評論
打印
Politics uncovered
“白宮小透明”要逆襲了？
Politics can be fun – or at least funny.
政治可以很有趣 —— 或者至少很好玩。
This is what HBO's Veep has been trying to do – by making US presidential election into a comedy.
這正是HBO出品的美劇《副總統》試圖做到的一點 —— 讓美國總統大選成為喜劇。
Debuted in 2012, Veep follows the daily life of Selina Meyer, the fictional vice-president (or "Veep" for short) of the US. We see that as much as Meyer wants to have an influence, she – despite being the second-in-command of the country – is constantly ignored by the president and left out of important meetings. Although Meyer herself isn't exactly capable: She has to put out political fires every once in a while but usually ends up making things worse.
美劇《副總統》于2012年首播，講述了一位虛構的美國副總統賽琳娜·梅耶的日常生活。劇中， 身為副手的梅耶想要有所作為，卻一直被總統忽視，因而被排除在各種重要會議之外。梅耶的自身能力并不強：她時不時要處理政治上的分歧，但卻往往讓情況變得更糟。
The show also finds humor in a much darker side of politics: the fake smiles, racism and wrongdoings of politicians. When a mass shooting happens in the show, for example, instead of feeling shocked, Meyer is actually glad, because she feels it may help to distract people from her own disasters.
該劇也在政治陰暗面中挖掘出了幽默感：假笑、種族歧視以及政客們的錯誤行為。比如，當劇中發生了一場大規模槍擊案時，梅耶非但沒有震驚，反而相當高興，因為她認為這件事或許能轉移人們的注意力，不那么關注她的“爛攤子”。
"It feels like peeking behind a curtain and seeing the truth of who these politicians really are," wrote reporter Kathryn VanArendonk on Vulture.
“這部劇感覺就像從窗簾后面窺視這些政客的真實一面，”記者凱瑟琳·凡納倫多克在Vulture網站上寫道。
But Veep is refreshing not just for the way it handles politics, but also because it features a woman as its lead politician, especially in a comedy, considering the fact that comedies used to be an all-male territory.
但《副總統》令人眼前一亮之處不僅在于其處理政治內容的方式，還在于劇中主角是一位女性領導人。這在一部喜劇中尤為少見，因為此前，喜劇一直是男性的天下。
"There's more opportunity for women in comedic roles than 20 or 30 years ago," Julia Louis-Dreyfus, 58, who plays Meyer, said in an interview with Time magazine. "There's more opportunity for roles that are not just the wife – the angry wife – or the girlfriend – the cute, hot girlfriend."
“和二三十年前相比，女性在喜劇角色上有了更多機會，”現年58歲的梅耶扮演者茱莉亞·路易斯-德瑞弗斯在接受《時代周刊》采訪時表示?！芭越巧l揮的機會也變得更多了，不僅僅是憤怒的妻子，或者可愛性感的女友?！?/p>
In the 7th and final season of Veep, which came out on March 31, Meyer is finally running for president. Fans are speculating over whether she will make it to the Oval Office.
在3月31日播出的《副總統》第七季（也是最終季）中，梅耶終于決定競選總統。劇迷們都在紛紛猜測她最終是否會入主白宮。
But no matter where the show – and Meyer – is heading, and whether or not you appreciate its political implications, the bottom line here is that Veep is funny. And what more can we ask from a comedy?
但不論劇集 —— 以及梅耶 —— 最終將走向何方，不論你是否喜歡劇中的政治深意，最起碼《副總統》是部好玩有趣的劇。對于一部喜劇而言，我們還能有什么別的要求呢？
