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美国国家公共电台 NPR Candace Bushnell Discusses 20 Years Of 'Sex And The City'

时间:2018-06-15 01:49:23

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(单词翻译)

 

(SOUNDBITE OF DOUGLAS CUOMO'S "SEX AND THE CITY THEME")

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

For me and maybe many of you out there, this music takes me straight to New York City in the late-'90's and a foursome of Manolo-wearing, cosmopolitan-swilling friends. That foursome would be Samantha, Miranda, Charlotte and Carrie, the women of "Sex And The City." This week marks 20 years since the show debuted1 on HBO, 20 years since we met the main character, Carrie Bradshaw, who writes a column about love and dating which she narrates2 throughout the show.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "SEX AND THE CITY")

SARAH JESSICA PARKER: (As Carrie Bradshaw) Welcome to the age of un-innocence. No one has breakfast at Tiffany's, and no one has affairs to remember. Instead, we have breakfast at 7 a.m. and affairs we try to forget as quickly as possible.

KELLY: Carrie's character and her column are based on a real writer, Candace Bushnell. And Candace Bushnell joins me now. Welcome.

CANDACE BUSHNELL: Thrilled to be here.

KELLY: Let me sum up a little bit of how this came to be. You in the '90s were in New York, and you started writing a column called "Sex And The City." This was for the New York Observer. You eventually turned those columns into a book, which became a show. Was that something you ever anticipated when you set out and you were covering the love and dating scene in New York City in the '90s?

BUSHNELL: No. I mean, you have to understand. For me, "Sex And The City" was, you know, the best and the most popular iteration of work that I'd already been doing. I had many, many girlfriends. You know, we felt empowered by the fact that we had control over, you know - somewhat of our careers that we could live without men. But we felt disempowered by the fact that we were in our 30s and that we were no longer considered - how should I say - eligible3, you know, prospects4.

KELLY: Let me - we asked listeners to weigh in and send us voice memos5 about some of the things that they connected with in the show. And I want to play you a couple of these. One thing that resonates with so many people apparently6 is the theme of female friendship. Let me play you this. This is Alexis Miller7. She says she started watching "Sex And The City" in high school.

ALEXIS MILLER: To this day, I still think that some of the fights that Carrie and Miranda had over the years were some of the most realistic portrayals9 of female friendship that I've seen on TV.

KELLY: Realistic portrayal8 of female friendship - was that one of the things y'all were going for?

BUSHNELL: Absolutely. One of the phenomenons of "Sex And The City" was this intense forming of family-type bonds with one's female friends. In New York City, in my life, there was really a feeling that without your girlfriends, you could not survive. And that's certainly something that the show portrayed10 beautifully.

KELLY: To what extent did those friendships on the show reflect friendships you had in New York around this time?

BUSHNELL: Well, yeah, my friends and I always joked that we would never be friends with Charlotte.

KELLY: The very sweet - she's super sweet, goody two shoes, yep.

BUSHNELL: She's the Darren Star creation.

KELLY: Darren Star - the producer of the show you're talking about.

BUSHNELL: Right. But Charlotte was always the one that didn't fit in. And we are always like, huh? I mean, Charlotte would have gotten eaten up and chewed up and spit out for lunch.

KELLY: (Laughter) Well, let me move you to how you think about this now and how the show kind of registers now. Another listener we heard from pointed11 out that the show was not as inclusive as it might have been. This is Wren12 Murray. She's 20, and she says she's got some conflicting feelings about "Sex And The City."

WREN MURRAY: It definitely taught me so much about being a woman and being a sexual being. But it definitely did not teach me about my own identity as a brown, bisexual female.

KELLY: She's pointing out the show's been criticized for having very few characters of color, for not representing LGBTQ community in a very positive light. I mean, looking back, do those strike you as flaws? Or was it the way those characters would have seen the world at the time?

BUSHNELL: I mean, the world of "Sex And The City" that I was writing about in the city - it was diverse. I think as the show went on, you know, there was more awareness13 and more of an attempt to address that.

