今日導讀
湯姆·漢克斯在電影《電子情書》里說，《教父》是“智慧的總和，是一切問題的答案”（The Godfather is the sum of all wisdom. The Godfather is the answer to any question）。在《教父》的世界里，友誼是通行的貨幣，忠誠是上好的禮物，緘默是必守的規(guī)則。自其創(chuàng)作至今的五十年來，《教父》已不僅僅是一本書，一個系列電影，它更成為了一種文化現(xiàn)象。今天就讓我們跟著雪梨老師一起，認識一下這部被稱為“男人的圣經(jīng)”的經(jīng)典之作，讀一讀它成為經(jīng)典的原因，和現(xiàn)代人對它的擔憂。
新聞原文
“The Godfather” turns 50
Mario Puzo's "The Godfather" is reputed to be the fastest-selling book in history. By early 1971, 7m copies had been printed.
In many respects, it deserved its success. "The Godfather" is more than competently written. Puzo aspired to literary greatness and only conjured up Vito Corleone and his family's adventures and misadventures to escape debt. "I'll make him an offer he can't refuse", the Don's cynical quip, has become a figure of speech. Some scenes—such as the planting of a racehorse's severed head on the bed of a Hollywood producer who did refuse the Don—have passed into folklore.
The author got a lot of things right: the subtlety of communication between Sicilians in particular and Italians in general; the incorporation, often reluctant, of mobsters from other ethnic backgrounds into the American Mafia; and, above all, Cosa Nostra's usurpation of responsibilities that belong to the state, including the dispensing of justice.
"The Godfather" also gets things wrong, though. It portrays gangsters the way gangsters like to be regarded, as fundamentally honourable types who offer genuine services and seek no more than to be respected for their contributions to society.
It can be argued that in the book and in the first movie, Puzo managed to strike an acceptable balance. But its sequel is a whitewash: the young Vito Corleone transformed seemingly overnight from a loving husband into a homicidal, yet still essentially decent, Don.
That is not how youngsters become Mafiosi in real life. They are co-opted from among the most brutal of their peers and then subjected to a process of systematic, additional brutalisation until they are ready to kill to order. Puzo's version is seductive, but insidious.
帶著問題看講解
Mafia 指的是什么樣的群體？
“主持公道”用英文怎么說？
為什么作者認為《教父》存在“隱患”？
新聞正文【譯】
“The Godfather” turns 50
《教父》50 周年
Mario Puzo’s “The Godfather” is reputed to be the fastest-selling book in history. By early 1971, 7m copies had been printed.
馬里奧·普佐的《教父》被傳為史上賣得最快的書。到 1971 年初，《教父》的印刷冊數(shù)就達到了 700 萬。
In many respects, it deserved its success. “The Godfather” is more than competently written. Puzo aspired to literary greatness and only conjured up Vito Corleone and his family’s adventures and misadventures to escape debt. “I’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse”, the Don’s cynical quip, has become a figure of speech. Some scenes—such as the planting of a racehorse’s severed head on the bed of a Hollywood producer who did refuse the Don—have passed into folklore.
從許多方面來說，《教父》的成功都是名副其實的。這本書的文筆過于出色了。普佐有志于追求文學上的偉大成就，當時他想像出維托·柯里昂和他的家族所經(jīng)歷的各種冒險與災難，只是為了擺脫債務。“我會給他一個他無法拒絕的條件”，黑手黨頭目這句輕蔑的嘲弄，已然成為了一個“梗”。一些場景也成為了坊間奇談，比如一位好萊塢電影制作人當真拒絕了教父的要求，他的床上就被人偷偷放了一顆被砍下來的賽馬頭顱。
The author got a lot of things right: the subtlety of communication between Sicilians in particular and Italians in general; the incorporation, often reluctant, of mobsters from other ethnic backgrounds into the American Mafia; and, above all, Cosa Nostra’s usurpation of responsibilities that belong to the state, including the dispensing of justice.
