种族主义引发对于流行文化的思考
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今天的精选文章“ Televised injustice种族主义引发对于流行文化的思考。”来自《21世纪学生英文报·高一》第798期4-5版。
Televised injustice
种族主义引发对于流行文化的思考。
Academic inequality
Racism not only exists in the film industry but also in the academic world.
According to a 2018 report by the Pew Research Center, out of the roughly 17.3 million STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) workers in the US, only 9 percent are African American and only 7 percent are Hispanic (拉美裔的). These minorities (少数人) earn 81 percent as much as the typical white STEM worker. Black students are also more likely than white students to switch out (转出) of STEM majors and earn a degree in another field, according to a 2019 study.
So as people all over the world come together in solidarity (齐心协力) to protest systemic racism, more than 5,000 STEM professionals and academics stopped working to call attention to the issue of racism within academia (学术界) and STEM in June.
Two scientific journals – Science and Nature –also announced in June that they would observe the strike and listen to members of the STEM community who are sharing resources and discussing ways to eliminate (消除) racism.
After George Floyd, an unarmed African American man, died while in police custody (羁押) on May 25, people across the United States took to the streets. The protests – peaceful and otherwise – have also once again shone a light on a societal issue that extends beyond borders.
In countries around the world, this recent event has sparked (引发) awareness of racial injustices (种族不平等) and recently we have seen statues toppled (推倒), a call to legal reform and even a focus on inequality within the film industry. Indeed, this issue is not one that has just rippled (扩散) through the streets, but impacted how we perceive (看待) elements in popular culture, raising the question, “Should we re-think how we’ve previously perceived films, TV shows and various other media?”
As one example, Gone With the Wind (《乱世佳人》), long since regarded as a classic, has been pulled from the US streaming platform HBO Max. The 1939 film depicts (刻画) images of slavery (奴隶制) during the US Civil War, which may be considered controversial during this time. As an HBO Max spokesperson stated on CNN, “These racist depictions were wrong then and are wrong today, and we felt that to keep this title up without a denouncement of those depictions would be irresponsible.”
In addition, the reality TV show Cops (《警察》) was canceled and British comedy Little Britain (《小不列颠》) was removed from several streaming sites for their use of blackface – applying makeup to a non-black actor in order to represent a black person.
The issue of inequality within the film and television industry is not new. As a HuffPost article noted, “In the more than 90 years of the Oscars, no black director has ever won the Best Director award, no black women have been nominated in that category, and only two films by black directors have been awarded Best Picture: Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave (《为奴十二年》) and Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight (《月光男孩》).”
However, current circumstances have encouraged The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences – the organization that awards the Oscars – to take action. The Academy recently announced a new initiative (倡议) that aims to expand diversity and inclusion (包容性) within the filmmaking industry.
“To truly meet this moment, we must recognize how much more needs to be done, and we must listen, learn, embrace (接受) the challenge, and hold ourselves and our community accountable,” said Academy President David Rubin.
BY JESSE DUNN,
21ST CENTURY TEENS STAFF
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文章测试题
Choose the answer
01
What does Paragraph 2 mainly talk about?
A. Causes of racial injustice.
B.Reasons for George Floyd’s death.
C. The impact of George Floyd’s death.
D. The right attitude toward popular culture.
点击空白处查看答案
C
02
What does the underlined word “denouncement” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?
A. Criticism.
B.Comment.
C. Explanation.
D. Understanding.
点击空白处查看答案
A
03
What does the example of the use of blackface in Little Britain show?
A. Black actors are greatly needed in show business.
B.The use of blackface is considered disrespectful.
C. Makeup skills are very important in show business.
D. Non-black actors are better at acting than black actors.
点击空白处查看答案
B
04
What can we learn from the new initiative released by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences?
A. The Academy supports racial equality.
B.The Academy will pay more attention to other fields.
C. The issue of inequality in filmmaking will soon be solved.
D. More awards will be given to black actors than non-black actors.
点击空白处查看答案
A
