PBS高端访谈:奥斯卡获奖电影越来越缺乏多样性?

 GWEN IFILL: It took only minutes after this year's Oscar nominations¹ were announced this morning for the criticism to begin.

Much of the reaction centered on what was missing, namely, diversity among nominees² for actor, actress, directing and screenwriting. For the first time since 1995, all of the actors nominated for lead and supporting roles are white. One prominent snub, the civil rights film “Selma,” which snagged a best picture nod, but nothing for its director, actors or writers.

What, if anything, does any of this tell us about the Academy or about the films themselves?

For that, we turn to two film critics, Mike Sargent of Pacifica Radio and Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post.

Welcome to you both.

So, Ann Hornaday, what do today's nominations tell us about the kinds of films that Hollywood is making and the kinds of films that Hollywood is awarding?

ANN HORNADAY, The Washington Post: Well, at least for today, it looks like it's kind of a boys show.

And even when you look at the best picture nominees — and, gratifyingly, “Selma” did make it into the best picture — to be nominated for best picture. But so many of those are movies are journeys undertaken by men, either the great men of “The Theory of Everything” and “Imitation Game” or the young man of “Boyhood” or the actor of “Birdman.”

So it is a striking sort of tableaux³ of men and their stories being represented in that group.

GWEN IFILL: Mike Sargent, what struck you most when you first watched and saw these nominations?

MIKE SARGENT, Pacifica Radio: Well, unfortunately, I wasn't very surprised.

I mean, these nominations, I believe, reflect Hollywood in general and reflect what is coming out in film in general. And I agree with my co-critic that it is unfortunately something of a white boys club. Most of the films are written, produced and directed by white men.

And, you know, you have to also look at how the Academy is set up and who it is that actually gets to vote and how you actually become an Academy member. Ironically, it's similar to the way it's depicted⁴ in “Selma” before the Voting Rights Act. You have to be nominated by somebody who is already in the Academy, and they kind of have to vet⁵ you, and you have to pass through this whole system.

And, meanwhile, if you get nominated, you're offered entry into the Academy, but if consistently the people who are nominating, the people who are voting are a boys club and an all-white male boys club, then you know what? This is what we get.

GWEN IFILL: Well, Ann Hornaday, let me ask you about that, because this very same composition of an Academy voted for “12 Years a Slave” last year and whose — who was helmed by a black male director. “The Help” has been well-received, a couple other movies with racial themes over the years.

ANN HORNADAY: Oh, sure.

But that might be — those might be exceptions that prove the rule. I mean, I don't — and I don't take anything away from — especially from “12 Years a Slave,” which was a magnificent achievement.

But, to Mike's point, the demographics are — first of all, we're talking about a relatively⁶ small group of people. It's…

GWEN IFILL: Sure.

ANN HORNADAY: You know, there are between 5,000 and 6,000 members, 94 percent — according to a study done by The Los Angeles Times two years ago, 94 percent Caucasian, 77 percent male. The median age is 62.

So we're looking at a demographic slice of life that isn't necessarily representational of the culture. And, by contrast, let's look at the Golden Globes the other night. We used to sort of pooh-pooh the Golden Globes and the Hollywood Foreign Press as being, I don't know, lightweights or not quite of our station, but they ended up being so forward-looking and much more representational in their nominations and their wins.

GWEN IFILL: Mike Sargent, a lot of the debate about “Selma” in particular was about its accuracy, about its historical fidelity⁷. Do you think that hurt it?

MIKE SARGENT: Well, I think it definitely hurt it. And I also feel it is kind of a load of malarkey.

I mean, let's face it. Historical films and a number of the films nominated are historical films based on real people. Historical films in general always have a certain amount of elements that are not specifically historically accurate.

And I won't — whether disagreeing or not agreeing, that campaign effectively allows the PGA to not get behind her — that's the Producers Guild⁸ — the Directors Guild to not get behind her, and then, ultimately, the Academy can't back a film that is — quote, unquote — “has a controversy” over its inaccuracy.

Meanwhile, a film like “Argo” won for best screenplay and best picture. Not only was it historically inaccurate⁹, but the main character is a Latino played by Ben Affleck.

GWEN IFILL: And, Ann Hornaday, how much of this has to do with good old-fashioned campaigning? We have all seen the “for your consideration” ads, the stepped-up advertising¹⁰ in general for all kinds of movies leading up to Oscar nominations.

Maybe somebody else just did a better job?

MIKE SARGENT: Well…

GWEN IFILL: Let me ask this to Ann Hornaday. I'm sorry.

Go ahead.

MIKE SARGENT: Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

ANN HORNADAY: But there's — and there's no doubt. You're right, Gwen. The campaigns have reached Washingtonian proportions in terms of their budgets and their bare-knuckled seriousness.

