“帝企鹅日记”真的是在演绎爱情么？(（在线收听）

 
Ever since Walt Disney immortalized（使…成为不朽） interspecies friendships and talking teapots, anthropomorphism (attributing human traits and emotions to animals or objects) has been a movie staple（主要产品）.

自从Walt Disney将种间友谊以及人化的物品（talking teapot）带入人们的思想，拟人论（赋予动物及物品以人的特征和情感）遂成为后世电影的一个主要题材。

Now some scientists are criticizing the movie March of the Penguins for portraying the Antarctic seabirds almost as tiny, two-tone humans.

目前很多科学家批评电影March of the penguine (应该是：帝企鹅日记) 几乎把南极的海鸟刻画成矮小的双色人。

The poster for the surprise hit film reads, "In the harshest place on Earth love finds a way." And the movie describes the annual journey of emperor penguins to their breeding grounds as a "quest to find the perfect mate and start a family" against impossible odds.

这部招受抨击的电影海报中写到“爱情滋长在环境最严酷的一片土地上。”电影表现了帝企鹅一年一次的大迁徙过程，他们抵御各种险阻，返回出生地，“寻求意中伴侣，成立家庭”。

The penguins are the only animals that make a home above the ice in the subzero temperatures and blistering winds of the Antarctic winter. They overcome incredible odds just to survive, never mind breed and nurture new life.
But is it love?

企鹅是一种独特的动物，在南极的冰面上领教着零下的温度、透骨的严寒，依旧构筑着自己的家庭与梦想。

但是，这算是爱情么？

会说话的动物(Talking Animals)

The filmmakers behind the English-language version of March of the Penguins—which is distributed by Warner Independent Pictures and National Geographic Feature Films—toned down the anthropomorphism of the original, French release（发行）.

March of the penguins 的英语版通过Warner Independent Picture 和 National Geographic Feature Films 联合发行，其制作人在影片中淡化了法语原版的拟人风格。

In the original documentary the penguins "spoke" their own dialogue, like Bambi or Babe the pig. The version released in the United States uses a narrator, actor Morgan Freeman, to tell the story.

原版电影中企鹅有自己的对话，就像Bambi 或Babe the pig 一样。美国发行的版本，采用了Morgan Freeman 朗读的旁白。

Still, the film describes the emperor penguins as "not that different from us" in their pouting（噘嘴）, bellowing（吼叫）, and strutting（昂首阔步地走）.

但电影塑造的企鹅感觉仍旧和人类自身区别不大，无论是一颦一笑，还是步态举止。

The bond（联结） between the star penguin parents is called a "love story." And the penguins seem to have emotions— grieving over the loss of an egg or a chick, rejoicing at the return of a mate, loving their families.

电影中一对星级企鹅家长的婚盟可谓一场爱情。并且企鹅们似乎有着人类的感情——他们有丧子之痛，有重逢之喜，有家庭责任。

"In a few places it's a little over the top," said Alison Power, director of communications for New York City's Bronx Zoo and the affiliated Wildlife Conservation Society. "But I thought the filmmakers did an excellent job in not anthropomorphizing the animals."

New York City’s Bronx 动物园及附属的野生动物保护协会的交流主管，Alison Power表示“很少的几个地方有些许的过火，当制片人弱化了拟人风格是明智之举。”

Marine biologist Gerald Kooyman studies penguins at Antarctica's "Penguin Ranch," and he begs to differ. He said the portrayal of the penguins' mating rituals as a love story is a "major" case of anthropomorphism.

海洋生物学家Gerald Kooyman身处极地企鹅农场研究企鹅，他极力表示对电影的意义。他说电影中的婚配仪式纯粹是艺术化的拟人。

So do the birds experience emotions at all? "Zoologists would say, Probably not," said
Kooyman, who works for the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. "A lot of what looks to us like love or grief is probably hormonally driven more than some kind of attachment" to the egg, chick, or partner, he said.

