今日導讀
人類對恐怖片總是懷抱著一種復雜的情感，身臨其境的恐懼、無處遁逃的絕望以及劫后余生的瞬間釋放都給人帶來巨大的快感，讓大家又愛又怕。縱觀近幾十年的恐怖片，我們不難發現一個共同的趨勢：影片中絕大多數主角都是女性。熒幕上的女性原本被賦予溫柔甜美、善良體貼的形象，然而在恐怖電影中，女性（特別是母親）往往給人一種陰森可怖、哀怨憤懣的感覺。這篇《經濟學人》的文章告訴我們，這一共性絕非巧合，其背后有深刻的社會文化原因。究竟是什么原因呢？讓我們跟著 Lala 老師一起進入今天的新聞。
新聞原文
Why so many of the protagonists in horror films are mothers
Horror flicks, for all their sensationalist tendencies, have long interrogated expectations of motherhood. Pregnancy is shown not as a blessed state but as a dangerous, gory trauma. Childbirth is frightening, and the resulting offspring often even more so. The assumption that women ought to become sweet, caring homemakers has been undermined by casting them as villains.
In recent years film-makers have returned to these ideas and put several mothers at the centre of stories.
The characters are often ambivalent about their responsibilities and the expectations placed on them. Both “The Babadook” (2014) and “Hereditary” (2018) include scenes in which the mother says the unsayable: they wish their children were dead, or had not been born.
Other films have cast women as formidable heroes. Evelyn (Emily Blunt), the survivalist mother in “A Quiet Place” (2018), helps to protect her family against monsters that hunt using sound. She gives birth noiselessly and without help, and takes charge when her husband dies.
Horror is most unsettling when it invites audiences to imagine danger in safe places, particularly the home, and so mothers make ideal protagonists. At the same time, these figures allow film-makers to undermine assumptions that women are vulnerable (especially when pregnant), weak and fearful, as well as the idea that motherhood is always a rewarding experience. This makes for complex and nuanced characters.
帶著問題看講解
為什么恐怖電影主角多是母親呢？
survivalist 指的是擁有怎樣生活方式的人？
如何理解 take charge？
新聞正文
Why so many of the protagonists in horror films are mothers
為什么恐怖電影主角多是母親
Horror flicks, for all their sensationalist tendencies, have long interrogated expectations of motherhood. Pregnancy is shown not as a blessed state but as a dangerous, gory trauma. Childbirth is frightening, and the resulting offspring often even more so. The assumption that women ought to become sweet, caring homemakers has been undermined by casting them as villains.
恐怖片，盡管有其聳人聽聞的傾向，長期以來卻不斷拷問著人們對于做母親的憧憬。在恐怖片里，懷孕并不是一種幸福的狀態，而是一種危險的、血淋淋的創傷。分娩令人恐懼，由此誕生的后代往往更加可怕。（恐怖片）將女性塑造成反派，這弱化了女性本應是甜美、體貼的家庭主婦的世俗之見。
In recent years film-makers have returned to these ideas and put several mothers at the centre of stories.
近年來，電影制作人們又重新開始表達這些看法，將幾位母親設置為故事的中心人物。
The characters are often ambivalent about their responsibilities and the expectations placed on them. Both “The Babadook” (2014) and “Hereditary” (2018) include scenes in which the mother says the unsayable: they wish their children were dead, or had not been born.
這些角色們通常對她們所肩負的責任及被賦予的期許感到矛盾。《鬼書》（2014）和《遺傳厄運》（2018）中都出現了母親說出不該講的心里話的場景：她們希望自己的孩子死掉，或者壓根沒出生。
Other films have cast women as formidable heroes. Evelyn (Emily Blunt), the survivalist mother in “A Quiet Place” (2018), helps to protect her family against monsters that hunt using sound. She gives birth noiselessly and without help, and takes chargewhen her husband dies.
另外一些電影將女性塑造成令人敬畏的英雄。《寂靜之地》(2018)中的伊芙琳（艾米莉·布朗特飾）是一位生存主義母親，她協助保護自己的家人擺脫一群靠聽聲音捕獵的怪物們的攻擊。她在毫無幫助的情況下噤聲分娩，并在丈夫被殺死后承擔起保護家人的責任。
Horror is most unsettling when it invites audiences to imagine danger in safe places, particularly the home, and so mothers make ideal protagonists. At the same time, these figures allow film-makers to undermine assumptions that women are vulnerable (especially when pregnant), weak and fearful, as well as the idea that motherhood is always a rewarding experience. This makes for complex and nuanced characters.
當觀眾被引導著去想象發生在安全地點，特別是發生在家里的危險時，恐怖片是最嚇人的，而這時母親們則成為絕佳的主角之選。與此同時，通過這些人物形象，電影制作人得以弱化（人們慣常）對女性的臆測和對做母親的看法：女性是脆弱的（尤其當懷孕時）、無力的且恐懼的；生兒育女總是一個意義非凡的經歷。一個個復雜而微妙的熒幕角色也由此誕生了。
重點詞匯
protagonist
/pr??t?ɡ?n?st/
n.（故事或戲劇中的）主角；擁護者
e.g.
例句：In life, everyone is the protagonist of their own story.
詞根詞綴：pro-（贊成）
反義詞：antagonist（n. 對立者）
flick
/fl?k/
n. 電影
for all
盡管
e.g.
例句：For all her qualifications, she's still useless at the job.
sensationalist
/sen?se???n?l?st/
adj. 聳人聽聞的
e.g.
搭配短語：a sensationalist headline
interrogate
/?n?ter?ɡe?t/
v. 盤問，質詢
gory
/?ɡ??ri/
adj. 血淋淋的，血腥暴力的
e.g.
