美国国家公共电台 NPR In A Film Industry Focused On Youth, Older Characters Are Tough To Find

 

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

The Academy Awards have been criticized for a lack of diversity. Last year, it was the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite. This year's nominees¹ include more people of color. A new study shows, though, that the academy has a long way to go when it comes to honoring films with older actors. NPR's Ina Jaffe, who covers aging, has this report.

INA JAFFE, BYLINE²: Maybe there should be a new hashtag - #OscarsSoYoung. In the 25 films nominated for Best Picture Oscars over the past three years, less than 12 percent of the characters were people 60 or older, and very few of those were women or minorities. This is according to a new study by Stacy Smith who directs the Media Diversity and Social Change Initiative at the University of Southern California. She said she examined just Best Picture nominees because she wanted to see...

STACY SMITH: Whether critically acclaimed³ movies might portray⁴ groups a little bit differently from the popular film sample that we looked at in the past.

JAFFE: And the answer is, no, they don't. Even when there are older characters, Smith found they rarely drive the plot. In fact, she found only two examples of an actor over 60 who was essential to the story, and they were both played by this guy.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "BIRDMAN'")

MICHAEL KEATON: (As Riggan, squawking).

JAFFE: That's Michael Keaton in "Birdman," which won best picture in 2015. The next year, he played a Boston Globe editor in the Best Picture winner "Spotlight," the story of the investigation⁵ that broke the priest sex abuse scandal.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "SPOTLIGHT")

KEATON: (As Robby) Hey, I want to expand the investigation.

LIEV SCHREIBER: (As Marty) Why?

KEATON: (As Robby) We've got a fourth priest.

JAFFE: Arguably, there was a third character over 60 integral to the plot in one of this year's Best Picture nominees. That was Jeff Bridges as the Texas Ranger⁶ in pursuit of bank robbers in "Hell Or High Water." Then again, he had to put up with comments like this one from his deputy.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "HELL OR HIGH WATER")

JACKAMOE BUZZELL: (As the Deputy) Do you want to hear about bank robberies, or you'll just sit there and let Alzheimer's run its course?

JEFF BRIDGES: (As Marcus) Where are they at?

JAFFE: It seems that having older characters often means having dialogue that insults them, says Smith.

SMITH: For those films that had leading or supporting characters that were 60 or above, over 40 percent had ageist comments within them.

JAFFE: Comments that portrayed⁷ older people as infirm or feeble-minded. Studies show that embracing negative stereotypes⁸ about age can lead to poor health and even a shorter lifespan. This is why Humana, the health insurance giant, funded Smith's study. Dr. Yogi Hernandez Suarez is the chief medical officer for a division of Humana, and she says that movies can reinforce negative stereotypes.

YOGI HERNANDEZ SUAREZ: So if I don't see myself in the movies, what does that say about me? Am I not a valued person? Should I be preparing for a future, or will I just sort of disappear at a certain time?

JAFFE: The AARP has actually been looking at this issue since 2001. Movies made that year were the first to be recognized with the organization's Movies for Grownups Awards. Those honor films and actors portraying⁹ characters 50 and over. Bill Newcott founded the program.

BILL NEWCOTT: This last year, 2016, of the top 100 box office movies, 26 of them featured characters who were 50 and over in central roles. When we started these awards in 2001, seven movies did.

JAFFE: So things are getting better, says Newcott, but not because filmmakers have been shamed into including older people.

NEWCOTT: One-hundred-eleven million people in the U.S. are over 50. They buy 25 percent of movie tickets, and that number is rising.

JAFFE: So if we see more older characters on the big screen in coming years, it'll likely be because Hollywood does what it's always done - focus on the bottom line. Ina Jaffe, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF THE APPLES IN STEREO SONG, "PINE AWAY")

1 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 acclaimed   

adj.受人欢迎的

参考例句：

• They acclaimed him as the best writer of the year. 他们称赞他为当年的最佳作者。
• Confuscius is acclaimed as a great thinker. 孔子被赞誉为伟大的思想家。

4 portray   

v.描写，描述；画(人物、景象等)

参考例句：

• It is difficult to portray feelings in words.感情很难用言语来描写。
• Can you portray the best and worst aspects of this job?您能描述一下这份工作最好与最坏的方面吗？

5 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

6 ranger   

n.国家公园管理员，护林员；骑兵巡逻队员

参考例句：

• He was the head ranger of the national park.他曾是国家公园的首席看守员。
• He loved working as a ranger.他喜欢做护林人。

7 portrayed   

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》

8 stereotypes   

n.老套，模式化的见解，有老一套固定想法的人( stereotype的名词复数 )v.把…模式化，使成陈规( stereotype的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Such jokes tend to reinforce racial stereotypes. 这样的笑话容易渲染种族偏见。
• It makes me sick to read over such stereotypes devoid of content. 这种空洞无物的八股调，我看了就讨厌。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 portraying   

v.画像( portray的现在分词 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• The artist has succeeded in portraying my father to the life. 那位画家把我的父亲画得惟妙惟肖。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ding Ling was good at portraying figures through careful and refined description of human psychology. 《莎菲女士的日记》是丁玲的成名作，曾引起强烈的社会反响。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说