上周五,经典科幻片《黑客帝国》的第四部在国内首映。1999年,该系列的首部电影横空出世,以令人震撼的特效画面、未来想象、哲学内核刷新了观众对于电影的认知,也激活了人们对互联网这一新兴事物的无限畅想。20多年后,除了“爷青回”,这个经典系列对现实是否仍有启发意义?人们所处的互联网环境又发生了怎样的变化?
英文原文
The Timeline We're On Is Even Darker Than 'The Matrix' Envisioned
当前人类发展进程比《黑客帝国》预想的还要黑暗
By Samuel Earle
When "The Matrix" was released in 1999, hype about the internet had reached a frenzy. In The New York Times, Thomas Friedman described the web as "a symbol that we are all connected but nobody is in charge."
当《黑客帝国》在1999年上映时,对“互联网”这一现象的炒作已趋于狂热。在当时的《纽约时报》上,资深记者托马斯·弗里德曼曾将互联网描述为“一种符号,它象征着人人互联、但无人主导的状态。”
Some excitedly heralded "The Matrix," with its pioneering computer-generated special effects and cyberpunk motif, as "the first movie of the 21st century." And over 20 years after its release, the film persists as perhaps the definitive movie of the early internet age. The film spawned two sequels, both released in 2003, and with "The Matrix Resurrections," a fourth film, the franchise returns to a digitized world that it has played no small part in shaping.
由于《黑客帝国》中开创性的电脑制作特效及其赛博朋克主题,有人兴奋地称赞它为“21世纪的第一部电影”。而在这部电影上映20多年之后,它也许仍是互联网早期时代的权威之作。这部电影还催生了两部续集,均于2003年上映。随着《黑客帝国4:矩阵重启》的上映,该系列重新回到了那个它所塑造的数字化世界。
After Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg announced his dreary plans for a "metaverse," a "Matrix"-like "embodied internet" where "instead of just viewing content, you are in it," the film franchise's marketing team responded by tweeting a new tagline for "The Matrix Resurrections": "Now based on real events."
脸书的马克·扎克伯格宣布了他阴暗乏味的“元宇宙”计划,称其为一个类似于“黑客帝国”的“具身互联网”,在那里,“人们并非只是浏览内容,而是身处其中”。此后,作为回应,《黑客帝国》的营销团队在推特上为《矩阵重启》发了一条新宣传语:“现基于真实事件改编。”
Dominated by a handful of mega-corporations, today's digital sphere seems more in line with the machines' coercive operation than the dreams of Neo (the main character, played by Keanu Reeves) and his band of rebels. The internet now stands as a vast web designed to capture our tastes, attention, and patterns of thought, and to push them along profit-making lines.
在少数巨头企业主导下,当今的数字领域似乎更接近于“母体机器”的强权运行,而非尼奥(由基努·里维斯饰演的主角)及其反抗同盟的理想情况。如今的互联网是一个巨型网络,其目的在于捕捉人们的品味、注意力和思维模式,并基于盈利的思路,推动它们朝着这个目标发展。
As "The Matrix" franchise returns, the optimism around the internet in 1999 feels very far away. At least in "The Matrix," humans have machines to blame. We have only ourselves, and the internet we have made.
随着《黑客帝国》系列电影的回归,曾在1999年围绕着互联网的那股乐观情绪似乎已经离我们很遥远了。在《黑客帝国》中,人类至少还可以怪罪机器。而我们只能怪自己,以及我们自己一手创造的互联网。
【内容拓展】
《黑客帝国》系列电影剧情简介
网络黑客Neo对这个看似正常的现实世界产生了怀疑,现实世界实际上是由人工智能和计算机矩阵所控制。人们就像他们饲养的动物,没有自由和思想,沦为泡在营养液里提供能量的生物电池——他们通过“脑后插管”的方式沉浸在虚拟世界里,自以为自己过着正常的生活。知道真相之后的Neo走上了解放全人类的道路,这也构成了黑客帝国前三部的主要内容。
《黑客帝国》四部曲:
①《黑客帝国》- The Matrix
②《黑客帝国2: 重装上阵》 - The Matrix Reloaded
③《黑客帝国3: 矩阵革命 》- The Matrix Revolutions
④《黑客帝国4:矩阵重启》- The Matrix Resurrections
生词好句
1.timeline
英 ['taɪmlaɪn] 美 ['taɪmlaɪn]
n. 时间线,常指社交网络上内容展示时间线
拓展:
You can hide some posts on the timeline of WeChat moments.
