cancel
❌取消文化❌
CULTURE
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l 什么是“取消文化”？
Cancel culture — the phenomenon of promoting the “canceling” of people, brands and even shows and movies due to what some consider to be offensive or problematic remarks or ideologies — isn’t all that new.
“取消文化”指的是一些人认为某些言论或意识形态具有冒犯性和争议性，从而推动“取消”相关人物、品牌甚至节目和电影的现象。其实这种现象由来已久。
l “取消文化”是如何产生的？
The phrase “cancel culture” is said to have originated from a relatively obscure slang term – “cancel,” referring to breaking up with someone – used in a 1980s song. This term was then referenced in film and television and later evolved and gained traction on social media.
“取消文化”这个短语源于一个奇怪的梗——20世纪80年代，“cancel”出现在一首歌里面，指的是和某人分手。后来这个词频繁出现在电影和电视中，然后在社交媒体上被广泛使用和传播。
Dr. Jill McCorkel, a professor of sociology and criminology at Villanova University, told The Post that the roots of cancel culture have been present throughout human history. Societies have punished people for behaving outside of perceived social norms for centuries, she said, and this is just another variation.
维拉诺瓦大学(Villanova University)社会学和犯罪学教授吉尔·麦考尔(Jill McCorkel)博士在《华盛顿邮报》中提到，“取消文化”的根源在整个人类历史中都存在。她说，数世纪以来，社会会惩罚那些违反社会规范的人，而“取消文化”只是它的另一种变体。
“Cancel culture is an extension of or a contemporary evolution of a much bolder set of social processes that we can see in the form of banishment,” she said. “[They] are designed to reinforce the set of norms.”
“‘取消文化’是一种当代社会群体驱逐的放大，在人类社会推进过程中这种驱逐一直在延伸和演变，旨在加强社会的规范体系。”
l 谁陷入了“取消文化”的漩涡？
Over the last few years, the social-media trend has gained momentum under the trendy new name — placing celebrities, companies and media alike under a microscope of political correctness.
在过去的几年里，社交媒体作为新的流行趋势快速发展——名人、公司和媒体等都被置于政治正确性的显微镜下被观看。
J.K.罗琳
Critics have called Rowling transphobic. She first made headlines for her views in 2019, when she publicly supported Maya Forstater, a British tax specialist who was fired over tweets that were deemed to be anti-trans.
有人评论说罗琳有跨性别恐惧症。2019年，在英国税务专家玛雅·福斯特因发布了反变性推文而被解雇后，罗琳对她（的言论）公开地表示支持，甚至登上了头条。
In 2020, she mocked a headline that used the phrase “people who menstruate,” which trans advocates noted is meant to be inclusive of trans men and nonbinary people who still have periods.
2020年，她对一个标题里有有“来月经的人”一词表示嘲笑，而跨性别倡导者指出，这个标题是指那些跨性别男性和仍有月经的非二次元性别人群也被包含在内。
She’s no stranger to controversy. The infamous author has been canceled multiple times over the years, specifically for negative comments about people identifying as transgender. Earlier this year, a Harry Potter-themed segment at a book festival was canceled due to Rowling’s insensitive remarks online, the latest in her cancel culture controversy.
对她的争议一直存在。多年来，这位声名狼藉的作家多次被“取消”，尤其是因为她对跨性别者发表了负面评论。关于J.K.罗琳最新的“取消文化”争论发生在2021年上半年，由于她在网上发表了不恰当的言论，一个书展上的哈利波特主题部分被取消。
Disney classics 迪士尼经典
Disney cites the racist portrayals of the crows in "Dumbo" as a reason for removing the flick from kids' profiles.
迪士尼因为《小飞象》中乌鸦的种族歧视形象，将这部电影从儿童推荐电影中除名。
They cited “Dumbo’s” (1941) infamous singing crows, which “pay homage to racist minstrel shows, where white performers with blackened faces and tattered clothing imitated and ridiculed enslaved Africans on Southern plantations.”
他们指出1941年上映的《小飞象》中，唱着歌的那群声名狼藉的乌鸦们“向种族主义的游吟诗人表演致敬，在这些表演中，白人表演者涂黑面孔，衣衫褴褛，模仿嘲笑南方种植园里的非洲奴隶。”
The minstrel show, also called minstrelsy, was an American form of racist entertainment developed in the early 19th century. Each show consisted of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music performances that depicted people specifically of African descent. The shows were performed by mostly white people in make-up or blackface for the purpose of playing the role of black people. There were also some African-American performers and black-only minstrel groups that formed and toured. Minstrel shows lampooned black people as dim-witted, lazy, buffoonish, superstitious, and happy-go-lucky.
