美国国家公共电台 NPR Why TSA Officers Are Rooting For 'Get Out'

 

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

Oscar nominations¹ will be announced tomorrow. There's a good chance the movie "Get Out" will be the first horror film to be nominated for best picture in nearly 30 years. "The Silence Of The Lambs" won back in 1992. As NPR's Neda Ulaby tells us, there's a group of people cheering for "Get Out" who don't often see themselves portrayed² sympathetically onscreen.

NEDA ULABY, BYLINE³: Near the beginning of "Get Out," one of the main supporting characters takes a smoke break outside an airport. He's wearing the blue uniform of the Transportation Security Administration, and he's chatting on the phone.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "GET OUT")

LIL REL HOWERY: (As Rod Williams) Tell me this, OK? How can I get in trouble for patting down an old lady?

ULABY: No spoilers, but this TSA officer will become incredibly heroic. He's the first to realize bad things are happening to the hero, and he rushes to the police.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "GET OUT")

HOWERY: (As Rod Williams) This dude's been missing for six months, right? So I do all my research, you know, 'cause as a TSA agent - you know, you guys are detectives. I got the same training, you know? We might know more than y'all sometimes.

ULABY: All this raised a question - what did real TSA officers think of the film?

SHEKINA GIVENS: It made me proud.

ULABY: Shekina Givens has worked for the TSA in Atlanta, Ga., for almost ten years. She loved this character in "Get Out."

GIVENS: He took his job seriously. There was pride in what he did. There wasn't a mockery made of him.

ULABY: Givens is used to seeing her profession maligned⁴. Off the top of her head, she rattles⁵ off numerous commercials where TSA officers are irritants, incompetents⁶ or perverts⁷. In this commercial for Lindt chocolate, two female officers pat down a handsome man.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS #1: (As character) I think we should do a strip search.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (As character) Excuse me?

UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS #2: (As character) Definitely. Definitely a strip search. So if you could take off your pants, turn around...

ULABY: Depictions like these, says Givens, do not make it easier to deal with the thousands of stressed out passengers she helps every day and who often treat her and her colleagues with disrespect. But Victor Payes Martinez says "Get Out" has actually changed that to an extent. He's a TSA officer in Los Angeles.

VICTOR PAYES MARTINEZ: I definitely think we've had an increase of passengers making reference to the movie. And it's opened up some people to say, hey, you know what? These guys aren't so bad.

ULABY: Unsurprisingly, "Get Out" has led to numerous in-jokes among TSA officers themselves. There's a memorable⁸ catchphrase spoken by their onscreen brother in blue. And warning, it is blue.

MARTINEZ: I don't think I can say it on here. But, yes, it's definitely something that's caught on.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "GET OUT")

HOWERY: (As Rod Williams) I'm T-S mother [expletive] A. We handle [expletive].

ULABY: That's probably not going to become the new slogan of the Transportation Security Administration. An agency spokesman declined to comment on "Get Out." But Victor Payes Martinez, the officer at LAX, has something he'd like to say to filmmaker Jordan Peele, who may also be nominated tomorrow for writing and directing the first movie Martinez has ever seen with a sympathetic and proud TSA officer.

MARTINEZ: Simply, thank you.

ULABY: TSA officers like Martinez are among the lowest-paid federal employees. They routinely deal with travelers showing up with loaded guns or people in the midst of crises. During the government shutdown they're required to come to work, but no one pays them until the shutdown is over. Neda Ulaby, NPR News.

1 nominations   

n.提名，任命( nomination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nominations are invited for the post of party chairman. 为党主席职位征集候选人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Much coverage surrounded his abortive bids for the 1960,1964, and 1968 Republican Presidential nominations. 许多消息报道都围绕着1960年、1964年和1968年他为争取提名为共和党总统候选人所做努力的失败。 来自辞典例句

2 portrayed   

v.画像( portray的过去式和过去分词 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• Throughout the trial, he portrayed himself as the victim. 在审讯过程中，他始终把自己说成是受害者。
• The author portrayed his father as a vicious drunkard. 作者把他父亲描绘成一个可恶的酒鬼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

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 maligned   

vt.污蔑，诽谤（malign的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• She feels she has been much maligned by the press. 她觉得她遭到了新闻界的恣意诽谤。
• We maligned him dreadfully when you come to think of it. 回头想想，我们狠狠地中伤了他。 来自辞典例句

5 rattles   

（使）发出格格的响声， （使）作嘎嘎声( rattle的第三人称单数 )； 喋喋不休地说话； 迅速而嘎嘎作响地移动，堕下或走动； 使紧张，使恐惧

参考例句：

• It rattles the windowpane and sends the dog scratching to get under the bed. 它把窗玻璃震得格格作响，把狗吓得往床底下钻。
• How thin it is, and how dainty and frail; and how it rattles. 你看它够多么薄，多么精致，多么不结实；还老那么哗楞哗楞地响。

6 incompetents   

n.无能力的，不称职的，不胜任的( incompetent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Idiots and other incompetents need someone to look after them. 白痴和其他弱智者需人照料他们。 来自辞典例句
• Capacity-to-contract issues generally involve minors, mental incompetents, intoxicated persons and drug addicts. 缔约能力问题通常包括未成年人，精神不健全人，醉酒者及药瘾者。 来自互联网

7 perverts   

n.性变态者( pervert的名词复数 )v.滥用( pervert的第三人称单数 )；腐蚀；败坏；使堕落

参考例句：

• A clever criminal perverts his talents. 一个聪明的犯罪者误用了他的才智。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Not all fondlers are sexual perverts. 并非所有的骚扰者都是性变态。 来自互联网

8 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。