美国国家公共电台 NPR Jada Pinkett-Smith, And Her Mom And Daughter, Get Candid On 'Red Table Talk'

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Actor and producer Jada Pinkett Smith is expanding her onscreen presence. From the early '90s in "A Different World"...

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "A DIFFERENT WORLD")

JADA PINKETT SMITH: (As Lena) Understand that I'm here just trying to get an education. I'd rather be here than out on the corner doing absolutely nothing ending up with a city job.

MARTIN: ...To the hit comedy "Girl's Trip."

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "GIRL'S TRIP")

REGINA HALL: (As Ryan) How much did she drink?

PINKETT SMITH: (As Lisa) Why have you forsaken¹ me, baby Jesus?

MARTIN: She's been all over TV and movie screens for decades. Now you can add laptop and smartphone screens to the list. Jada Pinkett Smith is hosting "Red Table Talk" on Facebook Watch with her mother, Adrienne Banfield-Norris, and her daughter, Willow² Smith. We should mention Facebook is an NPR underwriter. This season, they've explored complex and emotional topics - mental health, racism³, relationships and, yeah, even her own marriage to fellow superstar Will Smith.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "RED TABLE TALK")

WILL SMITH: I was much more conscious of public perception than Jada.

PINKETT SMITH: Yeah.

WILL SMITH: Right? There was an idea of...

PINKETT SMITH: I think I was trying to live up to an idea for him.

WILL SMITH: Right.

MARTIN: Jada Pinkett Smith joined me from our studios in New York. And she told me her desire to open up started with the candid⁴ conversations she was having with other women in her life.

PINKETT SMITH: I was like, why don't we talk like this more often? Like, why is it such a secret, like (laughter)...

MARTIN: Right.

PINKETT SMITH: ...Of what people go through? And so I was like, I really want to create conversation where people don't have to feel like they're alone. And whatever pieces individuals can take with them to make whatever changes they might feel is necessary for more happiness, more joy, more peace, I want to be part of that journey.

MARTIN: But it does stand in such contrast. There will be many people out there who are like, I thought Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith - they're like these super private people.

PINKETT SMITH: (Laughter) Yeah.

MARTIN: So what was the decision to say, I'm going to put it out for millions of people to see and hear?

PINKETT SMITH: People have a lot of romantic and fantasy ideas around relationships. And, you know, considering the powerful journey that Will and I have been taking together, I really thought it was important to shatter, you know, whatever facade⁵ had been out there. And now that I'm older and with all the work that I've done, I feel like I have the capacity to be more transparent⁶ and, luckily enough, so is my family.

MARTIN: Yeah.

PINKETT SMITH: So just because there's certain things that we talk about on the "Red Table" doesn't mean that we don't have boundaries. But I don't see the necessity to hold onto knowledge of certain experiences...

MARTIN: Yeah.

PINKETT SMITH: ...That we've had.

MARTIN: We see the different generational perspectives at play in all the episodes. But it was particularly notable the episode with diversity educator Jane Elliot.

PINKETT SMITH: Yeah.

MARTIN: You and your mom talk about growing up in different eras as black women in this country. And the focus was really the dynamic between black women and white women. And your mom had particular views on this. Your mom...

PINKETT SMITH: Oh, yeah.

MARTIN: ...Admitted to having her own - as we all do...

PINKETT SMITH: Yeah.

MARTIN: ...Her own biases⁷.

PINKETT SMITH: Yup, definitely.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "RED TABLE TALK")

ADRIENNE BANFIELD-NORRIS: I remember growing up and not being able to go to downtown and try on hats. And we couldn't go to the bowling⁸ alley⁹. And to get ice cream, we couldn't sit at the counter. It still bites.

PINKETT SMITH: She had to experience very different things than what Willow and I have had to experience.

MARTIN: Yeah. What's it like? How - I mean, how old is Willow?

PINKETT SMITH: Willow is 18 now.

MARTIN: She's 18.

PINKETT SMITH: Yeah.

MARTIN: Oh, man.

PINKETT SMITH: (Laughter).

MARTIN: She's a young lady. And she brings her own wisdom.

PINKETT SMITH: She does.

MARTIN: I imagine - you two seem very close anyway. But...

PINKETT SMITH: Yeah.

MARTIN: Have there been things that are said at the "Red Table" where you're like, oh.

PINKETT SMITH: (Laughter).

MARTIN: I did not know that that's where you were at on that.

PINKETT SMITH: The idea that even though Willow hasn't had the same experiences as my mother, that some of her views were pretty similar. They had this concept as if it's not our responsibility as women of color to educate white women - the idea being, well, they need to educate themselves. And that's true, too. But at the same time, I do believe that we, as women of color, have to have a certain openness in having conversations to help white women understand our experience.

MARTIN: Is there a particular episode that was revelatory to you? Is there one that just hit you in your gut¹⁰, taught you something you didn't know?

PINKETT SMITH: I think that the episode on loss - you know, I had literally¹¹ lost a friend on that tape day.

MARTIN: A friend died.

PINKETT SMITH: A friend died...

MARTIN: Wow.

PINKETT SMITH: ...Literally before we started taping that day.

