美国国家公共电台 NPR In Movies, A Solar Eclipse Means Change Is Coming

 

KELLY MCEVERS, HOST:

We've already broadcast a few stories about the upcoming solar eclipse as an astronomical¹ phenomenon. What about the solar eclipse as a plot device? From a 1907 silent film called "The Eclipse: The Courtship Of Sun And Moon" to more modern films like "Dolores Claiborne" and "Apocalypto," solar eclipses mark moments of major change for characters. NPR's Glen Weldon tells us what happens in some movies when darkness descends² in the middle of the day.

GLEN WELDON, BYLINE³: For filmmakers, solar eclipses make a handy visual shorthand, a way to signal to the audience that stuff's about to get weird⁴.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS")

RICK MORANIS: (As Seymour Krelborn) He didn't have anything unusual there...

WELDON: Because when you can't even count on something as basic as the sun shining when it's supposed to, what can you count on? In the 1986 musical "Little Shop Of Horrors," Rick Moranis' character, Seymour, is minding his own business when...

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS")

MORANIS: (As Seymour Krelborn) When suddenly, and without warning, there was this...

UNIDENTIFIED ACTORS: (As characters, singing) Total eclipse of the sun.

WELDON: In this case, an eclipse is the thing that kicks off the movie by announcing the arrival of an evil man-eating flytrap from outer space.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS")

MORANIS: (As Seymour Krelborn) And when the light came back this weird plant was just sitting there.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTORS: (As characters, singing) Oopsie-do (ph).

WELDON: But a solar eclipse can also make for a snazzy dramatic climax⁵, like in the 1949 Bing Crosby vehicle "A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court," based on the Mark Twain novel. Crosby goes back in time to Camelot and gets sentenced to be executed. But he knows, thanks to his handy 1949 almanac, that an eclipse is imminent⁶, so he pretends to be a sorcerer and issues a dire⁷ and timely threat.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "A CONNECTICUT YANKEE IN KING ARTHUR'S COURT")

BING CROSBY: (As Hank Martin) Now, with a few well-chosen words, I shall blot⁸ out the sun forever. Walla Walla, Wash. Punxsutawney, Pa.

WELDON: The sky goes dependably dark and the crowd buys it. I mean, they really buy it.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "A CONNECTICUT YANKEE IN KING ARTHUR'S COURT")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS #1: (As character, screaming).

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (As character) Save us, almighty⁹ sorcerer. Save us.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS #1: (As character) Bring back the sun. Bring back the...

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (As character) I beseech¹⁰ thee.

WELDON: In the 2000 science fiction movie "Pitch Black," a spaceship crashes on a planet where three suns burn constantly, forcing its local flesh-eating monsters to live underground until, well...

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "PITCH BLACK")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS #2: (As character) A total eclipse.

WELDON: You can guess what happens next. These films use eclipses as big dramatic devices. But my favorite example of this - do we call it a genre¹¹? - is smaller. It's a black-and-white indie film from 1999 called "Judy Berlin."

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "JUDY BERLIN")

MADELINE KAHN: (As Alice Gold) Carol, come out. You have to see this.

WELDON: In it, Madeline Kahn in her last role plays a woman in suburban¹² Babylon, Long Island. For her, a solar eclipse offers a more existential change, a chance to see her life in a way she's never seen it before.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "JUDY BERLIN")

KAHN: (As Alice Gold) Do you hear that? Do you hear the birds in the trees? It's like they don't even know it's happening. It's so strange, isn't it?

WELDON: The eclipse in "Judy Berlin" is strange. It lasts for hours, not minutes. But it's not a gimmick¹³ because the film's trying to capture the eerie¹⁴ mood that descends when the sun vanishes suddenly from the sky. For most of the film, Kahn walks down the middle of the empty, dark streets and cul-de-sacs of her subdivision. Everything's different. She meets neighbors she's never talked to. She stops by the house of a friend she lost touch with.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "JUDY BERLIN")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS #3: (As character) God, look how dark it is out there.