搭配短語：a gory film
trauma
/?tra?m?/
n. 精神創傷
e.g.
搭配短語：childhood trauma
搭配短語：the trauma of marriage breakdown
offspring
/???fspr??/
n. 后代，子女
e.g.
例句：My sister will come over on Saturday with her offspring.
assumption
/??s?mp?n/
n. 臆斷，假定
e.g.
詞性拓展：assume（v. 臆斷，假定）
assume 例句：I assumed that they knew each other because they went to the same school.
undermine
/??nd?r?ma?n/
v. 損害；削弱
e.g.
詞根詞綴：under-（次，亞，低于）
例句：Criticism undermines people's confidence.
cast (sb.) as
把（某人）塑造成
e.g.
例句：They cast me as Romeo.
ambivalent
/?m?b?v?l?nt/
adj.（心情）矛盾的，含糊不定的
e.g.
搭配短語：an ambivalent attitude to exercise
formidable
/f?r?m?d?bl/
adj. 令人敬畏的，可怕的
e.g.
英文釋義：causing you to have fear or respect for something or someone because that thing or person is large, powerful, or difficult
例句：Mrs. Clinton is a formidable opponent.
搭配短語：a formidable challenge
survivalist
/s?r?va?v?l?st/
n. 生存主義者
take charge
承擔責任
e.g.
英文釋義：to accept responsibility for something and have control over it
例句：He is more confident now, more willing to take charge.
unsettling
/?n?setl??/
adj. 令人不安的，使人擔憂的
e.g.
英文釋義：making you feel anxious and worried
figure
/?f?ɡj?r/
n. 人物
nuanced
/?nu?ɑ?nst/
adj.（外表、意義、聲音等上）有細微差別的
e.g.
詞性拓展：nuance（n. 外表、意義、聲音等的細微差別）
nuance 例句：Some nuances are lost in translation.
補充詞匯知識
pregnancy
n.懷孕
blessed state
幸福的狀態
film-makers
n.電影制作人
villain
n.（影片或劇中的）反派
return to sth.
重新做，再次談及
unsayable
adj.不可言說的
give birth
生孩子
make sth.
（某人或某物）是做…的料子
She will make an excellent teacher.
This room would make a nice office.
詞義辨析
sensationalist, sensational
sensationalist 一般表示“（媒體所報道的）消息令人聳動的”。sensational 則強調引起轟動（或聳人聽聞）的是新聞報道或文章。
長難句解析
The assumption that women ought to become sweet, caring homemakers has been undermined by casting them as villains.
（恐怖片）將女性塑造成反派，這弱化了女性本應是甜美、體貼的家庭婦女的世俗之見。
主句為 The assumption...has been undermined...。that 引導定語從句 that women ought to become sweet, caring homemakers 解釋說明了 assumption 的具體內容。by casting them as villains 做方式狀語，表示世俗之見被削弱是“通過將女性塑造成反派角色”。
Both “The Babadook” (2014) and “Hereditary” (2018) include scenes in which the mother says the unsayable: they wish their children were dead, or had not been born.
《鬼敲門》(2014)和《宿怨》(2018)中都出現了母親說出不該講的心里話的場景：她們希望自己的孩子死掉，或者壓根沒出生。
句子主干 Both “The Babadook” (2014) and “Hereditary” (2018) include scenes...。介詞 in 提前，which 引導定語從句 which the mother says the unsayable: they wish their children were dead, or had not been born.。英語冒號的使用做解釋說明的作用。...they wish their children were dead, or had not been born.運用了虛擬語氣，their children were dead 與現在事實相反，動詞用一般過去時 were，had not been born 與過去事實相反，動詞用過去完成時 had not been。
一句話總結新聞
本期《經濟學人》講述了恐怖片中的主角多為女性（特別是母親）背后的社會文化原因。
拓展閱讀
《鬼書》(The Babadook) 劇情簡介
數年前，艾米莉亞·范寧和丈夫遭遇了一場嚴重車禍，丈夫不幸在這場意外中身亡。在此之后，艾米莉亞一面在養老院辛勤工作，一面又要照顧年幼的兒子塞繆爾。沒有父親的保護，塞繆爾從小害怕鬼怪，與之相對又表現出極其暴力、叛逆的言行舉止。帶著危險品上學的塞繆爾遭到校方的斥責，艾米莉亞無奈暫時將其托付給克萊爾阿姨照看。
某晚，塞繆爾選了一本從未見過的繪本《巴巴杜先生》作睡前讀物，因故事太過詭異恐怖，艾米莉亞中止了閱讀，誰知小塞繆爾卻仿佛著魔了一般。他聲稱巴巴杜來到了家里，小家伙的舉止越來越離經叛道，而各種可怕的現象也接二連三出現……
《遺傳厄運》(Hereditary) 劇情簡介
安妮和丈夫史蒂文帶著大兒子皮特生活，他們的小女兒查理則交由安妮的母親艾倫撫養。實際上，安妮和母親之間的關系十分疏遠，艾倫去世后，小女兒查理重新回到了父母的身邊。
自從查理回家之后，家里便開始接二連三的發生詭異的事件。神秘的圖騰、陌生的姓名以及神出鬼沒的不速之客讓這個家庭被籠罩在壓抑的氣氛之中。由于皮特的疏忽，一場車禍奪走了查理的性命。查理的死加快了各家庭成員之間的分裂，在安妮最絕望的日子里，一個名叫喬安的女人出現在了她的身邊。喬安聲稱自己擁有能夠召喚靈魂的特異功能......
