美国国家公共电台 NPR It's Polyamorous Polysaturation — Unconventional Relationships Abound On TV

 

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

This is what pillow talk on television sounds like these days.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "I LOVE DICK")

KATHRYN HAHN: (As Chris) Why do you think that we are - have been monogamous all these years when we don't even believe in it? Like, what is - no one's going anywhere. I mean, what is the big deal?

CORNISH: In the new Amazon series "I Love Dick," a couple shares a crush on a famous artist named Dick. It's one of many recent television shows in which open relationships are central to the plot and characters. So parents, be advised, that's what you'll be hearing about in this next story from NPR's Neda Ulaby.

NEDA ULABY, BYLINE¹: You can see open relationships on shows like "Transparent," "Girls," "Orphan² Black," "The Magicians" and back this week, TV's most Machiavellian³ open relationship on "House Of Cards."

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "HOUSE OF CARDS")

KEVIN SPACEY: (As Francis Underwood) Look, Claire. We've been a great team, but one person - one person - cannot give everything to another person.

ULABY: The fictional⁴ president of the United States on one of the most popular shows on Netflix egging on his wife to keep seeing someone on the side.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "HOUSE OF CARDS")

SPACEY: (As Francis Underwood) If you want it, I know you'll be careful, and I'll be fine. I mean, if we're going to go beyond marriage, let's go beyond it.

ULABY: These are stories that would not have been seen on television 10 years ago.

NUSRAT DURRANI: I couldn't agree more.

ULABY: That's television executive Nusrat Durrani. He's general manager of MTV Networks. Look at reality TV, he says. Just over the past couple months, the channel TLC had two reality shows about polyamorous marriages. And it just featured its first throuple (ph) - three people together - on its show about shopping for bridal gowns, "Say Yes To The Dress."

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "SAY YES TO THE DRESS")

JENNIFER: Thank you so much.

DEBBIE: Nice to meet you. Who did you bring with you today?

JENNIFER: This is my fiance, Peter.

DEBBIE: Hi, Peter.

PETER: Hi. Nice to meet you.

JENNIFER: And this is actually Peter's wife, Ellen. We're a polygamous couple.

DEBBIE: OK. Yeah.

ELLEN: Hi. Nice to meet you.

DEBBIE: OK. So now I'm, like, a little bit confused.

ULABY: Pushing boundaries is nothing new for television, nor is straight up titillation⁵. Durrani remembers when networks in the 1990s used lesbian kisses to goose ratings during sweeps week.

DURRANI: I think you can do that for a little bit, but I think it becomes old and tired. And I think your audiences see through that.

ULABY: Now, Durrani says, television is reflecting how some people authentically⁶ live their lives. Let's hear from Dan Savage⁷, the nationally syndicated sex columnist⁸ and podcaster.

DAN SAVAGE: People have more and different kinds of relationships than just an opposite sex committed marriage, that that's not all there is under the sun. In a way, it parallels, you know, debates about representations of gay people on television.

ULABY: In how early depictions of gays and lesbians on TV resemble representations of poly or nontraditional couples now.

SAVAGE: Usually they're trotted⁹ out to mean something sinister¹⁰, or it's a little bit of a freak show like on TLC. You know, we don't have the long-time married couple that occasionally has three-ways that they find invigorating, that cements their connection, that brings them closer together where their third is treated respectfully.

ULABY: It's obvious how relationships with multiple partners could be catnip to TV writers, but the creator of an online series called "Unicornland" wants to take them as seriously as other subjects she's dramatized.

LUCY GILLESPIE: I wrote a play about Occupy Wall Street. I wrote a play about Lee Atwater.

ULABY: Lucy Gillespie's new series is about a young woman who hooks up with a different couple in every episode.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "UNICORNLAND")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: (As character) You're a unicorn¹¹.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (As character) A beautiful, fascinating woman...

UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: (As character) Or man.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (As character) ...Who deigns¹² to bestow¹³ her presence on mortals.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: (As character) Rare, magical creatures.

LAURA RAMADEI: (As Annie) I don't know. Can you seduce¹⁴ in J. Crew?

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

UNIDENTIFIED SINGER: (Singing) It's a feeling...

ULABY: "Unicornland" is only on the web, and its 32-year-old creator ventures that mainstream¹⁵ TV's sexual vocabulary might be influenced by Internet culture, including, of course, online porn.

GILLESPIE: I think everybody feels sort of like everybody else is having a better time in bed than they are.

ULABY: And Gillespie's series is wry¹⁶ about the pitfalls¹⁷ of venturing into other people's messy relationships.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "UNICORNLAND")

RAMADEI: (As Annie) I didn't get out of a bad marriage to join yours.

ULABY: Maybe what we're seeing reflects a society where so many old rules about gender¹⁸ and sexuality are in flux¹⁹, where communication, let alone everything else, presents a challenge for frustrated²⁰ overworked couples. Gillespie says these relationships or encounters can feel like a fantasy, a fix or both.

GILLESPIE: I mean, I think everything is changing in America, right? We don't just drive to work now, we take a Lyft. We get in somebody else's car. And we don't just cook dinner, we have Blue Apron²¹ send us a box with our ingredients and tell us what we're going to cook. And we're all trying to sort of hack²² our lives and make our lives more interesting and optimal²³.

