美国国家公共电台 NPR Documenting The Offstage Life Of Playwright Arthur Miller (AKA Dad)

 

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Finally today, let's talk about Arthur Miller¹. He is celebrated² as a giant of the American theater, renowned³ for classics like "Death Of A Salesman" and "The Crucible⁴," which premiered in the '40s and '50s but which continue to be read in schools and perform to this day.

Now, Miller lived a long time. He died in 2005 at the age of 89, so it might be easy to forget that for much of his adult life, he wasn't just accomplished⁵. He was also a major celebrity⁶. He made headlines during his marriage to Marilyn Monroe and with his testimony⁷ before Congress during the McCarthy Era.

A new documentary, "Arthur Miller: Writer," reminds us of that history but also digs below the headlines and gives us a very personal view of the playwright⁸ through the eyes of his daughter, Rebecca, who recorded interviews with her father over the course of 25 years and narrates⁹ the film. When I spoke¹⁰ with Rebecca Miller, who was a filmmaker by trade, I started by asking her why she started filming her father.

REBECCA MILLER: At that time, I was in my early-20s, and I realized that no one was going to be able to get the kind of interviews with my father that would show what he was really like because he was quite closed down in interviews and really didn't show his personality.

MARTIN: He seems very relaxed. I mean, you show him at home and making furniture in his garden in Connecticut. He seemed like he was - I don't know - is enjoying himself the right word?

R. MILLER: Yeah, I think he was a really happy man at the time that I was shooting him there. I mean, he was a moody¹¹ person in some ways. But yeah, I would say that that's part of - was his humor in part that I felt was so missing from the way people saw him.

MARTIN: Let's talk about the work. I mean, I think many listeners will associate Arthur Miller with "Death Of The Salesman," his 1949 play about this aging, I guess failing salesman, Willy Loman, and his family. It's been interpreted by, you know, many people. And I want to play a clip from your documentary, your father reading about the impact of the play upon its debut¹².

(SOUNDBITE OF DOCUMENTARY, "ARTHUR MILLER: WRITER")

ARTHUR MILLER: There was no applause at the final curtain of the first performance. Strange things began to go on in the audience. With the curtain down, some people stood to put their coats on and then sat again. Some, especially men, were bent¹³ forward, covering their faces. And others were openly weeping.

MARTIN: It's remarkable¹⁴ to consider that - isn't it? - in 1949. I mean, what do you think evoked¹⁶ that reaction? And I'd also love to know if you have a theory about this - what it is about your father's work that allowed him to tap into those feelings.

R. MILLER: I mean, I think at the heart of it, there was a mystery even to him about the effect of that play, and he talks about that a little bit in the documentary - you know, that it had a kind of almost mystical power over people. I think some of it had to do with the nature of the father-son conflict and also the idea of a person about failure and about people just being thrown away when they're no longer use - as use in society. I also think that the play was composed with so much love, for Willy as a character, that that love is everywhere in the play and that people are just affected¹⁷ by it.

MARTIN: He got a lot of attention also when he, like other artists, was called to testify before the House Committee on Un-American Activities. This was in 1956 during the McCarthy era and inspired "The Crucible" about the Salem witch trials. In your documentary, the playwright Tony Kushner sums it up this way.

(SOUNDBITE OF DOCUMENTARY, "ARTHUR MILLER: WRITER")

TONY KUSHNER: It's about a dilemma¹⁸ that every society comes to at one point or another, which is when the powerful make an alliance with the mad.

MARTIN: Do you want to expand on that a little bit?

R. MILLER: You know, that play is about judges who come to a town where girls are accusing various members of the town of being witches. And they are getting more and more power through these accusations¹⁹. And these are girls who were completely powerless before. And the girls have, themselves, kind of gone mad, but people start using them for various purposes. And so it's that alliance between the powerful and the mad, which some people who watch the film have equated²⁰ with our own times. And I do think that there's things about the documentary which really do evoke¹⁵ our time to a degree. You know, there have been fears about the state of our democracy and the sanctity of our democracy and whether fascism is a possibility in our time. And you just remember that - I mean, they really did believe that there may be fascism in their time in the 1950s. That was something they genuinely thought could happen.

MARTIN: One of the things I was most interested in talking to you about is this question of celebrity versus²¹ accomplishment²². I mean, he is truly accomplished. The fact that you can walk into any high school - pretty much, I think - in this country and find one of his plays, the fact that most people know one of his plays, you know, says something about how large he looms²³ in our kind of culture. On the other hand, he was this enormous celebrity. I mean, the fact that he was married to Marilyn Monroe, who was almost like a mythic figure because of her celebrity. I can't think of a playwright today other than maybe Lin-Manuel Miranda of "Hamilton" fame that a lot of people know.

R. MILLER: Yeah. I mean, I think Tony Kushner comes also closer to that...

MARTIN: Yes, I agree.

R. MILLER: ...You know, as well. But I agree with that. It was also that the theater, I think, at that time, had a different kind of importance. And a great new play by a young playwright or any kind of playwright was a big cultural deal. So it had a different - already, the theater had a slightly different status, I suppose, in our culture, combined that with him then being with a very, very famous movie star - that created a kind of combustion²⁴ effect.

MARTIN: There's another issue that I think emerged either late in your father's life or after his death that you touch on in the film, which was you have a younger brother, Daniel, who has Down Syndrome²⁵, and your father and mother, evidently, really much more at your father's insistence²⁶, placed him in an institution after he was born in 1966. And you say in the film, you wanted to film a segment with him about this decision but never did. And I'm interested in how you feel about all of that.

