2020年经济学人 疫情的影像(2)

Photography, the critic Susan Sontag wrote, “has kept company with death ever since cameras were invented.” This year it has helped tell the story of covid-19. Photographers around the world have documented suffering and treatments that might otherwise have remained unseen. In their tragic¹ subject-matter and informative² role, images of the pandemic have resembled war photography—except that, instead of capturing far-away conflicts, photographers have turned their lenses on their own communities.As in a war, sharp ethical³ questions have arisen: about the camera’s intrusion on pain, and how the story of the disease is told.

评论家苏珊·桑塔格写道：“自从照相机发明以来，摄影就一直与死亡如影随形。”今年，人们通过摄影来帮助讲述新冠肺炎的故事。世界各地的摄影师们都记录下了那些我们原本可能无法看到的痛苦和治疗过程。疫情影像的内容带有悲剧色彩，并且能够传递信息，在这一点上它与战争摄影类似。但是不同之处在于疫情摄影师将镜头聚焦于自己所在的社区，而并不是像战争摄影师那样去捕捉远方的冲突。和战争摄影一样，疫情摄影也引发了尖锐的伦理问题：比如照片会让人感到痛苦，以及对疫情故事的叙述方式仍存争议。

The use of black and white is a key choice. Historically, says Jennifer Good, an expert on photojournalism at the London College of Communication, the palette “serves a particular function in the photography of war, because it negates⁴ the shocking redness of blood”. Some of the most famous images of the Vietnam war, for instance, were shot this way. But there are illustrious peacetime precedents⁵, too. Ms Cunningham cites “Country Doctor”, W. Eugene Smith’s series for Life magazine in 1948—for which he followed a doctor in rural Colorado—as an inspiration. The subject, Ernest Ceriani, is depicted⁶ as a charismatic, slick-haired saviour⁷. Black and white, Ms Good says, can be “a distancing measure. It cuts out some of the more striking or shocking aesthetic⁸ elements of the picture, creating an elegance⁹ and a timelessness.”

选择黑白摄影很关键。伦敦传媒学院的摄影新闻学专家珍妮弗·古德认为，从历史的角度看，“在战争摄影中，将主色调选择成黑白色会起到特殊的作用，因为黑白色调能够抵消猩红鲜血带来的震撼。”例如，有一些最著名的越南战争照片就是这样拍摄的。但一些拍摄于和平时期的著名影像也是黑白的。坎宁安引用了W·欧仁·史密斯在1948年为《生活》杂志拍摄的一个影像系列《乡村医生》作为灵感来源，影像中记录的对象是科罗拉多乡村的一位医生。影像中把名为欧内斯特·切里亚尼的医生塑造成了一个魅力非凡、梳着油头的救世主。古德女士说，黑白摄影可以成为“一种衡量距离的标准”。它能够隐匿掉一些影像中一些具有冲击感的审美元素，同时呈现出优雅和永恒。”

Along with these associations, black and white can focus attention. Mr Montgomery used strobe lighting¹⁰ to direct the viewer’s gaze, calling attention to individual actions within the often frantic¹¹ ward¹². In one image, the arm of a paramedic performing CPR is tensed, the force of motion clear, but the outcome unknown.When health-care staff look straight into the camera, viewers feel transported to the hospital—admiring the doctors and nurses, yet unsettled by their own voyeurism¹³.

除却这些联系，黑白影像也更抓人眼球。蒙哥马利用闪光灯引导观众的视线，让人们在紧张忙乱的病房中关注到个人的行为。在一张影像中，正在执行心脏复苏的医护人员手臂紧绷、正在施力，但结果未知。当医护人员直视镜头的时候，观众们感觉自己就身处医院，一边钦慕那些医生和护士，一边为自己的窥视行为感到不安。

For both viewer and photographer, there is a fine line between compassionate¹⁴ observation and indecent intrusion.Hospital wards¹⁵ are full of sensitive information which must be repositioned or omitted while shooting. Patients and doctors must give their consent before their pictures are taken. Being a nurse, Ms Cunningham says, “gave me a certain moral and ethical freedom. I knew there was a line I would never cross.”

对于观众和摄影师来说，心怀怜悯的旁观与不适当的侵扰之间界限分明。病房内充斥着敏感信息，在摄影师拍摄的时候，必须把它们重新放置或者彻底清除。在拍摄前必须征得患者和医生的同意。坎宁安女士说，护士的身份“给了我某种道德和伦理上的自由。我知道我永远不会越界。”

1 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

2 informative   

adj.提供资料的，增进知识的

参考例句：

• The adverts are not very informative.这些广告并没有包含太多有用信息。
• This intriguing book is both thoughtful and informative.这本引人入胜的书既有思想性又富知识性。

3 ethical   

adj.伦理的，道德的，合乎道德的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to get the youth to have a high ethical concept.必须使青年具有高度的道德观念。
• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。

4 negates   

v.取消( negate的第三人称单数 )；使无效；否定；否认

参考例句：

• Alcohol negates the effects of the drug. 酒精能使药物失效。
• The lack of deep hardening in these alloys negates their use. 这些合金缺乏深层硬化能力使它们无法利用。 来自辞典例句

5 precedents   

引用单元； 范例( precedent的名词复数 )； 先前出现的事例； 前例； 先例

参考例句：

• There is no lack of precedents in this connection. 不乏先例。
• He copied after bad precedents. 他仿效恶例。

6 depicted   

描绘，描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 )； 描述

参考例句：

• Other animals were depicted on the periphery of the group. 其他动物在群像的外围加以修饰。
• They depicted the thrilling situation to us in great detail. 他们向我们详细地描述了那激动人心的场面。

7 saviour   

n.拯救者，救星

参考例句：

• I saw myself as the saviour of my country.我幻想自己为国家的救星。
• The people clearly saw her as their saviour.人们显然把她看成了救星。

8 aesthetic   

adj.美学的，审美的，有美感

参考例句：

• My aesthetic standards are quite different from his.我的审美标准与他的大不相同。
• The professor advanced a new aesthetic theory.那位教授提出了新的美学理论。

9 elegance   

n.优雅；优美，雅致；精致，巧妙

参考例句：

• The furnishings in the room imparted an air of elegance.这个房间的家具带给这房间一种优雅的气氛。
• John has been known for his sartorial elegance.约翰因为衣着讲究而出名。

10 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

11 frantic   

adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的

参考例句：

• I've had a frantic rush to get my work done.我急急忙忙地赶完工作。
• He made frantic dash for the departing train.他发疯似地冲向正开出的火车。

12 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。

13 voyeurism   

n.窥阴癖者

参考例句：

• Portraiture merges here with voyeurism and surveillance. 肖像拍摄中夹杂着偷窥和监视。 来自互联网
• And while Wife Swap was pure voyeurism, Boss Swap hints at some real issues. 《换妻》纯粹反映了一种偷窥心理，而《互换老板》则影射了一些真实的问题。 来自互联网

14 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。

15 wards   

区( ward的名词复数 )； 病房； 受监护的未成年者； 被人照顾或控制的状态

参考例句：

• This hospital has 20 medical [surgical] wards. 这所医院有 20 个内科[外科]病房。
• It was a big constituency divided into three wards. 这是一个大选区，下设三个分区。