美国国家公共电台 NPR An American Comic In Canada

 

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:

Sometimes, you need to leave home to see it clearly. On our recent trip to Canada, we found an American comic who was taking stock of the U.S. from just across the border.

ERIK GRIFFIN: It's good to be here, guys, up here in Canada because, man, it's sensitive as [expletive] down in the United States. I need to be able to make jokes about women and you guys not be like, oh, here we go. Here we go.

(LAUGHTER)

GRIFFIN: Trump¹'s America.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Erik Griffin starred on Comedy Central's "Workaholics." And he was at Yuk Yuk's Comedy Club after weeks of touring the U.S. We caught up with him in a dingy² green room. Griffin had sunk into a low couch. And he was clearly worn out.

GRIFFIN: I mean, I think being abroad is actually better than being in the United States right now. You know, it's just comedy - I think there's an attack on comedy. It's like people forgot what it really is.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: So when you come to a place like Canada, which historically had a good relationship, like, how do you - do you feel like you have to kind of be an ambassador for America or, like, kind of...

GRIFFIN: No.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: ...Refer to it in some way? 'Cause I figure...

GRIFFIN: Do I feel like I have to defend the United States? No.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Not defend - or explain it or, like, make a joke out of it. Or...

GRIFFIN: Well, I mean, that's what we - that's what a comedian³ does anyway. We're just making light of things that are going on. Or we're pointing out an injustice⁴ and trying to make it funny. Or we're trying to ultimately entertain. But, you know, sometimes, some comics - you know, they want to be social justice warriors⁵. I don't ever feel like I have to 'cause I'm already multiracial, multiethnic as it is anyway?

GARCIA-NAVARRO: What is your background?

GRIFFIN: Well, I'm just mixed.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Yeah.

GRIFFIN: You know, I think people want to know what you are, so they know how to hate you, you know?

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Fair enough.

GRIFFIN: So they can put you in a box and say, oh, you can say this, or you can't say this. And I don't subscribe⁶ to that. So...

GARCIA-NAVARRO: OK.

GRIFFIN: ...I'm racially ambiguous.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: It's my first time being outside of the United States since the election. And the question I most frequently get asked is, what is happening down there?

GRIFFIN: Yeah, yeah. I know. I think they feel like we have to answer for the choice that we made.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Does it get a laugh overseas?

GRIFFIN: I mean, I used to have a lot of jokes about the election pre-election. But once he got in office - and then it just made people uncomfortable. Like, I felt like people were like, this is too real. You know, even I - look, I have not been having a good time on my last three weeks of doing comedy in the United States. I was in Tennessee. I was in St. Louis. And it's just, like, liberals are too sensitive, and conservatives are too angry.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: So where do you find comedy then?

GRIFFIN: I know. You tell me. That's exactly the problem.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: I'm not the comic (laughter).

GRIFFIN: I know but that's exactly the dilemma⁷ I think a lot of comics are facing right now. It's, like, when things are even-keeled, then you can be edgy⁸. But we're closer to that stuff. So it makes people a little bit more sensitive, a little bit more heightened.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: So what happened in places when you were, like, in these places that you said you had a rough time?

GRIFFIN: Well, it's because, like, if you're not on the side of the liberal warriors, then people are going to be like, oh, well, this means you hate women. This means that, you know, he hates blacks. He hates Mexicans. He hates Jews. He hates gays. You know, and then you have, like - I'm at a club. And I'll say, hey, where are the Trump supporters? And if I say anything bad about Trump, then they're just, like, you know, cursing at me. And people are walking out. And I got - you won (laughter). Your guy's in office. Why are you storming out? I feel like if I handed out a paper before every show, and I said, tell me what you want me to talk about, it would be nothing on there. But it's just I've got to say, sometimes, it's not fun anymore.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: That was comedian Erik Griffin.

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 dingy   

adj.昏暗的，肮脏的

参考例句：

• It was a street of dingy houses huddled together. 这是一条挤满了破旧房子的街巷。
• The dingy cottage was converted into a neat tasteful residence.那间脏黑的小屋已变成一个整洁雅致的住宅。

3 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。

4 injustice   

n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利

参考例句：

• They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。
• All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。

5 warriors   

武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I like reading the stories ofancient warriors. 我喜欢读有关古代武士的故事。
• The warriors speared the man to death. 武士们把那个男子戳死了。

6 subscribe   

vi.(to)订阅，订购；同意；vt.捐助，赞助

参考例句：

• I heartily subscribe to that sentiment.我十分赞同那个观点。
• The magazine is trying to get more readers to subscribe.该杂志正大力发展新订户。

7 dilemma   

n.困境，进退两难的局面

参考例句：

• I am on the horns of a dilemma about the matter.这件事使我进退两难。
• He was thrown into a dilemma.他陷入困境。

8 edgy   

adj.不安的；易怒的

参考例句：

• She's been a bit edgy lately,waiting for the exam results.她正在等待考试结果，所以最近有些焦躁不安。
• He was nervous and edgy, still chain-smoking.他紧张不安，还在一根接一根地抽着烟。