2019年经济学人 镜头和现实(4)

 

Strikingly, none of the accused—the main actors in the drama—protested or tried to clear their names; instead they helpfully implicated¹ themselves in fantastical crimes. Some were rewarded for their convincing performances. Leonid Ramzin, a professor of engineering, was cast as a leader of the imaginary conspiracy², but his death sentence was commuted³ to ten years in prison. He was amnestied in 1936 and later showered with awards. Meanwhile, the prosecutor⁴, Nikolai Krylenko, was himself arrested in 1937 during the Great Terror. He falsely confessed, too—and was executed soon afterwards. By then, the era of co-productions with Stalin’s prisoners was over.

引人注目的是，没有一个被告（剧中的主角）提出抗议或试图洗脱罪名；相反，他们让自己卷入了幻想中的罪行。一些人因其令人信服的表现而获奖。工程学教授莱奥尼德·拉姆津被塑造成这个虚构阴谋的头目，但他的死刑被减为10年监禁。1936年，他被任命为美国总统，随后获得了无数奖项。与此同时，公诉人尼古拉·克里连科本人也在1937年大恐怖时期被捕。他也说谎了，不久就被处决了。到那时为止，与斯大林的囚徒合作的时代已经结束。

Russia and separatist Ukraine are not the Soviet⁵ Union, but justice is still suborned to theatre, and facts to interests. Mr Iampolski argues that in this nihilistic climate, “inscription”—the act of committing things to paper or the screen—becomes the main form of legitimacy⁶. In this way propaganda, including Russia’s demonisation of Ukraine, makes falsehoods credible⁷. Yet even (or especially) now, scrupulous⁸ filmmakers can expose lies instead of spreading them, as Mr Loznitsa shows.

俄罗斯和分裂主义的乌克兰不是苏联，但正义仍屈从于戏剧，事实屈从于利益。洛兹尼察先生认为，在这种虚无主义的氛围中，“铭文”（把东西写在纸上或屏幕上的行为）成为主要的合法形式。通过这种方式，包括俄罗斯妖魔化乌克兰在内的宣传，谎言变得可信。然而，即使(或者尤其)是现在，谨慎的电影人也可以揭露谎言，而不是散布谎言，正如洛兹尼察所展示的那样。

At the end of “Donbass” the grumbling⁹ extras prepare for another stunt¹⁰. A soldier enters the trailer and ruthlessly shoots them all dead. A TV crew soon arrives to report on this latest confected atrocity¹¹. Mr Loznitsa’s camera dispassionately surveys the scene from above.

在《唐巴斯》的结尾，牢骚满腹的临时演员们正在准备另一个特技。一名士兵进入拖车，无情地将他们全部击毙。电视摄制组很快赶到现场，报道了这起最新的精心炮制但真实存在的暴行。罗兹尼萨先生的相机冷静地从上面拍摄了整个场景。

1 implicated   

adj.密切关联的；牵涉其中的

参考例句：

• These groups are very strongly implicated in the violence. 这些组织与这起暴力事件有着极大的关联。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Having the stolen goods in his possession implicated him in the robbery. 因藏有赃物使他涉有偷盗的嫌疑。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

3 commuted   

通勤( commute的过去式和过去分词 )； 减（刑）； 代偿

参考例句：

• His sentence was commuted from death to life imprisonment. 他的判决由死刑减为无期徒刑。
• The death sentence may be commuted to life imprisonment. 死刑可能減为无期徒刑。

4 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

5 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

6 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

7 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

8 scrupulous   

adj.审慎的，小心翼翼的，完全的，纯粹的

参考例句：

• She is scrupulous to a degree.她非常谨慎。
• Poets are not so scrupulous as you are.诗人并不像你那样顾虑多。

9 grumbling   

adj. 喃喃鸣不平的, 出怨言的

参考例句：

• She's always grumbling to me about how badly she's treated at work. 她总是向我抱怨她在工作中如何受亏待。
• We didn't hear any grumbling about the food. 我们没听到过对食物的抱怨。

10 stunt   

n.惊人表演，绝技，特技；vt.阻碍...发育，妨碍...生长

参考例句：

• Lack of the right food may stunt growth.缺乏适当的食物会阻碍发育。
• Right up there is where the big stunt is taking place.那边将会有惊人的表演。

11 atrocity   

n.残暴，暴行

参考例句：

• These people are guilty of acts of great atrocity.这些人犯有令人发指的暴行。
• I am shocked by the atrocity of this man's crimes.这个人行凶手段残忍狠毒使我震惊。