影视盛宴

每逢假期你最喜欢的事是什么呢？对于作者来说，其中最主要的就是一道道影视剧大餐。虽然追剧到凌晨三点不是特别值得骄傲的事，但对美剧发烧友来说，分享好剧确是人生一大乐事。莱昂纳多的复仇影片《荒野猎人》、蒂娜•菲与艾米•波勒的喜剧《姐妹》、浪漫爱情剧《处女情缘》等等，都是这个假期不容错过的好剧。

By Amirah Ahmad

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After yet another month-long winter vacation, going back to school is extremely bittersweet. While I’m dreading starting school and having homework assignments to complete and exams to study for, I’m excited to be reunited with my friends and roommates who I haven’t seen for an entire month now. Before I begin to think about the upcoming semester, however, I feel I must reflect on my winter break activities. Apart from spending time with family and friends, eating delicious holiday food, and participating in the occasional yoga class, I have been aggressively binge watching TV shows and movies. Whether it’s 3 a.m. in the morning or 1 p.m. on a Monday afternoon, I’m most likely sitting behind a computer watching television. I had a very productive winter break as you can probably surmise (note my blatant sarcasm). I now consider myself somewhat of a television aficionado, although I realize I probably should not boast about it since it is typically not something one should be proud of. Nonetheless, this is the perfect opportunity for me to update you all with the latest TV shows that Americans are binge watching.

Before I divulge in the latest American TV shows and movies everyone is watching, it will be useful to discuss the “binge-watching” culture in America. Binge-watching is essentially watching multiple episodes in one sitting. With the emergence of a renewed zeal for Netflix, a website used to stream media like TV shows, movies, documentaries, etc., binge-watching is now popular more than ever. It has come to the point where people tacitly compete to see how quickly they can finish an entire TV series or how many successive hours they can sit behind the screen for. I know people who have watched an entire TV series in just a couple of days. Keep in mind these TV shows aired over a course of years! In fact, “Netflix” has become a verb and has intertwined itself into American lexicon. For example, the sentence, “I’m going to Netflix today,” would make complete sense. You may think I’m exaggerating on how prevalent binge-watching culture is in America, however, I have witnessed this culture first hand. One of my classmates in college, for example, watches television and movies while eating food (breakfast, lunch, and dinner), doing homework, getting ready, cleaning her room, and in her free time. She’s watched multiple TV shows twice and thrice, and has watched an alarming majority of the movies listed on Netflix. I’m not nearly as obsessed with television as my friend is, however, I’ve done my share of watching television over break as a way of detoxing from final exam stress. As a side note, final exam stress was particularly grueling for me, since I was suffering from strep throat whilst trying to manage four finals within a week in addition to a 20-page paper. Anyhow, I finally feel relaxed after this winter vacation.

We can start my discussion of American television shows and movies with my most recent obsession: The Revenant. The Revenant is currently in movie theaters and features the most amazing actor in the industry: Leonardo Dicaprio. His performance in The Revenant is absolute perfection. The movie is set in 1820’s America and covers the fur-trapping industry, focusing on legendary frontiersman Hugh Glass (Leonardo Dicaprio). Glass suffers from a bear injury early in the movie and his partners leave him for dead; the story primarily revolves around him attempting to survive alone on his own as he seeks revenge and tries to find his home base.

The other movie I watched in theaters this break was Sisters. Sisters is a comedy featuring the hilarious Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, two of the funniest women in American pop culture. The movie definitely made me laugh out loud, but in my opinion the two individuals are funnier in their respective TV shows. Parks and Recreation, for example, is hilarious. It features Amy Poehler who plays Leslie Knope. Knope is an employee of the Parks and Recreation Department in Pawnee, Indiana. The show features her carrying out duties as a mid-level bureaucrat along with legendary cast-mates Chris Pratt, Rashida Jones, Aziz Ansari, and (my personal favorite) Nick Offerman. Nick Offerman’s character in the show, Ron Swanson, is most probably my favorite human being on Earth. I have never wanted a television character to be real so badly.

Another favorite TV show of mine, and one which is capturing the hearts of girls across America, is Jane the Virgin. Jane the Virgin is about a girl who is artificially inseminated, causing her to be pregnant with Rafael’s (a man she used to have crush on) child. This initiates a string of events keeping the viewers on the edge of their seats every moment of the show. Jane the Virgin fans either identify with Team Michael or Team Rafael. Michael and Rafael are vying for Jane’s love, since Rafael (who is very easy on the eyes if I do say so myself) is the father of Jane’s baby, but Michael is Jane’s long-time, angelic boyfriend and former fiancé. Exciting stuff, no?

