迪士尼电影里的穷人被批“太幸福”

They are the children’s film characters loved by generations of fans, rich or poor, across the world.

他们是儿童电影中的角色，深受世界各地一代又一代人的喜爱，无论是富有还是贫穷。

But the Seven Dwarfs, Bert the chimney sweep in Mary Poppins and others have been criticised for sending out the wrong message about poverty.

但是有人批评七个小矮人和《欢乐满人间》中的扫烟囱者伯特等角色就穷人方面传达了错误信息。

Good-natured Bert, played by Dick Van Dyke, is too happy and carefree given the hardships of working-class life in Edwardian London, US researchers claim.

美国研究人员指出，迪克·范·戴克饰演的和蔼的伯特，在爱德华时期伦敦工人的贫苦生活条件下，未免表现得太过快乐和无忧无虑。

And the Seven Dwarfs – even Grumpy – would not be singing cheerfully at the prospect of working all day in a mine.

七个小矮人，包括“坏脾气”小矮人，日复一日在矿场挖矿，他们根本做不到开心地唱歌。

Other Disney movies, including Aladdin, The Lion King and 101 Dalmatians were also criticised for making poverty appear benign and climbing the class ladder seem an easy thing to do.

还有《阿拉丁神灯》、《狮子王》和《101只斑点狗》等迪士尼动画片也受到了指责：这些电影将贫困的生活轻描淡写，穷人似乎不费吹灰之力就能成为上层阶级。

Researchers from Duke University in North Carolina looked at 32 films, many of them from Disney, that were rated G – the American equivalent of U – and had grossed more than $100million (£68million) worldwide. They put the characters into classes based on their job. At the top are upper class characters – royalty, chief executives and celebrities.

来自加利福尼亚北部杜克大学的研究人员观看了32部影片，大部分出自迪士尼，级别为G（在美国相当于U级别，即老少皆宜型）。这些影片在世界范围内获得的利润超过了1亿美元（约6800万英镑）。它们根据角色职业来划分阶级。最高阶级是上流社会的角色，如王室、总裁、名流等。

The working class have jobs like soldiers, sailors, miners and sweeps. The lowest category is the jobless poor.

而工人阶级的职业有士兵、水手、矿工、扫烟囱者等。最低的阶级是失业的穷人。

Their analysis showed that in most cases the main character is wealthy and the majority of the cast are either upper or upper-middle class, meaning that poorer sectors are under-represented.

分析显示，一般情况下，片中的主角都很富有，大多数属于上层或中上层阶级。这样的情况下，穷人角色就少了。

The depictions of working-class people are also unrealistic, the researchers said, as nearly all ‘perceive their jobs as invigorating, fun’. In Mary Poppins, Bert sings that ‘as a sweep you’re as lucky as can be’.

研究者表示，影片对工人阶级的描绘也不尽写实，因为几乎所有工人都觉得自己的工作十分有趣、让人精神舒畅。在《欢乐满人间》中，伯特唱道：“成为扫烟囱者是多么幸运！”

The study says: ‘Bert, like other characters, frames working-class jobs as devoid of difficulties.’

研究人员说道：“正如其他角色一样，伯特觉得工人阶级的工作无忧无虑。”

Many children’s films, it adds, ‘suggest that social class inequality is benign, as those at the bottom of the class ladder suffer little, lead relatively stable lives, and experience many advantages’.

“很多儿童电影把社会阶级不公的现象柔和化，在电影中社会底层的人没有苦难，生活安定，好处多多。”

Unlike in real life, upper-class lifestyles are often the ones depicted as under more threat.

还有与现实生活截然不同的是，影片中上层社会人的生活常常充满危险与恐吓。

Disney’s Aladdin is taken to task because of a scene in which Princess Jasmine and the impoverished title character compare their different backgrounds and conclude they both have hard lives.

迪士尼的《阿拉丁神灯》还有一个场景备受指责：贾斯明王子和穷苦的阿拉丁的社会背景明明天差地别，最后他们居然得出结论：两人的生活都很艰难。

Working-class lives in children’s movies are often portrayed as so fun and cosy that rich people will voluntarily go down the class ladder to join them, the researchers say. Poor people are portrayed as happier too – in The Sound Of Music, humble former nun Maria teaches her upper class employer how to love his children.

研究人员指出，在儿童电影中，工人阶级的生活常常被描绘得舒适而充满乐趣，甚至连富人都会自降身份加入穷人的队伍。穷人也显得快乐万分：在电影《音乐之声》中，曾做过修女的玛利亚身份卑微，但她居然会去教身份高贵的雇主如何爱自己的孩子。

The study concludes that, overall, children’s films make poverty and class distinctions seem like a case of the lower orders getting their ‘just deserts’. It says the films make class divisions seem ‘legitimate by erasing, downplaying, and sanitising their effects – by portraying poverty and inequality as benign’.

研究结论是，总体来说，儿童电影对贫困和阶级差别的演绎就像是下层人都得到了应有的赏罚。电影将阶级划分合理化，它们抹去了阶级分化的影响，将其轻描淡写地表现。贫富和阶级矛盾不再尖锐。

It adds that this ‘erases, downplays or sanitises poverty and class inequality, implying that poverty and inequality are not particularly problematic as few people suffer from them’.

这样的演绎还暗示着贫困和不平等根本不是问题——因为几乎没人因此受苦。

Vocabulary

take to task: 责备；批评；找麻烦

just desert: 应有的赏罚，应得的报应

sanitise: 使清洁