And so it could be that the campaigning hurt Ava DuVernay and David Oyelowo this year, but it could have been also something as arcane¹¹ as how many screeners the studio sent out to the guilds¹² while they were voting on their award, so that it didn't get maybe the momentum¹³ that it could have had in the last few weeks.

So, it — it might be overdetermined, as an economist¹⁴ might say, in terms of the reasons why some people got in and some people didn't.

GWEN IFILL: Mike Sargent, you started this conversation by saying you weren't that surprised. Does that mean that you were discouraged?

MIKE SARGENT: Well, I — let's put it this way. I am somewhat discouraged.

I guess, to me, this is sort of systematic¹⁵ and institutionalized. You know, it strikes me, a very important point about Hollywood is that, you know, there's this myth that black films don't travel. So, as a result, no matter how much money your film makes here — and I'm talking about black film, not necessarily a Denzel Washington film — I'm talking about whether you're Kevin Hart or whatever. You live and die here. That's it, because…

GWEN IFILL: In the U.S., yes.

MIKE SARGENT: In the U.S., because those films are not distributed internationally.

So, as a result, in a way, you're sort of ghettoized into just having your films play here and that myth perpetuating¹⁶ itself that, oh, the black experience is not of any interest to the rest of the world.

GWEN IFILL: Well, we will be able to watch and see what happens next in all of this, not only Oscar night, but after that.

Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post, Mike Sargent of Pacifica Radio, thank you both very much.

MIKE SARGENT: Well, you're welcome.

ANN HORNADAY: Thank you.

MIKE SARGENT: Thank you for having us.

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 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

3 tableaux   

n.舞台造型，（由活人扮演的）静态画面、场面；人构成的画面或场景( tableau的名词复数 )；舞台造型；戏剧性的场面；绚丽的场景

参考例句：

• He developed less a coherent analysis than a series of brilliant tableaux. 与其说他作了一个前后连贯的分析，倒不如说他描绘了一系列出色的场景。 来自辞典例句
• There was every kind of table, from fantasy to tableaux of New England history. 各种各样的故事，从幻想到新英格兰的历史场面，无所不有。 来自辞典例句

4 depicted   

描绘，描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 )； 描述

参考例句：

• Other animals were depicted on the periphery of the group. 其他动物在群像的外围加以修饰。
• They depicted the thrilling situation to us in great detail. 他们向我们详细地描述了那激动人心的场面。

5 vet   

n.兽医，退役军人；vt.检查

参考例句：

• I took my dog to the vet.我把狗带到兽医诊所看病。
• Someone should vet this report before it goes out.这篇报道发表之前应该有人对它进行详查。

6 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

7 fidelity   

n.忠诚，忠实；精确

参考例句：

• There is nothing like a dog's fidelity.没有什么能比得上狗的忠诚。
• His fidelity and industry brought him speedy promotion.他的尽职及勤奋使他很快地得到晋升。

8 guild   

n.行会，同业公会，协会

参考例句：

• He used to be a member of the Writers' Guild of America.他曾是美国作家协会的一员。
• You had better incorporate the firm into your guild.你最好把这个公司并入你的行业协会。

9 inaccurate   

adj.错误的，不正确的，不准确的

参考例句：

• The book is both inaccurate and exaggerated.这本书不但不准确，而且夸大其词。
• She never knows the right time because her watch is inaccurate.她从来不知道准确的时间因为她的表不准。

10 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

11 arcane   

adj.神秘的，秘密的

参考例句：

• The technique at one time was arcane in the minds of most chemists.这种技术在大多数化学家心目中一度是神秘的。
• Until a few months ago few people outside the arcane world of contemporary music had heard of Gorecki.直至几个月前，在现代音乐神秘殿堂之外很少有人听说了戈莱斯基。

12 guilds   

行会，同业公会，协会( guild的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• View list of the guilds that Small has war on. 看目前有哪些公会是我们公会开战的对象及对我们开战的对象。
• Guilds and kingdoms fit more with the Middle Age fantasy genre. （裴）:公会和王国更适合中世纪奇幻类型。

13 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

14 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

15 systematic   

adj.有系统的，有计划的，有方法的

参考例句：

• The way he works isn't very systematic.他的工作不是很有条理。
• The teacher made a systematic work of teaching.这个教师进行系统的教学工作。

16 perpetuating   

perpetuate的现在进行式

参考例句：

• Revenge leads to a self-perpetuating cycle of violence. 怨怨相报会导致永不休止的暴力。
• It'set out to eradicate heresy, and ended by perpetuating it. 它的目的只是要根除异端邪说，结果却巩固了异端邪说。 来自英汉文学