“Talk show” comes from translation misplacement
In the variety show “Talk Show Against New Year’s Eve” at the end of last year, talk show actress Yang Li’s remarks caused a lot of controversy-“Men, what about the bottom line?” This satirical statement against men aroused some controversies. Netizens’ dissatisfaction also triggered a discussion about “what is the core of the talk show”. As a female talk show actor, Yang Li talked about women the most in the talk show, especially focusing on the various difficulties women encounter in society and family. Men are often her targets of complaints. The hilarious golden sentences resonated greatly among female audiences.
However, if you take out the narratives from Yang Li’s show separately and delete the context and put them on social media, it will amplify its “aggressiveness.” Many people, including another talk show actor Chi Zi, think: “The talk show is definitely not It should be Yang Li’s.” Some scholars even believe that Yang Li is “extremely well-known” by exaggerating gender opposition, turning women’s gender weakness into their own gender dividend, and thereby gaining fame and profit. Yang Li’s supporters believe that the art form of talk show has been a kind of “offensive freedom” since its birth, and making people “happy” is the core of this art form. Those glass hearts are automatically brought into the victim. As a person, there is no need to watch a talk show.
The so-called “talk show” that has emerged in China is actually caused by a misplacement in translation. It is not a talk show “Talkshow” popular in Europe and the United States. In terms of form and content, it is more like a “stand-up comedy” (Stand-upComedy). If you want to make a strict analogy, the kind of humorous technique in which a person stands in the center of the stage and attracts the audience through imitating, ridiculing, and telling stories is more like traditional Chinese stand-up comedy or Japanese traditional “Rakugo”, but in the narrative way In terms of body language and body language, it also has the characteristics of Western style. The “Allen Show”, “Chicken Feather Show” and other fixed hosts, inviting different guests in each issue, sitting on the sofa and chatting, is the talk show that Americans are familiar with, and the target domestic show is not a “talk show”. In fact, before the talk show of Li Dan and others, there was a successful stand-up comedy precedent in China-Wang Zijian’s “Post-80s Tonight” had a large audience among young people and cultivated the first batch of creators and fans. , Has a certain pioneering significance. In the show, almost only Wang Zijian was telling jokes on stage, ridiculing himself and the team members “Dangdan”, “Jianguo”, “Lai Bao”, etc. The latter started to expand with the help of online platforms after the “Post-80s Tonight” stopped broadcasting. His own influence has now become a big talk show in China.
Speaking back to the familiar stand-up comedies in the West, the origin can be traced back to early European one-man shows, while American stand-up comedies are rumored to be related to Mark Twain a hundred years ago. Special performances in bars and nightclubs for “single spit” are very popular, gradually driving this form of performance to become popular throughout the United States, and then gradually entering theaters, radio and television stations. Nowadays, there are a large number of outstanding comedians in the United States. For example, Dave Chapel has won the “Mark Twain Award”, the highest honor in the American comedy circle, for his witty humor and sharp golden sentences.
In addition, there are comedy stars such as Jeff Rose, Bill Burr, Chris Rock, Kevin Hart, Trevor Noah, Huang Ali and Huang Xi who returned to China. They have their own styles and fields, and they are especially good at socially sensitive topics such as race, gender, politics and religion. Most of them are African, Asian or female. They can resolve external disputes through self-deprecation, and at the same time can win mainstream public opinion on minority groups. Sympathy and attention.
“Offensive” on stage is not always tolerated
At present, many stand-up comedy stars have gradually stepped out of theaters, or have appeared on TV as hosts, or starred in and directed films. Like black comedy star Eddie Murphy, who was born in comedy shows, he was already in theaters in the 1980s and 1990s. The star of the TV station then moved to the screen to bring a lot of masterpieces. “A Journey to America 2”, which will be released this year, is the master of his comedy spirit.
However, when these stand-up comedy stars perform in the theater, they can still enjoy the audience’s default “tolerance to offense”, and once they stand on a larger stage, they will inevitably be more harshly questioned. Last year, when Kevin Hart was about to take over as the host of the Oscars, he was revealed to have made “homophobic” remarks and had to change the host; when Chris Rock presided over the Oscars in 2016, he treated Asians to Asians in the theater. The ridicule moved to the podium and was condemned by Jeremy Lin and other Asian stars and the audience.
“Former comedians” face sensitive topics
Relative restraint
Many well-known American talk show hosts are themselves stand-up comedians, such as “Cui Wa” Trevor Noah, Alan DeGeneres and “Koukou Bear” Stephen Kobel. Nowadays, they also occasionally perform comedy performances in their own talk shows, and improvise their burdens at the opening and ending.
Because they are doing programs on CBS, NBC and other public television stations, they are facing tens of millions of TV viewers. These “former comedians” are usually relatively restrained in the face of sensitive topics: Noah’s complaints on TV are more gentle, Ai Although Lun has already made her homosexuality public, she doesn’t often use it as a topic or gimmick. Even when it comes to political positions and politicians, her attitude is more friendly than other male counterparts. Former U.S. President Barack Obama once appeared on the Allen Show and received a good response. Trump also appeared on Kobel’s talk show when he announced his candidacy. The host was sharp. Although the ratings of the show were good that night, Trump actually despised Kobel’s performance after his election as “crude”.