那么其他鸟类是否拥有情感呢？“动物学家会说，也许没有，” Scripps海洋学研究所的Kooyman回答说“很多像爱和悲伤等类似人类的行为可能是激素导致而不可能是其他任何原因”，无论是针对卵，幼仔，还是配偶。

For instance, there are several scenes in the film when a parent seems to grieve over a broken egg doomed（注定，命定） never to hatch（孵化）, or appears to mourn over the body of its frozen chick.

比如说，电影中几组镜头下的场景，家长面对损卵显出悲伤，以及在冻死幼鹅尸体前流露的绝望。

Instinct, hormones, and the drive to reproduce influence a lot of the penguin behavior, Kooyman said.

Kooyman说，本能，荷尔蒙以及生殖的欲望都会很大程度上影响企鹅的行为。

"What gives the impression sometimes of sorrow is that they fool around with the [broken or frozen] egg, or other birds try to take an egg away," Kooyman said. "There's just a drive to incubate, to participate in breeding behavior at that time of year for these birds."

“导致人们产生这种悲伤印象的是它们无济于事地暖孵着（破损的）卵，甚至是当其他鸟来偷窃它们的宝贝时”，Kooyman说“然而实际上，每年的这个时节，企鹅都会有一种欲望来参加孵化，仅此而已”

The film also shows multiple shots of two adult penguins cuddling side by side, their beaks touching and forming almost a heart shape. It looks like love, but is it?

电影多次描写两只成年企鹅相互拥抱，它们的喙交织成心形。看上去形似相爱，真的如此么？

Despite the beautiful imagery, it's not certain that each posturing pair is actually a mated pair.

尽管电影表现得尽善尽美，但实际上并不一定每一对在镜头前展现风姿的都是情侣。

"If it's in August or September, the two are probably mates," Kooyman said. "In April it could easily be two birds that get together and then decide that they wouldn't make good partners.

Kooyman“如果在八九月份两只还双宿双飞，来年四月很可能就形同陌路了”

"You also see such posturing at the ice's edge. There's a lot of social behavior between adults," he added.

“相信观众也发现了镜头出现在冰面边缘，成年企鹅之间有很多社会性的行为”，Kooyman补充到。

临时家庭(Temporary Families)

Unlike nesting birds, penguin parents actually spend very little time together.

不同于筑巢的鸟类，企鹅实家长们际上在一起共同的时光很短。

The penguins make the grueling journey across some 70 miles (110 kilometers) of Antarctic ice each April to return to the breeding grounds where they were born. After the courtship period, the couple forms a strong bond until the egg is laid in May or early June.

每年四月，企鹅们历尽艰险，跋涉于南极冰面，行程70余英里（110公里），返回出生之地。在求爱期过后，企鹅夫妇便会保持稳固的夫妻关系直道五月或六月初产下蛋来。

However, as soon as the egg is transferred to the father, the mother takes off to return to her feeding grounds. She returns some two months later. The starving male, who hasn't had a meal in months, immediately leaves.

但是，一旦企鹅蛋转交给了企鹅爸爸，企鹅妈妈就会迫不及待的返回食物丰富的乐土。大约两个月后，当她重返此地时，饥寒交迫的雄性朋友已难耐数月的饥饿，会立即离开。

The two trade off rearing their fish and returning to the sea to feed for about five months, until the chick is old enough to be left on its own. After that point the parents will probably never see each other—or their offspring— again.

夫妻两个就这样交替的匆忙于照顾孩子和寻找食物之间，直道小企鹅能够独立生活。从那以后两只企鹅很可能就永别对方——或它们的子女。

"In a way, the film anthropomorphized the lives of the penguins, but I think it's OK," Kooyman said. "Simplifying some aspects of the penguins' life story makes it more accessible to the general public."

“某种程度上，电影将企鹅的生活拟人化，这很好，”Kooyman说“简化了企鹅生活的某些方面，观众更宜于接受了。”