KELLY: I wanted to follow up on when you were talking about being single after 35. Is part of what the show did, part of the legacy14 of it saying to women it's OK to be single after 35, to be out making your way in the world and not have a man at your side?

BUSHNELL: Absolutely, absolutely, And you know, for me, the point of writing "Sex And The City" was trying to get at this idea of, can we have other goals than just finding a man? You know, there are criticisms of the show of course. But, you know, largely it made women feel like, I'm OK, and I'm not alone.

KELLY: Well, Candace Bushnell, thank you. This has been fun.

BUSHNELL: Thank you.

KELLY: Candace Bushnell - she wrote the "Sex And The City" column which inspired the book which inspired the TV show which debuted 20 years ago this week.


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 debuted b3e2d85131439fe8678f6628fda0ec90     
初次表演,初次登台(debut的过去式与过去分词形式)
参考例句:
  • In late 2003 a full-size SUV, the Pathfinder Armada, debuted. 2003年末,全尺寸SUV的探路者无敌舰队,推出。
  • The album debuted at number two and quickly went platinum. 专辑一亮相就荣登排行榜第二名,很快就取得了白金销量。
2 narrates 700af7b03723e0e80ae386f04634402e     
v.故事( narrate的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • It narrates the unconstitutional acts of James II. 它历数了詹姆斯二世的违法行为。 来自辞典例句
  • Chapter three narrates the economy activity which Jew return the Occident. 第三章讲述了犹太人重返西欧后的经济活动。 来自互联网
3 eligible Cq6xL     
adj.有条件被选中的;(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的
参考例句:
  • He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
  • Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。
4 prospects fkVzpY     
n.希望,前途(恒为复数)
参考例句:
  • There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
  • They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。
5 memos 45cf27e47ed5150a0561ca46ec309d4e     
n.备忘录( memo的名词复数 );(美)内部通知
参考例句:
  • Big shots get their dander up and memos start flying. 大人物们怒火中烧,备忘录四下乱飞。 来自辞典例句
  • There was a pile of mail, memos and telephone messages on his desk. 他的办公桌上堆满着信件、备忘录和电话通知。 来自辞典例句
6 apparently tMmyQ     
adv.显然地;表面上,似乎
参考例句:
  • An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽,豁然开朗。
  • He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。
7 miller ZD6xf     
n.磨坊主
参考例句:
  • Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
  • The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。
8 portrayal IPlxy     
n.饰演;描画
参考例句:
  • His novel is a vivid portrayal of life in a mining community.他的小说生动地描绘了矿区的生活。
  • The portrayal of the characters in the novel is lifelike.该书中的人物写得有血有肉。
9 portrayals 67f3ceddf8ba97bd42dbe499f8cad7dd     
n.画像( portrayal的名词复数 );描述;描写;描摹
参考例句:
  • And painters alluded to her eroticism in their bare breasted portrayals of the dying queen. 画家们把她描绘为裸胸垂死的贪欲的女王。 来自互联网
10 portrayed a75f5b1487928c9f7f165b2773c13036     
v.画像( portray的过去式和过去分词 );描述;描绘;描画
参考例句:
  • Throughout the trial, he portrayed himself as the victim. 在审讯过程中,他始终把自己说成是受害者。
  • The author portrayed his father as a vicious drunkard. 作者把他父亲描绘成一个可恶的酒鬼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
11 pointed Il8zB4     
adj.尖的,直截了当的
参考例句:
  • He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
  • She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
12 wren veCzKb     
n.鹪鹩;英国皇家海军女子服务队成员
参考例句:
  • A wren is a kind of short-winged songbird.鹪鹩是一种短翼的鸣禽。
  • My bird guide confirmed that a Carolina wren had discovered the thickets near my house.我掌握的鸟类知识使我确信,一只卡罗莱纳州鹪鹩已经发现了我家的这个灌木丛。
13 awareness 4yWzdW     
n.意识,觉悟,懂事,明智
参考例句:
  • There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
  • Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。
14 legacy 59YzD     
n.遗产,遗赠;先人(或过去)留下的东西
参考例句:
  • They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
  • He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

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