2022年经济学人 当代英雄匹诺曹（1）

（单词翻译）

Culture

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Back Story: Pinocchio, hero of our time

前传：当代英雄匹诺曹

He cannot hide his lies. He wants to be a celebrity¹. But is he a “real boy”?

他无法掩盖谎言。他想成名。但他是一个“真正的男孩”吗？

He lies (but is found out).

他撒谎了(但被人发现了)。

He quits school to become a celebrity.

为了成为名人，他退学了。

A high-spec automaton² powered by artificial intelligence (AI), he isn’t quite human though it is hard to say why.

他是一个由人工智能(AI)驱动的高规格机器人，虽然很难说出原因，但他并不完全是人类。

Truly, Pinocchio is the hero of our time.

但皮诺曹确确实实是我们这个时代的英雄。

Imagine it: a leader denies going to a lockdown party, or that he lost an election when he did, or that he is about to invade Ukraine, and the fib is as plain as his lengthening³ nose.

想象一下：一位领导人否认在疫情封锁期间参加了派对，或者否认自己在大选中失败，或者否认他即将入侵乌克兰，而谎言就像他变长的鼻子一样明显。

The fantasy of visible mendacity may help explain why “Pinocchio” is in vogue⁴.

这种对于谎言一目了然的幻想，可能有助于我们明白《匹诺曹》为什么如此流行。

Disney recently released a remake of its cartoon of 1940, which stars Tom Hanks alongside a CGI puppet and assorted⁵ cutesy animals (including the weirdly⁶ flirtatious⁷ goldfish from the original).

迪士尼最近翻拍了1940年的动画版《匹诺曹》，由汤姆·汉克斯主演，其它“演员”则是一个电脑生成的木偶影像和各种矫揉造作的动物(包括原版中奇怪的调情金鱼)。

Guillermo del Toro’s stop-motion animated⁸ version had its premiere at the London Film Festival and is out on Netflix soon.

吉列尔莫·德尔·托罗的定格动画版本在伦敦电影节上进行了首映，很快就会在Netflix上线。

But it isn’t only the climate of impunity⁹ for lies that makes “Pinocchio” a fable¹⁰ for today.

但是，让《匹诺曹》具有现实意义的，不仅仅是当前说谎也能不受惩罚的形势。

So does the eerie¹¹ central conceit¹² of the talking, walking puppet, lively yet not wholly alive, and the attendant issue of what makes a “real boy”.

还在于它通过这个会说话、会走路、活泼但并不完全活着的木偶所形成的怪异中心构想，以及随之而来的问题：如何才能成为一个“真正的男孩”。

That question has never been more pressing, or more provocative¹³.

这个问题从未像现在这样不容忽视，也从未像现在这样引人深思。

Advances in AI are blurring¹⁴ the distinction between real people and latter-day puppets.

随着人工智能的发展，真人和现代木偶之间的区别日益模糊。

Meanwhile a revolt against crude notions of masculinity—and against the orthodox binary¹⁵ of male and female—has complicated the “boy” part of the equation, too.

与此同时，对原始的男子气概观念以及正统的男女二元论的反抗，也让“男孩”的概念变得复杂起来。

“The Making of Pinocchio”, a stage show currently on tour in Britain, imagines a trans Pinocchio in flight from rigid¹⁶ categories of gender¹⁷ and sexuality.

目前正在英国巡回演出的舞台剧《匹诺曹的制作》，构造出了一个逃离性别和性取向刻板印象的跨性别匹诺曹。

It revels¹⁸ in the phallic symbolism of his tumescent appendage¹⁹, which adaptations for children tend to skirt.

该剧陶醉于匹诺曹的肿胀附属器官所具有的阳具象征意义，供儿童观看的改编版往往会对此避而不谈。

And the character is a case study in another syndrome²⁰ that can seem ever-more acute—the lure²¹ of fame and easy money.

这个角色还可以用作对另一种综合症的案例研究，这种综合症似乎比以往任何时候都更加严重，那就是会被名气和轻松赚钱诱惑的病。

Temporarily, Pinocchio is seduced²² by the bright lights of the puppet theatre.

皮诺曹被木偶剧院的明亮灯光诱惑住了一段时间。

“To be famous is to be real,” declares a villain²³ in the new Disney film, diverting him from the straight and narrow with the prospect²⁴ of being “an influencer”.

这部迪士尼新片中的一位反派宣称：“成名就是真实。”匹诺曹相信了这句话，认为自己将来能成为网红，因此偏离了正道。