你是否了解美国文化呢?这5条流行语将帮助大家了解美国文化。
1) “未来每个人都有机会成名15分钟。” — 艺术家安迪·沃霍尔(Andy Warhol)
“In the future, everyone will be world-famous for fifteen minutes.” — Andy Warhol, artist
大家可能都熟悉一个英语词组“fifteen minutes of fame(意为[因新闻媒体报道]大出风头、短暂出名)”,而这一词组就是从安迪·沃霍尔的名言简化而来的。安迪·沃霍尔是20世纪艺术界的先锋人物,在1968年的一次画展策划上首次说这句话。
在这个Youtube、优酷等视频网站造星的时代,人人都能“成名15分钟的”想法变得更为触手可及。如今的美国人,尤其(但不仅限于)是年轻人,不断沉浸在网络媒体上。无数人抓住这一新趋势来实现自己一夜成名的愿望。并不是说世界其他地方就没有同样的现象,但美国在这方面确实独树一帜,很多人因创做的网络视觉内容而成名,并从此将其作为自己的事业。这是美国长期以来具有的企业家精神的体现。
喜剧演员柏·伯纳姆(Bo Burnham)就是网络成名的典型例子。2006年,还在上高中的他在YouTube上传了两首原创的搞笑歌曲,立刻火了起来,柏·伯纳姆本人都没料到自己的喜剧生涯从此开始。严谨的工作态度、新颖的喜剧内容(他的幽默有别于那些传统“安全”的幽默点)以及独特的舞台人格魅力使他这“15分钟”风头延长至十年多。
Almost everyone is familiar with the more distilled version of this quote: the expression “fifteen minutes of fame.” The original quote is credited to the pioneering 20th-century artist Andy Warhol, who included it in the program for a 1968 exhibition.
In this age of Youtube stars and live streaming, the idea of everyone's “fifteen minutes of fame” is truer than ever. Today's Americans, especially (but not limited to) teenagers and younger adults, exist in a constant state of media consumption, and countless people have embraced this new trend in their respective quests for a moment or two the limelight. While this is not to say that the same thing is not happening in other places around the world, the United States is particularly unique for the way that creators of viral Internet content have leveraged their newfound fame into actual careers. This is just one example of the entrepreneurial spirit that runs through much of the country's history.
The comedian Bo Burnham is just one example of this trend. In 2006, when he was still attending high school, he uploaded two original comedy songs to YouTube. They became a hit essentially overnight, and Burnham found himself at the beginning of an unexpectedly successful comedy career. Through a combination of a rigorous work ethic, challenging comedic content (his humor generally steers clear of “safer” targets), and an awkwardly charismatic on-stage persona, Burnham has turned his “fifteen minutes” into a decade.