Everyone loves stories. And television and films are just that—stories put onto the screen. Yet for all the explosions, romance and drama, what you see in movies is rarely what we see in real life.

　　人人都爱(看)故事。而电视和电影只是把这些故事搬到了屏幕上。但是你在电影中所见的事件——爆炸场景、浪漫桥段和戏剧情节，却很少发生在现实生活中。

　　The reason for this is simple. We love stories, and a boring story makes for (造成) bad storytelling. Can you imagine a two-hour film on what happens during an average commute to work? Have you ever seen any films about housework?

　　理由很简单。我们虽热衷于故事，但无趣的故事则会搞砸整个叙述过程。你能想象一部两小时的电影全都在说上班路上发生的事儿吗?你看过哪部电影是关于家务活儿的?

　　Of course not. The stories we want to see, or pay to see, are exaggerated, fantastic and unexpected. While it might be true that the occasional true story astounds producers and writers, the majority of stories merely mimic American life and exaggerate the interesting points. So when popular shows like Breaking Bad (《绝命毒师》), House of Cards (《纸牌屋》) or Modern Family (《摩登家庭》) depict Americans, they are actually depicting a larger than life story.

　　当然不会。那些我们想看且愿意为之掏钱包的电影往往是夸张的、奇异的、出乎意料的。虽然有些偶发的真实事件的确会让制片人和作者震惊，但是大多故事只是在模仿美国人的生活，然后夸大其中有趣的看点。所以当热剧——诸如《绝命毒师》、《纸牌屋》或者《摩登家庭》描绘美国人生活的点滴时，这些连续剧实则在讲述远多于生活本身的故事。

　　This is not to say that you can't see American culture in films and television—it is dinitely there, but it may not be the story itself. Serial killers (连环杀手) and jail breaks (越狱) don't happen every day, and you can be sure that they aren't the handsome and beautiful images you see in film when they do.

　　这并不是说你在电影和电视中看不到美式文化——文化当然蕴含其中，但故事本身并不代表着这种文化。《连环杀手》和《越狱》不会每天发生，若电影情节发生在现实，你也自然清楚，那些人物并不如影片中呈现得那么美好。

　　As someone who has worked with American television and film companies, I can tell you that it is a business, and selling the story is everything. So when a studio decides to purchase a show, or discontinue your favorite drama, it is profit, not the fans, talking.

　　作为一个在美国电视和电影公司都工作过的人，我可以告诉你这一切都是商业，卖故事才是重头戏。当工作室打算买下一档节目或者砍掉你最爱的一部戏剧时，这都是为了利益，绝不是为了它们的粉丝。

　　The ways that productions try to keep your interest might surprise you. The success of films made bore means that studios do a "remake," attempting to "remake" the profit. Reality shows (真人秀) are supposed to show you real people in real situations, but as we all know from our own lives, that is rarely worth talking about. To make things more interesting, producers start by hiring people that already have problems or are likely to create problems. Then they film for hours to get the most dramatic moments. As an example, one friend who worked on Super Nanny (真人秀《超级保姆》) filmed sixty hours for just one show.

　　制片方为了维持关注热度的方法也会让你惊呆。只要之前有电影卖座，影视工作室就会重制，为了从中再次获利。真人秀本应向观众展示真人真事，但其实我们都明白，生活往往不足为道。而制片人为了制作更多笑点，会招募一批本来就麻烦缠身或者擅长制造麻烦的“演员”。然后制片方会拍上几个小时以选取其中最戏剧化的瞬间。比如有个在真人秀《超级保姆》剧组工作的朋友为了这档节目拍摄了长达60个小时!

　　American culture and life does live in films and on television, though it is usually in the small everyday moments of the show, not the car chases. So as you watch your favorite show or film, remember to enjoy it for what it is—a good story.

　　美式文化和生活的确存在于电影和电视中，尽管与飞车追逐无关，而只是日常生活里短暂的一瞬间。所以当你观看喜爱的电视节目或电影时，记得要享受故事本身。

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