❖
From chic Sylvie in Emily in Paris, to Sam in Better Things, unapologetic and flawed midlife women are ruling the small screen.
从美剧《艾米丽在巴黎》里时髦的西尔维到《更美好的事》里的山姆，不够完美但一往无前的中年女性形象正强势霸屏。
Better Things stars Pamela Adlon (right) as relatable Gen Xer Sam Fox, who lives in LA with her three daughters.
Women over 50 make up 20 percent of the general US population, but only eight percent of on-screen characters on US TV reflect this group, according to a report last year by Nielsen. Those who are on screen find themselves stuck mainly in motherly roles, according to the report: "Women 50+ rarely see themselves in content, and when they do, they often find a reflection of a woman that doesn't match their multi-faceted relevance, or reality."
尼尔森去年的一份报告显示，50岁以上的女性占美国总人口的20%，但只有8%的美国电视角色反映了这一群体。据报告称，屏幕上的女性发现自己主要扮演母亲的角色: “50岁以上的女性很少在剧情中看到自己，即使有戏份，也往往发现这种针对女性的反映与她们的多方面不相关，或与现实不符。”
However, we've experienced bursts of truly magnificent senior characters of late, from the two leads in Netflix's Grace and Frankie – both Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin are in their 80s – to Jean Smart, 70, as Vegas comedian Deborah Vance in HBO comedy Hacks. It's inspiring to see these masters ply their craft in funny, meaty roles, the likes of which we've rarely seen before for older women on television.
但是，最近真正出色的资深角色在美剧中大量涌现，从Netflix的《格蕾丝》和《弗兰基》中的两位主角（简·方达和莉莉·汤姆林都已经80多岁了），到在HBO的喜剧《黑客》中饰演维加斯喜剧演员黛博拉·万斯的已经70岁的珍·斯马特。看到这些大师们在有趣、丰满的角色中施展自己的才华，真是令人鼓舞。我们以前很少在电视上看到老年女性扮演这样的角色。
★
★ ★ ★
★
These characters are an untapped resource, complex characters full of little-told stories
这些角色像是一种未开发的资源，复杂的角色充满了鲜为人知的故事。
If you scan the broader landscape of television, you'll see that female characters in this age group are vastly under-represented, but often wonderful when they do show up. Three more recent series demonstrate the great stories that can be told through midlife women.
如果你放眼更广阔的电视领域，你会发现这个年龄段的女性角色非常少，可一旦出现，通常都很精彩。最近的三部电视剧表明中年女性有能力呈现精彩的故事。
1
Emily in Paris
There is Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu as the cutting, glamorous marketing-agency boss Sylvie Grateau on Netflix's Emily in Paris.
在Netflix的《艾米莉在巴黎》中，Leroy-Beaulieu饰演了一位尖酸刻薄但富有魅力的营销代理公司老板西尔维·格瑞劳。
The title makes it obvious that Emily, an American whose marketing job transfers her to France, is the one we're supposed to focus on.
剧名也明显表明，我们应该关注的是一个因为市场营销工作被调到法国的美国人——艾米丽。
But Sylvie, her boss at the marketing firm, steals the show.
但她所在的营销公司的老板西尔维却抢尽风头。
Played by 58-year-old Leroy-Beaulieu, Sylvie is stunning and glamorous, always wearing fitted designer clothing.
由58岁的Leroy-Beaulieu扮演的西尔维超级迷人，光彩夺目，总是穿着合身的名牌服装。
But Sylvie also unapologetically owns her age and experience.
她也毫不客气地拿捏了自己的年龄和经验。
The chic Sylvie (right), played by Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu, is a stand-out character in Emily in Paris.
2
Better Things
Better Things has centred a woman in midlife and her everyday concerns: raising three daughters and making a living as a single mother.
《美好的事物》聚焦于一个中年女性和她的日常事务——作为一个单身母亲谋生并抚养三个女儿。
Adlon stars as Sam, a character who hews particularly close to her own life as a mid-level actress and parent.
阿德隆饰演的角色山姆(Sam)非常贴近自己作为一名中等水准的演员和家长的生活。
She cares for her ageing mother, parents beautifully – if imperfectly – and occasionally dates.