WELDON: They're united by a sense of strangeness.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "JUDY BERLIN")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS #4: (As character) It's the eclipse.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS #5: (As character) I know, but is it supposed to be this dark?

WELDON: Walking back to her normal life, she sees her therapist standing¹⁵ in the street in front of his house.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "JUDY BERLIN")

KAHN: (As Alice Gold) I never pictured you in a split-level.

WELDON: He looks anxious, frightened. So in the kind of role reversal that eclipses make possible - in movies, anyway - she tells him not to worry.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "JUDY BERLIN")

KAHN: (As Alice Gold) You know, it's very funny. I'm actually very good in emergencies. Really it's just the day-to-day things that give me a little trouble. Something like this happens and I just feel that finally the rest of the world and I are, you know, speaking the same language.

WELDON: "Judy Berlin" is hard to find. You can still get it on DVD. It's maybe the most poetic¹⁶ example of how filmmakers use solar eclipses to take the status quo and turn it around. Glen Weldon, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE HEART")

UNIDENTIFIED SINGER: (Singing) Turn around.

BONNIE TYLER: (Singing) Every now and then I get a little bit lonely and you're never coming 'round.

UNIDENTIFIED SINGER: (Singing) Turn around.

1 astronomical   

adj.天文学的，（数字）极大的

参考例句：

• He was an expert on ancient Chinese astronomical literature.他是研究中国古代天文学文献的专家。
• Houses in the village are selling for astronomical prices.乡村的房价正在飙升。

2 descends   

v.下来( descend的第三人称单数 )；下去；下降；下斜

参考例句：

• This festival descends from a religious rite. 这个节日起源于宗教仪式。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The path descends steeply to the village. 小路陡直而下直到村子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

5 climax   

n.顶点；高潮；v.(使)达到顶点

参考例句：

• The fifth scene was the climax of the play.第五场是全剧的高潮。
• His quarrel with his father brought matters to a climax.他与他父亲的争吵使得事态发展到了顶点。

6 imminent   

adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的

参考例句：

• The black clounds show that a storm is imminent.乌云预示暴风雨即将来临。
• The country is in imminent danger.国难当头。

7 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

8 blot   

vt.弄脏（用吸墨纸）吸干；n.污点，污渍

参考例句：

• That new factory is a blot on the landscape.那新建的工厂破坏了此地的景色。
• The crime he committed is a blot on his record.他犯的罪是他的履历中的一个污点。

9 almighty   

adj.全能的，万能的；很大的，很强的

参考例句：

• Those rebels did not really challenge Gods almighty power.这些叛徒没有对上帝的全能力量表示怀疑。
• It's almighty cold outside.外面冷得要命。

10 beseech   

v.祈求，恳求

参考例句：

• I beseech you to do this before it is too late.我恳求你做做这件事吧，趁现在还来得及。
• I beseech your favor.我恳求您帮忙。

11 genre   

n.(文学、艺术等的)类型，体裁，风格

参考例句：

• My favorite music genre is blues.我最喜欢的音乐种类是布鲁斯音乐。
• Superficially,this Shakespeare's work seems to fit into the same genre.从表面上看， 莎士比亚的这个剧本似乎属于同一类型。

12 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。

13 gimmick   

n.(为引人注意而搞的)小革新，小发明

参考例句：

• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。
• It is just a public relations gimmick.这只不过是一种公关伎俩。

14 eerie   

adj.怪诞的；奇异的；可怕的；胆怯的

参考例句：

• It's eerie to walk through a dark wood at night.夜晚在漆黑的森林中行走很是恐怖。
• I walked down the eerie dark path.我走在那条漆黑恐怖的小路上。

15 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

16 poetic   

adj.富有诗意的，有诗人气质的，善于抒情的

参考例句：

• His poetic idiom is stamped with expressions describing group feeling and thought.他的诗中的措辞往往带有描写群体感情和思想的印记。
• His poetic novels have gone through three different historical stages.他的诗情小说创作经历了三个不同的历史阶段。