美国国家公共电台 NPR Superhero 'Black Lightning' Brings Social Conscience And Swagger To Primetime

 

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

For the first time in decades, a primetime TV show will star a black superhero. "Black Lightning" is based on a DC Comics hero. It debuts¹ Tuesday on The CW Network. NPR TV critic Eric Deggans says it's a show that brings social conscience, family drama and a little bit of swagger to the superhero world.

ERIC DEGGANS, BYLINE²: "Black Lightning" just might be the first woke network TV superhero show. Cress Williams plays Jefferson Pierce, a former Olympian, high school principal and retired³ secret superhero. Here he's driving his daughters home after one of them was arrested during a protest-march-turned-violent. First, they argue over the issue by trading quotes from civil rights icons⁴.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "BLACK LIGHTNING")

CRESS WILLIAMS: (As Black Lightning) Returning violence for violence multiplies violence.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN #1: (As character) Dr. King. And I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired.

WILLIAMS: (As Black Lightning) Fannie Lou Hamer. But that is not the point I'm making.

(SOUNDBITE OF POLICE SIRENS)

DEGGANS: Then he's pulled over by police.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "BLACK LIGHTNING")

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: (As character) Get out.

WILLIAMS: (As Black Lightning) OK. Look. This is getting out of hand. Now, this is the third time this month...

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN #1: (As character) Hey.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN #2: (As character) What are you doing?

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN #1: (As character) Get your hands off my dad.

DEGGANS: Handcuffed in the rain, Pierce challenges the idea that he looked like a robbery suspect.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "BLACK LIGHTNING")

WILLIAMS: (As Black Lightning) And I'm sure the description is what, a black man dressed in a suit and tie, getaway car - a mid-size Volvo wagon⁵?

(SOUNDBITE OF ELECTRICITY CRACKLING)

DEGGANS: That's sizzling sound you hear is Pierce's power, the ability to generate blasts of electricity, building up as he struggles to suppress his anger. It's an ongoing⁶ theme of "Black Lightning," a strong, principled man of color constantly under pressure. He promised his ex-wife years ago he would stop using his powers and stay safe, but rising gang violence in his neighborhood pushes him to tell her he must put on the costume and take out the bad guys as Black Lightning.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "BLACK LIGHTNING")

WILLIAMS: (As Black Lightning) Do you remember what you said when we discovered my powers? You said it was a gift. It's still a gift, and I intend to use it.

DEGGANS: It's a superheroic version of the pressures and choices black people face everyday. Executive producer Salim Akil based the traffic stop scene on an incident he experienced himself. Speaking from the show's set in Atlanta, Akil says the program will juggle⁸ several distinct storylines, including Pierce's daughters beginning to display their own superpowers.

SALIM AKIL: We're going to get into the proliferation of drugs. We're going to get into who, what and why those drugs are in our community. We're going to also get into, how do you raise or help your children who have special abilities?

DEGGANS: "Black Lightning" answers the question many comic book fans have asked over the years. In a universe where superheroes save the world daily, why don't any of them stop by the hood⁷ and tackle crime there? Other superhero shows on The CW feature non-white characters in key roles, but this is their first superhero series centered on black people and black culture. Pierce fights gang members in a fictional⁹ town named Freeland, a mostly-black community isolated¹⁰ from the interconnected worlds of "Arrow," "The Flash" and "Supergirl."

There's lots of Isaac Hayes and Isley Brothers songs in the show's soundtrack, evidence that the networks bet money to make the show sparkle. The show's crime boss villain¹¹, Tobias Whale, is a black man who is also an albino played by Marvin Jones III, a rapper and musician with albinism. Jones says the character's albinism allows the show to talk about prejudice and stereotypes¹² inside the black community as Tobias reacts to feeling like an outcast.

MARVIN JONES III: He is a black man with a deep-seated need for love and acceptance based off of his uniqueness inside and out. He kind of holds those things as grudges¹³ and motivation for what he is and what he does.

DEGGANS: It all adds up to a magnificently-layered universe that fans of superhero TV have rarely seen before, a place where a black superhero not only takes on criminals but the stereotypes and prejudice that divide us all. I'm Eric Deggans.

1 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。

2 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。

3 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

4 icons   

n.偶像( icon的名词复数 )；（计算机屏幕上表示命令、程序的）符号，图像

参考例句：

• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons. 用图标来区分重要的文本项。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Daemonic icons should only be employed persistently if they provide continuous, useful status information. 只有会连续地提供有用状态信息的情况下，后台应用程序才应该一直使用图标。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

5 wagon   

n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车

参考例句：

• We have to fork the hay into the wagon.我们得把干草用叉子挑进马车里去。
• The muddy road bemired the wagon.马车陷入了泥泞的道路。

6 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

7 hood   

n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖

参考例句：

• She is wearing a red cloak with a hood.她穿着一件红色带兜帽的披风。
• The car hood was dented in.汽车的发动机罩已凹了进去。

8 juggle   

v.变戏法，纂改，欺骗，同时做；n.玩杂耍，纂改，花招

参考例句：

• If you juggle with your accounts,you'll get into trouble.你要是在帐目上做手脚，你可要遇到麻烦了。
• She had to juggle her job and her children.她得同时兼顾工作和孩子。

9 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。

10 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

11 villain   

n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因

参考例句：

• He was cast as the villain in the play.他在戏里扮演反面角色。
• The man who played the villain acted very well.扮演恶棍的那个男演员演得很好。

12 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》

13 grudges   

不满，怨恨，妒忌( grudge的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He never grudges money. 他从不吝惜金钱。
• They bear grudges against each other. 他俩有过节儿。