她把年迈的母亲和父母照顾得很好(虽然不完美)，偶尔还会去约会。
Adlon's depiction of this era in a woman's life is refreshingly grounded, honest and specific: She fights viciously with her eldest daughter, in particular, at times.
阿德隆对这个时代女性生活的描述令人耳目一新，真实而具体: 她有时还会和大女儿激烈地吵起架。
She's not sure how to handle her headstrong mother's signs of mental decline.
她不知道该如何处理任性的母亲出现的智力下降的迹象。
She wishes for an end to her periods but brags to her friends when her gynecologist tells her she has the reproductive organs of a teenager.
她希望自己的月经快点结束，但当妇科医生说她的生殖器官状态还很年轻时，她又会向朋友炫耀。
The funny, flawed Sam Fox (Pamela Adlon) is in her 50s, and is the central character in the series Better Things.
3
Somebody Somewhere
Somebody Somewhere is another rare show focused on a midlife woman.
《某人某地》是另一部罕见的聚焦中年女性的电视剧。
And, in this case, it offers a unique depiction of a single, childfree 49-year-old trying to regain her footing after the death of her sister.
这部剧以独特的视角描述一个单身、没有孩子的49岁女性在姐姐去世后试图重新站稳脚跟的故事。
Everett's Sam isn't trying to flee her small Kansas hometown, and isn't actively seeking love or success.
埃弗雷特饰演的山姆并没有试图逃离堪萨斯州的家乡，也没有主动寻求爱情或成功。
But she is trying to find joy after a devastating loss.
但在经历了毁灭性的损失后，她努力地寻找快乐。
And she begins to find it in small ways, by rediscovering her gift for singing and connecting with an old high-school classmate who makes the perfect best friend.
开始通过重拾唱歌的天赋，以及与一个高中时结交的最好的朋友建立联系等小事上寻找快乐。
She is inspiring in very different ways from the women of Emily in Paris and Better Things, rousing us with her small moments of vulnerability.
她的行为十分鼓舞人心，即便和巴黎的艾米丽和Better Things的方式有很大不同。同样，她的一些脆弱时刻也激励着我们。
It's a time loaded with dramatic possibility for female characters: divorce, career shifts, disillusionment, parenting, caring for parents, health problems and menopause; but also romance and sex from a wiser perspective, the challenges and beauty of long-term love, and the freedom that comes from letting go of the people-pleasing and rat-racing ways of youth. So to speak, midlife women are the best characters on TV right now – flawed but powerful, sexy and well aware of their best attributes, as well as their limitations. It's clear that it's time to centre them far more than we have, and to tell their too-little-told stories.
这是一个女性角色充满了戏剧化的可能性的时代: 离婚、职业转变、梦想幻灭、养育子女、照顾父母、健康问题和更年期; 但从更明智的角度来看，还有浪漫和性，长期爱情的挑战和幸福，以及放弃年轻人那种取悦他人和追逐激情的方式所带来的自由。可以说，中年女性是现在电视上最好的角色——有缺陷但强大，性感，并清楚地知道自己的最佳特质、局限性。显然是时候将更多的时间集中在她们身上，讲述她们鲜为人知的故事。
词汇：
unapologetic: unwilling to make or express an apology 不愿道歉的
例：
She has made a few enemies on Instagram by unapologetically supporting causes she's passionate about.
magnificent: very good, beautiful, or deserving to be admired 令人印象深刻的，出色的
例：
You've all done a magnificent job.
glamorous: having an air of allure, romance and excitement 迷人的，富有魅力的
例：
It was an opera, very glamorous and very sensual.
juggle: to try to do many things at the same time 使平衡, 尽力应付
例：
It can be tough trying to juggle a career and a family.
gynecologist: a doctor skilled in the treatment of women's diseases, especially those of the reproductive organs 妇科医生
例:
Women need regular checkups with their gynecologist.
depiction: a graphic or vivid verbal description 描绘，描述
例：
These approving contemporary critics were particularly alert to each writer's contribution to the depiction of American social life, especially to regional differences in manners and character types.
menopause：the time in a woman's life in which the menstrual cycle ends 更年期
例：
The findings may indicate why some women go through puberty and menopause abnormally early or late.
原文链接：
https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20220304-the-coolest-characters-on-television
编译|李海璇
排版|李海璇
