美国国家公共电台 NPR 'Atlanta,' 'Queen Sugar,' Bring Modern Black Culture To TV

'Atlanta,' 'Queen Sugar,' Bring Modern Black Culture To TV 

play pause stop mute unmute max volume 00:0004:30repeat repeat off Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser¹ to a recent version or update your Flash plugin. AUDIE CORNISH, HOST: 

Two new series that start on cable tonight depict² black culture and modern life, and our TV critic Eric Deggans says they're worth watching. One is a comedy on FX called "Atlanta." The other is a family drama called "Queen Sugar." It's on OWN, Oprah Winfrey's network.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

ERIC DEGGANS, BYLINE³: From the opening moments of "Queen Sugar," the sultry score by neo-soul star Meshell Ndegeocello hints that we're about to see an unconventional story. The first scene shows star Rutina Wesley in the bedroom with her lover, but it's a sexy moment in which he's helping⁴ her to get dressed to start her day. It's a sign that even moments of passion get a different kind of treatment in this world.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "QUEEN SUGAR")

MESHELL NDEGEOCELLO: (Singing) Dreams never die, take flight as the world turns. Dreams never die, take flight as the world turns.

DEGGANS: "Queen Sugar" is a more grounded, realistic departure for OWN. Oprah Winfrey's channel's built recent success with the melodrama⁵ of reality TV shows and nighttime soap operas aimed at a black audience. Winfrey is an executive producer on "Queen Sugar," and she's teamed up with Ava DuVernay, who directed the mogul actress in the civil rights movie "Selma."

For this project, they're bringing a novel to the small screen. "Queen Sugar" is about a black family in New Orleans struggling with the death of the family patriarch. DuVernay takes her time with the story and humanizes characters that might be empty stereotypes⁶ elsewhere.

Actress Rutina Wesley plays Nova, a pro-black activist⁷ with a secret white lover. She clashes with Charley, her wealthy sister who dares to hire a caterer⁸ for the family's funeral repast and gets an earful from Nova.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "QUEEN SUGAR")

RUTINA WESLEY: (As Nova Bordelon) We don't honor our father by having strangers serve those grieving. We serve comfort food to those who need comfort, and we do it with our own hands. That's how a family (unintelligible). And we certainly don't pay our respects with American Express.

DEGGANS: It's a rare moment of fireworks in a complex drama that plays like a slow burn. In a pioneering move, DuVernay has hired female directors for every single episode. That may be why so many scenes feel fresh and surprising. This is a family drama with soap-opera-style storylines for people who hate soap operas like me. It's also a sign of the magic that can happen when you let black writers, producers, directors and performers tell stories about black people.

That's something that "Queen Sugar" has in common with another wonderful show that debuts⁹ tonight, Donald Glover's comedy "Atlanta" on FX. Glover's an alum of the NBC comedy "Community," and on Atlanta, he's the creator, writer, executive producer, director and music supervisor¹⁰. He also stars as a struggling college dropout¹¹ begging his cousin to let him manage his career as a rapper.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "ATLANTA")

DONALD GLOVER: (As Earn) I don't want a handout¹². I want to manage you.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As character, laughter) Manage - you know where the word manage come from?

GLOVER: (As Earn) Manus, Latin for hand.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As character) Probably, but I'm going to say no for the purpose of my argument. Manage come from the word man, and that ain't really your lane.

GLOVER: (As Earn) My lane?

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As character) Yeah, Man. I need Malcolm. You're too Martin. You know what they did to him? They killed him.

GLOVER: (As Earn) Didn't they kill Malcolm, too?

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As character) They only say that, but ain't nobody seen the body since the funeral.

GLOVER: (As Earn) That's how funerals work.

DEGGANS: "Atlanta" is a slice-of-life dramatic comedy just like loads of other shows featuring young, white 20-somethings in California or New York. But this is about two young, black men trying to break into Atlanta's rap game. And Glover's character, Earn Marks, is a smart guy who's had some tough breaks, as he tells a guy sitting next to him on the bus.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "ATLANTA")

GLOVER: (As Earn) I just keep losing. I mean some people just supposed to lose for balance in the universe. I mean, like, are there just some people on Earth who supposed to be here just to make it easier for the winners?

DEGGANS: Earn and his friends aren't the typical TV vision of what young, black men should be. They use the N-word. They smoke weed. The first episode features a conflict leading to a shooting, and they get arrested. It'll make some people uncomfortable, but it's also authentic¹³ and creative. It's smart, and it's funny.

Along with "Queen Sugar," "Atlanta" is a welcome sign that the world of high-quality cable TV is finally tapping into the power that comes from letting people of color tell their own stories. I'm Eric Deggans.

1 browser   

n.浏览者

参考例句：

• View edits in a web browser.在浏览器中看编辑的效果。
• I think my browser has a list of shareware links.我想在浏览器中会有一系列的共享软件链接。

2 depict   

vt.描画，描绘；描写，描述

参考例句：

• I don't care to see plays or films that depict murders or violence.我不喜欢看描写谋杀或暴力的戏剧或电影。
• Children's books often depict farmyard animals as gentle,lovable creatures.儿童图书常常把农场的动物描写得温和而可爱。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

5 melodrama   

n.音乐剧；情节剧

参考例句：

• We really don't need all this ridiculous melodrama!别跟我们来这套荒唐的情节剧表演！
• White Haired Woman was a melodrama,but in certain spots it was deliberately funny.《白毛女》是一出悲剧性的歌剧，但也有不少插科打诨。

6 stereotypes   

n.老套，模式化的见解，有老一套固定想法的人( stereotype的名词复数 )v.把…模式化，使成陈规( stereotype的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Such jokes tend to reinforce racial stereotypes. 这样的笑话容易渲染种族偏见。
• It makes me sick to read over such stereotypes devoid of content. 这种空洞无物的八股调，我看了就讨厌。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

8 caterer   

n. 备办食物者，备办宴席者

参考例句：

• My wife went to a lot of trouble; she called a caterer. 我太太花了很多心血，她找了专办派对的人来。
• The wedding reception has been organized by an outside caterer. 婚宴由外界的饮食公司承办。

9 debuts   

演员首次演出( debut的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He never really debuts the idea of taking money from his parents any longer. 他从此就再也没有认真起过向父母要钱的念头。
• This young soprano debuts next month at the metropolitan opera. 这位年轻的女高音歌唱家下个月将在纽约大都会歌剧院举行首演。

10 supervisor   

n.监督人，管理人，检查员，督学，主管，导师

参考例句：

• Between you and me I think that new supervisor is a twit.我们私下说，我认为新来的主管人是一个傻瓜。
• He said I was too flighty to be a good supervisor.他说我太轻浮不能成为一名好的管理员。

11 dropout   

n.退学的学生；退学；退出者

参考例句：

• There is a high dropout rate from some college courses.有些大学课程的退出率很高。
• In the long haul,she'll regret having been a school dropout.她终归会后悔不该中途辍学。

12 handout   

n.散发的文字材料；救济品

参考例句：

• I read the handout carefully.我仔细看了这份分发的资料。
• His job was distributing handout at the street-corner.他的工作是在街头发传单。

13 authentic   

a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的

参考例句：

• This is an authentic news report. We can depend on it. 这是篇可靠的新闻报道, 我们相信它。
• Autumn is also the authentic season of renewal. 秋天才是真正的除旧布新的季节。