2006年NPR美国国家公共电台二月-'Brokeback Mountain'

The latest issue of Time Magazine features an article on the film "Brokeback Mountain". With this kind of mainstream¹ attention, some are wondering, have gay Americans finally reached a point of acceptance on the big screen? Here is commentator² Betty Baye:

There are lots of black folks in the movies and on television today. But I m old enough to remember the days when if the TV guide brought news that some black person was going to appear, say, on the Ed Sullivan Show. Every Negro with a television set tuned³ in. And every Negro without a TV found someplace to be that had one. When Sammy Davis Jr. , Lola Falana, Nipsey Russell or Bill Cosby showed up on the Johnny Carson show, Negroes stayed up late to watch.

Such appearances were seen as signs of racial progress, and that TV producers and advertisers had discovered that black audiences were worth cultivating. Surveys did show after all that black people tended to be fiercely brand loyal to advertisers who paid them some attention.

And today I'm wondering whether or not the movie "Brokeback Mountain" might be evoking⁴ similar feelings among gay Americans that they 've arrived. Though it cannot honestly be argued that gays have been absent from Hollywood, I dare say that if gays had taken a leave of absence that Hollywood might have died in the birthing process. Gays weren t absent, but they sure were hidden. And not until years later did the world learn that many of Hollywoods and early television s leading men were as gay as Paris. But that fact was carefully hidden to protect careers, advertisers and also to protect the fantasies of millions of female fans that Rock Hudson, for example, really was the macho man of their dreams.

As for "Brokeback Mountain", I didn't make it to its opening night here in Louisville. But friends say there were long lines at the Baxter. That's the favorite movie house locally for the mature audiences. And those long lines at the Baxter , I'm told, were filled with many joyful⁵, openly gay couples, being openly affectionate, hugging and kissing, I'm told.

When I went to see "Brokeback Mountain" Monday, the crowd was more subdued⁶, but the theatre was still unusually full for a weeknight. I enjoyed the movie, but I must confess that I left the Baxter wondering if not for the twist of the two main characters being gay cowboys; would "Brokeback Mountain" be stirring up such a fuss? Would the movie be being talked about as if it's the best thing since sliced bread and undoubtedly⁷ a shoo-in for Oscars. I mean, I guess what troubles me in this case is the deliberate hype perpetrated by the spin machines to strongly suggest that "Brokeback Mountain" contains lots of hot sex scenes between two men. And if I was gay and I'm not, I wouldn't necessarily think of "Brokeback Mountain" as the great breakthrough movie that many suggest it is.

It's a fine movie. It s better than average in fact. But I believe that gay people will really know that they ve arrived when their special relationships aren't treated as oddities for which movie audiences have to be coned⁸ into scene by promises of soft porn. Sex isn t what "Brokeback Mountain" is about.
 

1 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

2 commentator   

n.注释者，解说者；实况广播评论员

参考例句：

• He is a good commentator because he can get across the game.他能简单地解说这场比赛，是个好的解说者。
• The commentator made a big mistake during the live broadcast.在直播节目中评论员犯了个大错误。

3 tuned   

adj.调谐的，已调谐的v.调音( tune的过去式和过去分词 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• The resort is tuned in to the tastes of young and old alike. 这个度假胜地适合各种口味，老少皆宜。
• The instruments should be tuned up before each performance. 每次演出开始前都应将乐器调好音。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 evoking   

产生，引起，唤起( evoke的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Some occur in organisms without evoking symptoms. 一些存在于生物体中，但不发生症状。
• Nowadays, the protection of traditional knowledge is evoking heat discussion worldwide. 目前，全球都掀起了保护传统知识的热潮。

5 joyful   

adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的

参考例句：

• She was joyful of her good result of the scientific experiments.她为自己的科学实验取得好成果而高兴。
• They were singing and dancing to celebrate this joyful occasion.他们唱着、跳着庆祝这令人欢乐的时刻。

6 subdued   

adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He seemed a bit subdued to me. 我觉得他当时有点闷闷不乐。
• I felt strangely subdued when it was all over. 一切都结束的时候，我却有一种奇怪的压抑感。

7 undoubtedly   

adv.确实地，无疑地

参考例句：

• It is undoubtedly she who has said that.这话明明是她说的。
• He is undoubtedly the pride of China.毫无疑问他是中国的骄傲。

8 coned   

被探照灯光来照中的

参考例句：

• The filter crucible become slim in the coned flande and dewater. 滤饼在锥兰中逐渐变薄，得到进一步脱水。 来自互联网
• Spring loaded coned pins shall be used for two-way and four-way datum holes and slots. 配有弹簧的锥形销被使用为双向和四向方式的基准孔和槽孔。 来自互联网