作者對于很多事情的理解都是正確的。他描繪出了意大利人，尤其是西西里人之間，交流中的精妙之處；表現(xiàn)了將其他種族背景的黑社會成員并入美國黑手黨，這一通常是充滿阻力的過程；以及，最重要的一點，展現(xiàn)了西西里黑手黨對于國家職權的篡奪，其中就包括了“主持公道”。
“The Godfather” also gets things wrong, though. It portrays gangsters the way gangsters like to be regarded, as fundamentally honourable types who offer genuine services and seek no more than to be respected for their contributions to society.
但是，《教父》也弄錯了一些事情。它用黑幫成員喜歡的方式去刻畫他們的形象，把他們描繪為本質上高尚體面的那類人，他們提供“真正的服務”，并且對這種社會“貢獻”不求回報，只想要獲得相應的尊重。
It can be argued that in the book and in the first movie, Puzo managed to strike an acceptable balance. But its sequel is a whitewash: the young Vito Corleone transformed seemingly overnight from a loving husband into a homicidal, yet still essentially decent, Don.
可以這么說，在原著和第一部電影中，普佐達到了一種令人滿意的平衡。然而續(xù)作卻是對黑手黨的洗白：年輕的維托·柯里昂似乎在一夜之間，從一位飽含深情的丈夫轉變成了一名嗜殺成性、本質上卻依然正派的黑手黨頭目。
That is not how youngsters become Mafiosi in real life. They are co-opted from among the most brutal of their peers and then subjected to a process of systematic, additional brutalisation until they are ready to kill to order. Puzo’s version is seductive, but insidious.
在現(xiàn)實生活中，年輕人可不是這么變成黑手黨成員的。黑手黨成員是從他們最兇殘的同齡人中拉攏過來的，然后他們會經(jīng)受一系列系統(tǒng)性的、變本加厲的殘忍訓練，直到他們準備好奉命殺人。普佐對這一過程的描述充滿了吸引力，但也有許多隱患。
重點詞匯
個人筆記
拓展閱讀
馬里奧·普佐與《教父》
馬里奧·普佐于 1920 年出生于美國紐約曼哈頓，他的父母都是意大利移民，因此，他的許多作品都像《教父》一樣充滿了意大利風情。
其實普佐在《教父》之前就出版了幾部作品，這些作品更加符合他的文學理想，出版之后也獲得了專業(yè)評論家的好評，但是全部都賣得很一般。比如 1955 年出版的普佐的處女作《黑色競技場》（The Dark Arena）僅為他帶來了 3,500 美金的收入。
馬里奧·普佐雖然是一個收入不穩(wěn)定的作家，生活中卻樣樣講究。因此到了寫教父的時候，他早已是債臺高筑。當時雖然他十分不情愿，卻也只能決定放下他對“嚴肅文學”的追求，著力寫出一部能夠暢銷的書。
普佐在 1972 年的回憶錄中寫道：當時他跟編輯聊了一個小時關于這個“黑手黨故事”的設想，編輯馬上點頭，讓他開始寫，并且預付了他 5,000 美金的稿費。普佐的長子后來告訴記者，當爸爸正在寫《教父》時，如果孩子們?nèi)ゴ驍_他，他就會說：“我正在寫一部暢銷書”（I’m writing a best-seller）。雖然當時大家都覺得他在說笑，但是這本“缺乏”文學性的小說確實成為了史上最賺錢的小說之一。
《教父》受到黑社會成員追捧
《教父》對于黑幫生活生動的描寫，一方面為它贏得了讀者和觀眾的喜愛，同時，其中對于黑手黨的藝術處理和美化也得到了黑社會分子的喜愛。
在 2017 年的一項叫做“黑手黨人生”研究中，F(xiàn)ederico Varese 調查了大量有組織的犯罪活動。他發(fā)現(xiàn)，這些犯罪團伙的頭目，都有模仿《教父》的傾向。
紐約五大黑手黨家族之一甘比諾家族的重要成員 Louie Milito 在 1988 年去世后，他的妻子說，他生前把《教父》看了 6000 遍。而甘比諾家族的首領 John Gotti 更是有過之而無不及，他學習《教父》中的臺詞，并根據(jù)電影改變了他的著裝和舉止。
