales the office clerks with a parable about the mathematician Euclid, mechanical law and its universality in the struggle to end slavery. This scene alone makes it worth seeing “Lincoln.”

もちろんリンカーンはThings which equal the same thing also equal one another.(同じものと等しいものは互いに等しい)を人間にみたてて解釈したわけなので、以下のようなトレーラーの文脈で解釈すべきなのでしょう。



ダニエルデイルイスとメリルストリープのどちらがすごい役者かは愚問かもしれませんが、ついついそういう俗なことも考えてみたくなるくらい素晴らしい演技だったと思います。その役には、リンカーンの声をみつけることがまず大事なことだったようですね。



プロフィール

Yuta

Author:Yuta
FC2ブログへようこそ!




最新トラックバック

月別アーカイブ


FC2カウンター

検索フォーム



ブロとも申請フォーム

QRコード
QR