Another TV show I have to recommend is an oldie but a goodie. I binge-watched The Office from September to November. It was hilarious, but also allowed viewers to develop attachments to the characters, especially the epic love story that is Jim and Pam. The Office is an iconic American TV show, along with Friends (which is needless to say the best TV series in history).

Although I’ve omitted a couple of key movies and shows that I believe should not be missed, namely Lee Daniel’s The Butler and the TV show Lost. I think the list I’ve provided for you all should keep you busy for a while. I also realize that a foreign audience may not understand nor appreciate American humor and drama, but I encourage you all to at least give one of these shows or movies a chance. As a word of caution, however, I don’t want this list to cause you to be cooped up in your room in the dark watching TV behind your computer screen. Watch with friends and family at night, and spend the day exploring, learning, and having fun. Though I’m guilty of spending a handful of days “Netflixing” for over five hours straight, I was wary of how deleterious TV can be. Don’t allow TV to consume your social life, school, or family time. Moderation is key. Watch on.

Vocabulary

1. bittersweet: 苦乐参半的，苦中有乐的。

2. be dread doing: 害怕做，不愿面对；reunit: （使）重聚。

3. aggressively: 积极进取地；binge: 狂欢，放纵，此处指放肆地（看电视节目）。

4. 你可能会认为（注意我这里浓厚的自嘲意味）我这个寒假收获颇丰。surmise: 推测；blatant: 非常明显的；sarcasm: 讽刺，自嘲。

5. aficionado: 疯狂爱好者，发烧友；boast about: 炫耀，夸耀。

6. divulge: 暴露，泄露，此处指开始讲述。

7. multiple: 许多的；episode: （电视剧或广播剧的）一集；in one sitting: 一次，一口气。

8. zeal: 热情；Netflix: 奈飞公司，一家在线视频网站运营公司；stream media: 流媒体，指采用流式传输的方式在互联网播放的媒体格式；documentary: 纪录片。

9. tacitly: 肃静地，沉默地；successive: 连续的，持续的。

10. air: （在广播或电视上）播放，播出。

11. intertwine into: 使缠绕在一起，此处指“列入，编入”；lexicon: 辞典。

12. make sense: 讲得通，易理解。

13. exaggerate: 夸张，夸大；prevalent: 流行的；first hand: 亲身地。

14. thrice: 三次（three times的古时用语）。

15. 虽然不似我朋友对电视那般痴狂，但寒假期间我也看了许多电视来冲淡期末考试带来的压力。be obsessed with: 对……上瘾，着迷；detox: 戒瘾，去毒，此处指消除紧张。

16. side note: 边注；grueling: 折磨人的；strep throat: 链球菌咽喉炎。

17. The Revenant: 电影《荒野猎人》，由莱昂纳多•迪卡普里奥等人主演，该片获得第88届奥斯卡最佳导演、最佳男主角、最佳摄影三项大奖。

18. be set in: 以……为背景，故事发生在；fur-trapping industry: 贩售皮草的行当；legendary: 传说中的；frontiersman: （旧时美国西部的）边远地区居民，拓荒者。

19. revolve around: 以……为主题；revenge: 复仇；home base: 大本营。

20. Sisters: 美国喜剧电影《姐妹》。

21. hilarious: 欢闹的，搞笑的。

22. Parks and Recreation: 美国喜剧片《公园与游憩》。

23. feature: 由……主演；bureaucrat: 官僚；legendary: 大名鼎鼎的；cast-mate: 搭档的演员。

24. capture sb.’s heart: 俘获……的心；Jane the Virgin: 美国喜剧片《处女情缘》。

25. artificially: 人工地；inseminate: 使受精；pregnant: 怀孕的；have crush on: 喜欢，迷恋。

26. 这引发了一系列的事情，剧情发展让人捉迷不透，心急如焚。initiate: 开始，引发；a string of: 一系列。

27. identify with: 认同。

28. vie for: 争夺，竞争；easy on the eyes: 悦目的，好看的；angelic: 天使般的。

29. oldie: 陈旧的东西；goodie: 好的东西。

30. The Office: 美国喜剧片《办公室》。

31. epic: 史诗般的。

32. iconic: 标志性的，具有代表性的；Friends: 美剧《老友记》，是美国电视剧史上最受欢迎的剧集之一。

33. omit: 省略，遗漏；The Butler: 电影《白宫管家》，一部美国历史剧情片；Lost: 美国科幻悬疑类电视剧《迷失》。

34. coop up: 关起来，关禁闭，此处指足不出户。

35. straight: 不间断地；be wary of: 小心，提防；deleterious: 有害的。

36. moderation: 适度，节制。

（来源：英语学习杂志 编辑：丹妮）