R. MILLER: Well, I mean, you know, I would bring people back to the film for that, you know? It took me a long, long time to try and figure out the most honest and correct - right way of approaching that. Regarding whether one should discuss these things, you know, there's a lot of questions about this one did that, and so should we appreciate their art? - I've been asked that a bunch of times recently - and so on. You know, like, do we avoid people's art if they appear to have done one thing or another thing? And I actually - I think that we have to kind of separate those things out because, otherwise, you're in a kind of vortex of judgment²⁷. Tolstoy beat his serfs, but he's one of the greatest writers that ever lived. And does that mean we don't read "Anna Karenina" anymore? So regarding - I mean, this really has not very much bearing on our situation, but I would say that on a larger level, I think that that's sort of how I feel.

MARTIN: Is there anything in particular that you want people to draw from this film?

R. MILLER: The reason I made the film is I felt as though I wanted people to feel that they had spent the weekend with Arthur Miller and yet knew more than they would know about him if they'd spent the weekend with him. I just want you to feel like you know him, and then you can go back to his work and see it in a different light.

MARTIN: That is filmmaker Rebecca Miller. Her latest film is about her father, Arthur Miller. It's called "Arthur Miller: Writer." You can find it on HBO GO, HBO NOW and on demand. And she was kind of to join us from our bureau in New York. Rebecca Miller, thank you so much for speaking with us.

R. MILLER: Thank you so much.

MARTIN: For Sunday, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Michel Martin. I'll be back next week. And in the meantime, please keep submitting your original poetry on Twitter with the hashtag NPR poetry. Our next guest curator will be Aaron Coleman. He is both a poet and a translator of poetry. Aaron we'll be keeping a special eye out for poems in Espanol. Thank you for sharing your poems, and have a great evening.

1 miller   

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。

2 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

3 renowned   

adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的

参考例句：

• He is one of the world's renowned writers.他是世界上知名的作家之一。
• She is renowned for her advocacy of human rights.她以提倡人权而闻名。

4 crucible   

n.坩锅，严酷的考验

参考例句：

• The alliance had been forged in the crucible of war.这个联盟经受了战争的严峻考验。
• Put the required amount of metal into the crucible.把适量的金属放入坩埚。

5 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

6 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

7 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

8 playwright   

n.剧作家，编写剧本的人

参考例句：

• Gwyn Thomas was a famous playwright.格温·托马斯是著名的剧作家。
• The playwright was slaughtered by the press.这位剧作家受到新闻界的无情批判。

9 narrates   

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

10 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

11 moody   

adj.心情不稳的，易怒的，喜怒无常的

参考例句：

• He relapsed into a moody silence.他又重新陷于忧郁的沉默中。
• I'd never marry that girl.She's so moody.我决不会和那女孩结婚的。她太易怒了。

12 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

13 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

14 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

15 evoke   

vt.唤起，引起，使人想起

参考例句：

• These images are likely to evoke a strong response in the viewer.这些图像可能会在观众中产生强烈反响。
• Her only resource was the sympathy she could evoke.她以凭借的唯一力量就是她能从人们心底里激起的同情。

16 evoked   

[医]诱发的

参考例句：

• The music evoked memories of her youth. 这乐曲勾起了她对青年时代的回忆。
• Her face, though sad, still evoked a feeling of serenity. 她的脸色虽然悲伤，但仍使人感觉安详。

17 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。

18 dilemma   

n.困境，进退两难的局面

参考例句：

• I am on the horns of a dilemma about the matter.这件事使我进退两难。
• He was thrown into a dilemma.他陷入困境。

19 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

20 equated   

adj.换算的v.认为某事物（与另一事物）相等或相仿( equate的过去式和过去分词 )；相当于；等于；把（一事物） 和（另一事物）等同看待

参考例句：

• Production costs for the movie equated to around 30% of income. 这部电影的制作成本相当于收益的30%。
• Politics cannot be equated with art. 政治不能同艺术等同起来。

21 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

22 accomplishment   

n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能

参考例句：

• The series of paintings is quite an accomplishment.这一系列的绘画真是了不起的成就。
• Money will be crucial to the accomplishment of our objectives.要实现我们的目标，钱是至关重要的。

23 looms   

n.织布机( loom的名词复数 )v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的第三人称单数 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• All were busily engaged,men at their ploughs,women at their looms. 大家都很忙，男的耕田，女的织布。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The factory has twenty-five looms. 那家工厂有25台织布机。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 combustion   

n.燃烧；氧化；骚动

参考例句：

• We might be tempted to think of combustion.我们也许会联想到氧化。
• The smoke formed by their combustion is negligible.由它燃烧所生成的烟是可忽略的。

25 syndrome   

n.综合病症；并存特性

参考例句：

• The Institute says that an unidentified virus is to blame for the syndrome. 该研究所表示,引起这种综合症的是一种尚未确认的病毒。
• Results indicated that 11 fetuses had Down syndrome. 结果表明有11个胎儿患有唐氏综合征。

26 insistence   

n.坚持；强调；坚决主张

参考例句：

• They were united in their insistence that she should go to college.他们一致坚持她应上大学。
• His insistence upon strict obedience is correct.他坚持绝对服从是对的。

27 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。