美国国家公共电台 NPR A Haunting '60s Film About Mental Illness And Incarceration Becomes A Ballet

 

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

Fifty years ago, a documentary came out that shook up the media. "Titicut Follies¹" depicted² life in a Massachusetts hospital for the criminally insane. It launched filmmaker Frederick Wiseman's Oscar-winning career. Now, it's back as a ballet. Its New York premiere is tonight. Minnesota Public Radio's Euan Kerr has more.

EUAN KERR, BYLINE³: The documentary opens with a variety show that gives "Titicut Follies" its title.

(SOUNDBITE OF DOCUMENTARY, "TITICUT FOLLIES")

UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: (Unintelligible).

KERR: It's unsettling, as is most of the film. In 1966, Bridgewater State Hospital gave Frederick Wiseman unprecedented⁴ access. He captured uncaring staff hurting patients, often heavily drugged and naked through bare rooms and corridors. Yet Wiseman says there was something he always kept in mind.

FREDERICK WISEMAN: The inmates⁵ at Bridgewater were treated very badly, by and large, but many of them had committed the most outrageous⁷ crimes imaginable.

KERR: These were murderers, child abusers, even cannibals. The state of Massachusetts sued to have "Titicut Follies" banned, arguing the film invaded inmates' privacy. Wiseman countered that he had permission from the hospital and the patients' families.

Eventually, a judge ruled "Titicut Follies" could only be shown for educational purposes. That restriction⁸ remained in effect for more than 20 years. So how did this grim story become a ballet? Wiseman saw something when he was filming more than 50 years ago.

WISEMAN: One can't help but notice some of the gestures and physical movements of people who are psychotic.

KERR: He's also a ballet fan. He's made two movies about the form but he says it worried him that all the productions he's seen on stage were basically about relationships.

WISEMAN: Men, women, men, men, women, women. And I realized that I wasn't seeing ballets that dealt with all the other things that were going on in the world.

KERR: So when the Center for Ballet and the Arts at New York University asked him to create a dance based on one of his films, he immediately chose "Titicut Follies" but it obviously presented a challenge.

WISEMAN: How to present something ugly within the framework of a form that's inherently beautiful when it's done right.

KERR: For help, he turned to choreographer⁹ James Sewell.

JAMES SEWELL: As much as we can kind of keep a flow, that'll help me get the sense. I'm going to get back from it.

KERR: In a rehearsal¹⁰ studio in Minneapolis, Sewell is creating a movement for a strip search scene.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

KERR: For the past three years, Wiseman, now 87, has made regular trips to Minneapolis to work with Sewell.

SEWELL: Are we OK with the overtone that the doctor kind of abusing the patient with that little bit of salacious...

WISEMAN: Sure. Well, I mean, it has the charm of being true.

KERR: The two have grappled with how to turn the tics and gestures of psychotic patients and their brutal¹¹ treatment into the movements of classical ballet, says Sewell.

SEWELL: It has to tread to some place that gets us to the place where we're cringing¹² a little bit. But I have to find a way to do that with the beauty of movement, that that's kind of the sugar that helps the medicine go down.

KERR: So he drew on such classical ballet eyes as "Giselle" and "La Bayadere." And he had his dancers watch the documentary.

(SOUNDBITE OF DOCUMENTARY, "TITICUT FOLLIES")

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Good morning, Jim.

JIM: Good morning.

KERR: In one unforgettable scene, a naked inmate⁶ called Jim is taunted¹³ by guards.

(SOUNDBITE OF DOCUMENTARY, "TITICUT FOLLIES")

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: What'd you say?

JIM: I said I (unintelligible).

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: What?

JIM: (Unintelligible).

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: What'd you say? Can't hear you, Jim.

KERR: The dancer who portrays¹⁴ the patient is Myron Johnson. He founded the Minneapolis company Ballet of the Dolls, which for 18 years created edgy¹⁵ classical productions. But three years ago, Johnson suffered a nervous breakdown¹⁶ and says he spent months in a psychiatric hospital.

MYRON JOHNSON: So I know what a taboo¹⁷ subject mental health can be, so I was like awesome¹⁸, make a ballet about it and get people talking.

KERR: Raising questions about how society deals with mental illnesses is important for choreographer James Sewell but filmmaker Frederick Wiseman sees it differently.

WISEMAN: The impetus¹⁹ for the ballet is not to affect social change but to make as good a ballet as one can with the material as I try to make as good a movie as I can with the material. And then the use or the consequences of the work is out of your hands.

