女演员为美国演艺界带来非洲元素

Actress Brings African Experiences to America 女演员为美国演艺界带来非洲元素

Actress Danai Gurira calls herself a Zimerican.

Her parents came from Zimbabwe. She was born in the American state of Iowa. But her family moved back to Harare, Zimbabwe, when she was five years old. She returned to the United States for college and has lived there ever since.

"I was always in a hodgepodge of culture," she said. "There's no other identity I know, really." 

The actress may be best known as Michonne, the zombie–killer in the television series "The Walking Dead." But when Gurira is not killing¹ zombies, she is busy with other projects.

She recently played rapper Tupac Shakur’s mother in a film. And she is now busy racing² between theaters for two plays in New York City – plays that she wrote.

Stories from both sides of the Atlantic

Her play "Familiar" is an off-Broadway comedy-drama. It centers on the cultural clashes between American and African traditions.

The play takes place in the state of Minnesota. The eldest³ daughter of Zimbabwean parents is getting married to a white man. The story was taken from her own observations, Gurira said.

"I was at a wedding and I was just struck by all of my family's absurdities⁴ — and my own included. And I just knew I couldn't not write about it!"

The upper middle-class life of "Familiar" may seem familiar to many American audiences. But the setting of her play "Eclipsed" — Gurira's Broadway debut⁵ — is something else entirely⁶.

Gurira decided⁷ to write "Eclipsed" after reading a New York Times story about the civil war in Liberia, and the young women who fought in it.

She described it like this.

"These were, like, 22-, 23-year-old girls, women, who had, like, you know, little skimpy jeans on, little skimpy tops, and really looked cool and hip⁸ and current and then, they had these big AK-47s on their backs."

Gurira went to Liberia and met with women who were former soldiers, sex slaves and peace negotiators. She wrote the play based on their stories.

A Broadway first

In "Eclipsed," Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong'o plays a 15-year-old girl who is trying to survive under the rebels. The girl is continually raped⁹ by a commander, but believes that she can find her freedom in the rebel army.

"Well, I think the girl is our way into this world," Nyong’o said. “She comes into this world and is trying to figure out what the rules are. And she has to make a lot of choices about how she intends to survive." 

"Eclipsed" is making Broadway history. It is the first production with an all-black female cast. It is also the first Broadway directed by a black woman and written by a black woman.

Theater critics have praised the play.

With two plays and movie, Gurira is still not slowing down. She is now working on a play about the women's movement in Africa.

Words in This Story

hodgepodge – n. a mixture of different things

zombie – n. a dead person who is able to move because of magic usually in stories or movies

absurdity¹⁰ - n. the state of being silly, foolish or unreasonable¹¹

debut – n. the first time an actor, musician etc. does something in public or for the public

1 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

2 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

3 eldest   

adj.最年长的，最年老的

参考例句：

• The King's eldest son is the heir to the throne.国王的长子是王位的继承人。
• The castle and the land are entailed on the eldest son.城堡和土地限定由长子继承。

4 absurdities   

n.极端无理性( absurdity的名词复数 )；荒谬；谬论；荒谬的行为

参考例句：

• She has a sharp eye for social absurdities, and compassion for the victims of social change. 她独具慧眼，能够看到社会上荒唐的事情，对于社会变革的受害者寄以同情。 来自辞典例句
• The absurdities he uttered at the dinner party landed his wife in an awkward situation. 他在宴会上讲的荒唐话使他太太陷入窘境。 来自辞典例句

5 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。

6 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

8 hip   

n.臀部，髋；屋脊

参考例句：

• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line.新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

9 raped   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的过去式和过去分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• A young woman was brutally raped in her own home. 一名年轻女子在自己家中惨遭强暴。 来自辞典例句
• We got stick together, or we will be having our women raped. 我们得团结一致，不然我们的妻女就会遭到蹂躏。 来自辞典例句

10 absurdity   

n.荒谬，愚蠢；谬论

参考例句：

• The proposal borders upon the absurdity.这提议近乎荒谬。
• The absurdity of the situation made everyone laugh.情况的荒谬可笑使每个人都笑了。

11 unreasonable   

adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的

参考例句：

• I know that they made the most unreasonable demands on you.我知道他们对你提出了最不合理的要求。
• They spend an unreasonable amount of money on clothes.他们花在衣服上的钱太多了。