MARTIN: Oh, no.

PINKETT SMITH: And on that particular episode, I got to learn, you know, about some struggles Willow had been going through.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "RED TABLE TALK")

WILLOW SMITH: Like, it was just so crazy. And I was just like plunged¹² into this, like, black hole. And I was, like, cutting myself.

PINKETT SMITH: What?

WILLOW SMITH: Yeah - and doing crazy things.

PINKETT SMITH: Really? When were you cutting yourself?

WILLOW SMITH: Yeah.

PINKETT SMITH: I didn't see that part.

WILLOW SMITH: Totally lost my sanity¹³ for a moment there.

PINKETT SMITH: Wow.

So I lost a friend, but I also gained some really deep insight about love and child rearing. And that was that, you know, we can't always be with our children in their darkest moments but that if we pour as much love as we can into them, that love remains¹⁴. And that love can help pull them through. And at the "Red Table," that's what we try to share.

MARTIN: Are there some topics you haven't wanted to tackle at the "Red Table?"

PINKETT SMITH: Not necessarily not wanting to tackle but figuring out how to tackle them.

MARTIN: Right. Can you give me an example of one that's been vexing¹⁵ you that you'd like to do?

PINKETT SMITH: There's, you know, like a couple of topics on infidelity. You know, we're looking at different doctors and different specialists to come and talk about infidelity, you know, and how to actually produce it and who would be willing to come and talk about...

MARTIN: Right.

PINKETT SMITH: ...Experiences in infidelity.

MARTIN: Right. That's tough.

PINKETT SMITH: It's tough. It's tough. And it's sensitive. You know, there's far more complex explanations than, you know, men who don't know how to control themselves...

MARTIN: Right.

PINKETT SMITH: ...And blah, blah, blah, blah. So...

MARTIN: I'd listen to that blah, blah, blah, blah.

PINKETT SMITH: Yeah. No, we - I think we have a very interesting perspective about it. And I think that it'll be a fiery¹⁶ show to say the least (laughter).

MARTIN: Jada Pinkett Smith is the creator, one of the hosts of "Red Table Talk" on Facebook Watch. Jada, thank you so much. It was such a pleasure.

PINKETT SMITH: Thank you. This was wonderful.

1 Forsaken   

adj. 被遗忘的, 被抛弃的 动词forsake的过去分词

参考例句：

• He was forsaken by his friends. 他被朋友们背弃了。
• He has forsaken his wife and children. 他遗弃了他的妻子和孩子。

2 willow   

n.柳树

参考例句：

• The river was sparsely lined with willow trees.河边疏疏落落有几棵柳树。
• The willow's shadow falls on the lake.垂柳的影子倒映在湖面上。

3 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

4 candid   

adj.公正的，正直的；坦率的

参考例句：

• I cannot but hope the candid reader will give some allowance for it.我只有希望公正的读者多少包涵一些。
• He is quite candid with his friends.他对朋友相当坦诚。

5 facade   

n.(建筑物的)正面，临街正面；外表

参考例句：

• The entrance facade consists of a large full height glass door.入口正面有一大型全高度玻璃门。
• If you look carefully,you can see through Bob's facade.如果你仔细观察，你就能看穿鲍勃的外表。

6 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

7 biases   

偏见( bias的名词复数 )； 偏爱； 特殊能力； 斜纹

参考例句：

• Stereotypes represent designer or researcher biases and assumptions, rather than factual data. 它代表设计师或者研究者的偏见和假设，而不是实际的数据。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• The net effect of biases on international comparisons is easily summarized. 偏差对国际比较的基本影响容易概括。

8 bowling   

n.保龄球运动

参考例句：

• Bowling is a popular sport with young and old.保龄球是老少都爱的运动。
• Which sport do you 1ike most,golf or bowling?你最喜欢什么运动，高尔夫还是保龄球？

9 alley   

n.小巷，胡同；小径，小路

参考例句：

• We live in the same alley.我们住在同一条小巷里。
• The blind alley ended in a brick wall.这条死胡同的尽头是砖墙。

10 gut   

n.[pl.]胆量；内脏；adj.本能的；vt.取出内脏

参考例句：

• It is not always necessary to gut the fish prior to freezing.冷冻鱼之前并不总是需要先把内脏掏空。
• My immediate gut feeling was to refuse.我本能的直接反应是拒绝。

11 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。

12 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

13 sanity   

n.心智健全，神智正常，判断正确

参考例句：

• I doubt the sanity of such a plan.我怀疑这个计划是否明智。
• She managed to keep her sanity throughout the ordeal.在那场磨难中她始终保持神志正常。

14 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

15 vexing   

adj.使人烦恼的，使人恼火的v.使烦恼( vex的现在分词 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论

参考例句：

• It is vexing to have to wait a long time for him. 长时间地等他真使人厌烦。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Lately a vexing problem had grown infuriatingly worse. 最近发生了一个讨厌的问题，而且严重到令人发指的地步。 来自辞典例句

16 fiery   

adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的

参考例句：

• She has fiery red hair.她有一头火红的头发。
• His fiery speech agitated the crowd.他热情洋溢的讲话激动了群众。