你可以在自己的朋友圈时间线上隐藏一些内容。
2.The Matrix
《黑客帝国》
3.envision
英 [ɪn'vɪʒn] 美 [ɪn'vɪʒn]
vt. 预见,展望(to imagine something that may happen in the future)
拓展:
He envisioned the bright future of electric cars.
他预见到了电动新能源车的光明未来。
4.hype
英 [haɪp] 美 [haɪp]
n. 大肆宣传;为某种产品造势(the advertisement and discussion telling people how good or how important something is)
拓展:
marketing hype 营销造势
media hype 媒体造势
Don't believe the media hype - the movie is pretty average.
别相信那些媒体造势,这部电影很平庸。
gimmick n. 噱头
This company never uses gimmicks in marketing.
这家公司从来不在营销中搞噱头。
5.frenzy
英 [ˈfrenzi] 美 [ˈfrenzi]
n. 疯狂的状态(excited behaviour or emotion, sometimes out of control)
拓展:
reach a frenzy
推向高潮,达到疯狂状态
Curry's game winner sent the crowd into a frenzy.
库里的制胜一球让人群陷入疯狂。
6.herald
英 ['herld] 美 [ˈherld]
vt. 宣称某人或某物具有某种重要性(to announce that someone or something will be good or important)
拓展:
The developer heralded the retirement village as a local flagship project.
开发商宣称,这家养老院是当地的旗舰项目。
7.computer-generated special effect
计算机生成的特效(简称CG)
拓展:
bullet time 子弹时间特效,是《黑客帝国》中的经典特效之一
8.cyberpunk motif
赛博朋克风格的主题设定
拓展:
赛博朋克表现形式:霓虹灯的迷幻效果+大量的电脑屏幕+高科技+低生活
dystopia n. 反乌托邦(理想社会的反面)
motif
UK /məʊ'tiːf/ US /mo'tiːf/
n. 装饰图案;绘画主题
a carpet with a flower motif 一张带有花朵图案的地毯
9.persist
英 [pə'sɪst] 美 [pər'sɪst]
vi. 持续存在(continue to exist)
10.definitive
英 [dɪ'fɪnɪtɪv] 美 [dɪ'fɪnətɪv]
adj. 终极的(final);最好的(the best)
11.spawn
英 [spɔːn] 美 [spɑːn]
vt.(本文)发展,衍生出;产卵
拓展:
New technology has spawned new industries.
新科技派生出了新产业。
12.sequel
英 ['siːkwəl] 美 ['sikwəl]
n. 续集
13.resurrection
英 [ˌrezə'rekʃn] 美 [ˌrezəˈrekʃən]
n. 复苏,复兴(bringing something that disappeared back into existence)
拓展:
She is waiting for the resurrection of her acting career.
她在等待自己演艺生涯的复苏。
14.franchise
英 [ˈfræntʃaɪz] 美 ['fræntʃaɪz]
n. (体育领域)职业俱乐部或球队;某个品牌的特许经营团队;(图书及影视作品领域)系列
15.play no small part in
在某事上发挥了不小的作用
拓展:
近义表达:play a big part
Emotion management plays no small part in one's career.
情绪管理在一个人的职业生涯中发挥着重要作用。
16.dreary
英 [ˈdrɪərɪ] 美 ['drɪrɪ]
adj. 沉闷乏味的,阴暗沮丧的(making you feel sad; not bright or interesting)
拓展:
She felt down on such a dreary winter's day.
在这样阴暗沉闷的冬日里,她感到情绪低落。
17.embody
英 [ɪmˈbɒdi] 美 [ɪmˈbɑːdi]
vt. 把某物具象化
拓展:
embodied AI 具身智能(机器人)
18.tagline
英 [ˈtæɡlaɪn] 美 [ˈtæɡlaɪn]
n. 广告语,宣传语
19.mega-corporation
n. 超大型公司
拓展:
mega adj. 巨大的
a mega hit 大制作
20.sphere
英 [sfɪə] 美 [sfɪr]
n. 领域
拓展:
digital sphere 数字世界
21.be in line with
与……相一致,与……相似
拓展:
近义表达:be similar to
22.coercive
英 [kəʊ'ɜːsɪv] 美 [koʊ'ɜrsɪv]
adj. 强制的,强迫的(using force or threats to make someone do something)
拓展:
Coercive measures were taken to stabilise the situation.
为了稳定局势,一些强制性措施被启用。
23.profit-making line
创收之路