ULABY: Which might partly explain why we're seeing so many shows with people trying to hack conventional relationships. Gillespie's about to enter a good old-fashioned monogamous marriage herself. She says maybe there's not a better mousetrap.

Dan Savage says stories about the mice that play simply do what television, film and literature have always done - push the envelope, make you think, provide vicarious experiences and give you a chance to contemplate²⁴ your choices. Neda Ulaby, NPR News.

1 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。

2 orphan   

n.孤儿；adj.无父母的

参考例句：

• He brought up the orphan and passed onto him his knowledge of medicine.他把一个孤儿养大，并且把自己的医术传给了他。
• The orphan had been reared in a convent by some good sisters.这个孤儿在一所修道院里被几个好心的修女带大。

3 machiavellian   

adj.权谋的，狡诈的

参考例句：

• A Machiavellian plot was suspected.人们怀疑背后有不可告人的阴谋。
• In this layer,Obama implied American policies that are cautious and Machiavellian.在这个层面，奥巴马含蓄地表达了美国的谨慎、权谋的（新）政策。

4 fictional   

adj.小说的，虚构的

参考例句：

• The names of the shops are entirely fictional.那些商店的名字完全是虚构的。
• The two authors represent the opposite poles of fictional genius.这两位作者代表了天才小说家两个极端。

5 titillation   

n.搔痒，愉快；搔痒感

参考例句：

6 authentically   

ad.sincerely真诚地

参考例句：

• Gina: And we should give him something 2 authentically Taiwanese. 吉娜：而且我们应该送他有纯正台湾味的东西。
• A loser is one who fails to correspond authentically. 失败者则指那些未能做到诚实可靠的人。

7 savage   

adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人

参考例句：

• The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
• He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。

8 columnist   

n.专栏作家

参考例句：

• The host was interviewing a local columnist.节目主持人正在同一位当地的专栏作家交谈。
• She's a columnist for USA Today.她是《今日美国报》的专栏作家。

9 trotted   

小跑，急走( trot的过去分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走

参考例句：

• She trotted her pony around the field. 她骑着小马绕场慢跑。
• Anne trotted obediently beside her mother. 安妮听话地跟在妈妈身边走。

10 sinister   

adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的

参考例句：

• There is something sinister at the back of that series of crimes.在这一系列罪行背后有险恶的阴谋。
• Their proposals are all worthless and designed out of sinister motives.他们的建议不仅一钱不值，而且包藏祸心。

11 unicorn   

n.(传说中的)独角兽

参考例句：

• The unicorn is an imaginary beast.独角兽是幻想出来的动物。
• I believe unicorn was once living in the world.我相信独角兽曾经生活在这个世界。

12 deigns   

v.屈尊，俯就( deign的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She scarcely deigns a glance at me. 她简直不屑看我一眼。 来自辞典例句

13 bestow   

v.把…赠与，把…授予；花费

参考例句：

• He wished to bestow great honors upon the hero.他希望将那些伟大的荣誉授予这位英雄。
• What great inspiration wiII you bestow on me?你有什么伟大的灵感能馈赠给我？

14 seduce   

vt.勾引，诱奸，诱惑，引诱

参考例句：

• She has set out to seduce Stephen.她已经开始勾引斯蒂芬了。
• Clever advertising would seduce more people into smoking.巧妙策划的广告会引诱更多的人吸烟。

15 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。

16 wry   

adj.讽刺的；扭曲的

参考例句：

• He made a wry face and attempted to wash the taste away with coffee.他做了个鬼脸，打算用咖啡把那怪味地冲下去。
• Bethune released Tung's horse and made a wry mouth.白求恩放开了董的马，噘了噘嘴。

17 pitfalls   

（捕猎野兽用的）陷阱( pitfall的名词复数 )； 意想不到的困难，易犯的错误

参考例句：

• the potential pitfalls of buying a house 购买房屋可能遇到的圈套
• Several pitfalls remain in the way of an agreement. 在达成协议的进程中还有几个隐藏的困难。

18 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

19 flux   

n.流动；不断的改变

参考例句：

• The market is in a constant state of flux.市场行情在不断变化。
• In most reactors,there is a significant flux of fast neutrons.在大部分反应堆中都有一定强度的快中子流。

20 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 apron   

n.围裙；工作裙

参考例句：

• We were waited on by a pretty girl in a pink apron.招待我们的是一位穿粉红色围裙的漂亮姑娘。
• She stitched a pocket on the new apron.她在新围裙上缝上一只口袋。

22 hack   

n.劈，砍，出租马车；v.劈，砍，干咳

参考例句：

• He made a hack at the log.他朝圆木上砍了一下。
• Early settlers had to hack out a clearing in the forest where they could grow crops.早期移民不得不在森林里劈出空地种庄稼。

23 optimal   

adj.最适宜的；最理想的；最令人满意的

参考例句：

• What is the optimal mix of private and public property rights in natural resources?私人和国家的自然资源产权的最适宜的组合是什么？
• Optimal path planning is a key link for the sailing contest.帆船最优行驶路径规划是帆船比赛取胜的关键环节。

24 contemplate   

vt.盘算，计议；周密考虑；注视，凝视

参考例句：

• The possibility of war is too horrifying to contemplate.战争的可能性太可怕了，真不堪细想。
• The consequences would be too ghastly to contemplate.后果不堪设想。