吟游诗人表演(minstrelsy)是19世纪早期发展起来的一种美国种族主义娱乐形式。每一场表演都由喜剧短剧、综艺表演、舞蹈和音乐表演组成，专门描述非洲人后裔的故事。这些表演大多是由为了扮演黑人角色而化妆成黑人的白人参演。也有一些非裔美国人表演者和黑人专属的吟游诗人成立团体并巡回演出。游吟诗人在表演中讽刺黑人愚笨、懒惰、滑稽、迷信、随遇而安。
l “群众的呼声”还是“武断的判决”？
“[Cancel culture is] trying to silence someone that does not have the same belief as you.”
“‘取消文化’试图禁言那些与你意见不同的人。”
“[Cancel culture] It is the rewriting of history to make people comfortable by ignoring facts - things that really happened - good or bad.”
“‘取消文化’通过忽略和抹煞事实——无论它们是好是坏——从而改写历史，让人们满意。”
“[Cancel culture is] a synonym for ‘political correctness,’ where words and phrases are taken out of context to bury the careers of people. A mob mentality.”
“‘取消文化’是‘政治正确’的同义词，人们的职业生涯被断章取义的言论所埋葬。这是一种暴民心态。”
In 2019 former US President Barack Obama weighed into the debate about cancel culture. He said that he got the sense some young people felt being as "judgmental as possible" was the best way to force change and cautioned them that the world was "messy" and full of "ambiguities".
2019年，前任美国总统奥巴马参与了有关“取消文化”的辩论。他感觉到一些年轻人认为"尽可能地评判"是促进变革的最佳方式，告诫他们世界是"混乱的"，充满了"灰色地带"。
A similar argument was made by a group of over 100 writers and academics including J.K. Rowling and Noam Chomsky, in a letter published in Harper's magazine. They argued that cancel culture had created an "intolerant climate" and had weakened "norms of open debate".
包括J.K.罗琳和诺姆·乔姆斯基在内的100多名作家和学者在Harper’s杂志上发表的一封信中提出了类似的论点。他们认为，取消文化造成了一种"零容忍的社会氛围"，改变了"公开辩论的规范"。
The letter received criticism by those who said the writers were already in positions of power and that cancel culture was meantto give a voice to those with less privilege.
但一些批也评随之涌来：一部分人认为这些作家已经具有一定的社会地位和影响力，而“取消文化”意味着那些特权较少的普通民众也有发声的机会。
"Cancellers" like Mr Paulinich, say using social media to call attention to actions they don't agree with, is the only way to create consequences for those who have more power in society. That power can come in the form of money or influence. Other times cancellers say that power comes from their race or gender.
Mr Paulinich是“取消文化”的支持者，他认为利用社交媒体唤起民众对他们不赞同言行的关注，这是让那些在社会中拥有更大权力的人也能收到惩罚的唯一途径。公众人物可能因为财富或者影响力拥有特权，而“取消文化”支持者认为那些特权是公众人物的种族和性别优势带来的。
At the heart of many complaints about cancel culture is the idea that there are few ways to make amends once cancel culture says you have done something wrong. When an ordinary individual is the target those options for apologies or fixing an issue are even fewer. That can mean the consequences are more severe.
许多人对“取消文化”持批评态度，主要是因为一旦“取消文化”说你做错了，就几乎无法对后果进行补救。当普通人成为“取消文化”的目标时，道歉或是解决问题的选择就更少了。而这可能意味着更严重的后果。
l 重点词汇
tirade：n. 激烈的长篇演说
a long angry speech in which someone criticizes a person or thing
例：But there is no evidence of tirades against Jews.
banishment n. 放逐
the punishment of being sent away from a place, especially from a country
例：Silence is a form of emotional banishment.
原文链接：
https://nypost.com/article/what-is-cancel-culture-breaking-down-the-toxic-online-trend/amp/
https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2021/05/19/americans-and-cancel-culture-where-some-see-calls-for-accountability-others-see-censorship-punishment/
https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2021/05/19/americans-and-cancel-culture-where-some-see-calls-for-accountability-others-see-censorship-punishment/
编译 | 温馨 沈佳璐 周奕言
排版 | 温馨