KERR: Intentional²⁰ or not, Frederick Wiseman has affected²¹ social change through his films. Now, the ballet version of "Titicut Follies" will give audiences a different way of seeing the people Wiseman captured in his documentary 50 years ago. For NPR News, I'm Euan Kerr in Minneapolis.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

1 follies   

罪恶，时事讽刺剧； 愚蠢，蠢笨，愚蠢的行为、思想或做法( folly的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He has given up youthful follies. 他不再做年轻人的荒唐事了。
• The writings of Swift mocked the follies of his age. 斯威夫特的作品嘲弄了他那个时代的愚人。

2 depicted   

描绘，描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 )； 描述

参考例句：

• Other animals were depicted on the periphery of the group. 其他动物在群像的外围加以修饰。
• They depicted the thrilling situation to us in great detail. 他们向我们详细地描述了那激动人心的场面。

3 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。

4 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

5 inmates   

n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• One of the inmates has escaped. 被收容的人中有一个逃跑了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The inmates were moved to an undisclosed location. 监狱里的囚犯被转移到一个秘密处所。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 inmate   

n.被收容者；(房屋等的)居住人；住院人

参考例句：

• I am an inmate of that hospital.我住在那家医院。
• The prisoner is his inmate.那个囚犯和他同住一起。

7 outrageous   

adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的

参考例句：

• Her outrageous behaviour at the party offended everyone.她在聚会上的无礼行为触怒了每一个人。
• Charges for local telephone calls are particularly outrageous.本地电话资费贵得出奇。

8 restriction   

n.限制，约束

参考例句：

• The park is open to the public without restriction.这个公园对公众开放，没有任何限制。
• The 30 mph speed restriction applies in all built-up areas.每小时限速30英里适用于所有建筑物聚集区。

9 choreographer   

n.编舞者

参考例句：

• She is a leading professional belly dancer, choreographer, and teacher. 她既是杰出的专业肚皮舞演员，也是舞蹈设计者和老师。 来自辞典例句
• It'stands aside, my choreographer of grace, and blesses each finger and toe. 它站在一旁，我优雅的舞蹈指导，并祝福每个指尖与脚尖。 来自互联网

10 rehearsal   

n.排练，排演；练习

参考例句：

• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。
• You can sharpen your skills with rehearsal.排练可以让技巧更加纯熟。

11 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

12 cringing   

adj.谄媚，奉承

参考例句：

• He had a cringing manner but a very harsh voice.他有卑屈谄媚的神情，但是声音却十分粗沙。
• She stepped towards him with a movement that was horribly cringing.她冲他走了一步，做出一个低三下四，令人作呕的动作。

13 taunted   

嘲讽( taunt的过去式和过去分词 )； 嘲弄； 辱骂； 奚落

参考例句：

• The other kids continually taunted him about his size. 其他孩子不断地耻笑他的个头儿。
• Some of the girls taunted her about her weight. 有些女孩子笑她胖。

14 portrays   

v.画像( portray的第三人称单数 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• The museum collection vividly portrays the heritage of 200 years of canals. 博物馆的藏品让运河200 年的历史再现眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The film portrays Gandhi as a kind of superman. 这部电影把甘地描绘成一个超人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 edgy   

adj.不安的；易怒的

参考例句：

• She's been a bit edgy lately,waiting for the exam results.她正在等待考试结果，所以最近有些焦躁不安。
• He was nervous and edgy, still chain-smoking.他紧张不安，还在一根接一根地抽着烟。

16 breakdown   

n.垮，衰竭；损坏，故障，倒塌

参考例句：

• She suffered a nervous breakdown.她患神经衰弱。
• The plane had a breakdown in the air,but it was fortunately removed by the ace pilot.飞机在空中发生了故障，但幸运的是被王牌驾驶员排除了。

17 taboo   

n.禁忌，禁止接近，禁止使用；adj.禁忌的；v.禁忌，禁制，禁止

参考例句：

• The rude words are taboo in ordinary conversation.这些粗野的字眼在日常谈话中是禁忌的。
• Is there a taboo against sex before marriage in your society?在你们的社会里，婚前的性行为犯禁吗？

18 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

19 impetus   

n.推动，促进，刺激；推动力

参考例句：

• This is the primary impetus behind the economic recovery.这是促使经济复苏的主要动力。
• Her speech gave an impetus to my ideas.她的讲话激发了我的思绪。

20 intentional   

adj.故意的，有意（识）的

参考例句：

• Let me assure you that it was not intentional.我向你保证那不是故意的。
• His insult was intentional.他的侮辱是有意的。

21 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。