美国国家公共电台 NPR Getting Out The Youth Vote With A Dash Of Snark

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

We are deep into an election season when a vital question is who shows up? Karen Grigsby Bates of NPR's Code Switch team met people who want to grab young voters' attention by making them laugh.

KAREN GRIGSBY BATES, BYLINE¹: A new campaign called Call the Cops started a few days ago, and its 30-second spots are popping up on the Internet. In one, a guy with a laptop is sitting on a cafe patio². He looks disgustedly into his recyclable cup as a stunning³ young black woman pulls up a chair.

(SOUNDBITE OF YOUTUBE VIDEO, "CALL THE COPS: CAFE")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As Todd) The coffee here sucks.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As character) You know what else sucks, Todd? Voter suppression.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As Todd) How did you know my name?

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As character) Do you plan on voting?

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As Todd) No.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As character) Why is that?

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As Todd) Because the parties don't represent me. The system is broken. Am I right?

GRISBY BATES: So the woman whips out her phone and makes a call.

(SOUNDBITE OF YOUTUBE VIDEO, "CALL THE COPS: CAFE")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As character) 911, I'd like to report a raggedy ass⁴ hipster who thinks he's going to be the next Tarantino. (Laughter) I know, that's going to happen. He doesn't plan on voting.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As character) Can you describe him?

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As character) Oh, I can describe him. He's white. Good luck with that movie.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As Todd) Will you please be in it?

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As character) No, dude.

GRISBY BATES: It's a flip⁵ on all the white people - the barbecue Beckys, the pool patrol Pauls, the Starbucks Susies - who have called the police on black people just doing stuff - grilling⁶ in the park, using the condo pool, waiting in a coffee shop for a business partner. Only in this video, black people are calling the police on white ones they think are being irresponsible citizens. Tara McGowan heads ACRONYM⁷, the nonprofit agency that commissioned the four videos that are popping up on your mobile devices. She gets that they're taking a risk riffing off whites policing black bodies for this campaign's cheeky reverse parody⁸.

TARA MCGOWAN: There's nothing funny about that, but I do think that tying that to civic⁹ engagement and using your vote to really make a stand about what kind of country you want to live in and the direction you want this country to go in, I think that can be really powerful.

GRISBY BATES: ACRONYM works to elect progressive candidates via targeted digital media campaigns. McGowan says Call the Cops is part of the Knock the Vote project, which has a specific goal.

MCGOWAN: It is a program designed specifically for voters who may not vote in all elections or especially midterm elections.

GRISBY BATES: The company approached director Malcolm D. Lee to help write and direct the spots. Lee's work includes "Night School" and last year's hit comedy "Girls Trip." The idea of a direct plea to voters appealed to him.

MALCOLM D. LEE: You know, I think it's just important for people to just be aware. And, like, we're not telling you to vote for somebody in particular but, like, hey - but you got to vote. You got to get involved in the process.

GRISBY BATES: So he sat down with ACRONYM's creative director, Vince Murphy, who, by the way, is black, and devised the "Call The Cops" series. There's the hipster, a suburban¹⁰ mom and a worried black man played by "The Daily Show's" Roy Wood Jr. who's calling the cops on a group of selfie-takers.

(SOUNDBITE OF YOUTUBE VIDEO, "CALL THE COPS: SELFIES")

ROY WOOD JR.: (As character) Excuse me. Have y'all made plans to vote in November?

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #4: (As character, laughter) No.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #5: (As character) Hello, 911.

WOOD: (As character) 911, I'd like to report an emergency in the park. There's three white women just taking selfies - triple-selfie in progress. They're using filters, emojis, the same picture over and over again, wearing pajamas¹¹. And they literally¹² have no plans of voting in November.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #6: (As character) Excuse me. That's not illegal.

WOOD: (As character) Please hurry. I can smell the avocado toast.

GRISBY BATES: Tara McGowan says most of the responses they've received have been positive. And even if a minority of people are offended, she says, getting their attention is half the battle.

MCGOWAN: If we elicit¹³ an emotional response, we think we're doing a pretty good job.

GRISBY BATES: Malcolm Lee wants humor to draw in people who see these spots.

LEE: Once you get people laughing and their mouths are open, you can slip the truth in.

GRISBY BATES: And he says the truth is midterm elections count.

LEE: There's not enough people who vote in the midterms, and those that do, you know, get their person in.

GRISBY BATES: "Call The Cops" videos will run through Election Day. Karen Grigsby Bates, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF SKALPEL'S "SALVADANIO")

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 patio   

n.庭院，平台

参考例句：

• Suddenly, the thought of my beautiful patio came to mind. I can be quiet out there,I thought.我又忽然想到家里漂亮的院子，我能够在这里宁静地呆会。
• They had a barbecue on their patio on Sunday.星期天他们在院子里进行烧烤。

3 stunning   

adj.极好的；使人晕倒的

参考例句：

• His plays are distinguished only by their stunning mediocrity.他的戏剧与众不同之处就是平凡得出奇。
• The finished effect was absolutely stunning.完工后的效果非常美。

4 ass   

n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人

参考例句：

• He is not an ass as they make him.他不象大家猜想的那样笨。
• An ass endures his burden but not more than his burden.驴能负重但不能超过它能力所负担的。

5 flip   

vt.快速翻动；轻抛；轻拍；n.轻抛；adj.轻浮的

参考例句：

• I had a quick flip through the book and it looked very interesting.我很快翻阅了一下那本书，看来似乎很有趣。
• Let's flip a coin to see who pays the bill.咱们来抛硬币决定谁付钱。

6 grilling   

v.烧烤( grill的现在分词 )；拷问，盘问

参考例句：

• The minister faced a tough grilling at today's press conference. 部长在今天的记者招待会上受到了严厉的盘问。
• He's grilling out there in the midday sun. 他在外面让中午火辣辣的太阳炙烤着。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 acronym   

n.首字母简略词，简称

参考例句：

• That's a mouthful of an acronym for a very simple technology.对于一项非常简单的技术来说，这是一个很绕口的缩写词。
• TSDF is an acronym for Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facilities.TSDF是处理，储存和处置设施的一个缩写。

8 parody   

n.打油诗文，诙谐的改编诗文，拙劣的模仿；v.拙劣模仿，作模仿诗文

参考例句：

• The parody was just a form of teasing.那个拙劣的模仿只是一种揶揄。
• North Korea looks like a grotesque parody of Mao's centrally controlled China,precisely the sort of system that Beijing has left behind.朝鲜看上去像是毛时代中央集权的中国的怪诞模仿，其体制恰恰是北京方面已经抛弃的。

9 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。

10 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。

11 pajamas   

n.睡衣裤

参考例句：

• At bedtime,I take off my clothes and put on my pajamas.睡觉时，我脱去衣服，换上睡衣。
• He was wearing striped pajamas.他穿着带条纹的睡衣裤。

12 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

13 elicit   

v.引出,抽出,引起

参考例句：

• It was designed to elicit the best thinking within the government. 机构的设置是为了在政府内部集思广益。
• Don't try to elicit business secrets from me. I won't tell you anything. 你休想从我这里套问出我们的商业机密, 我什么都不会告诉你的。