that they can’t help but take a picture, or 20, of their own mug.

以至於他們非得拍一張，或甚至二十張關於他們扮鬼臉的照片。

The compulsion to take selfies is a relatively new development in society,

想要自拍的衝動是這個社會嶄新的發展，

a progression from the days when one had to rely on strangers to snap the perfect picture.

相較於以往，那時我們還要依靠陌生人來捕捉最完美的照片。

Selfies have become a way to narrate our own existence:

自拍已經成為一種敘寫自己存在的方式：

we post them on social media and frantically hit ‘refresh’ to see who’s liked it – desperately seeking validation.

我們將它們放在社群網站上，並且瘋狂的點擊「重新整理」來看看有沒有人按讚－我們竟是如此渴望得到認同。

Despite the novelty of it all, the impetus behind taking selfies is quite old.

儘管自拍是一件新穎的事，但它背後的原動力卻相當悠久。

Taking selfies isn’t just about avoiding interaction with strangers,

自拍不只是避免和陌生人互動的方式而已，

it’s a mandate to give meaning to our behavior, to confess the truth of our inner existence.

它更是一個賦予自己行為意義，並且將自己內心的真實想法與感受表達出來的舉動。

French philosopher Michel Foucault argues that we have become a “confessing society.”

法國哲學家米歇爾．傅柯認為，我們已經逐漸成為一個懺悔型的社會。

Unlike some who argue that we’re hoodwinked by those in power to believe some “official” truth,

有些人認為我們被有權力的人蒙蔽，以至於我們傾向於相信某些給定的或官方的事實，

Foucault argues that the confession generates these truths within ourselves.

但傅柯指出，藉由懺悔，我們自身便產生了真理。

The confession originated in the Christian Church during the Middle Ages,

懺悔的傳統源自於中世紀的基督教教會，

where one was required to tell their sinister desires, acts and thoughts.

在那裡，人們被要求要訴說自己心中最陰險的慾望、行為和想法。

The confession was a ritual that changes the person who articulates it; it exonerates, redeems and purifies them.

懺悔的儀式改變了這個言說者，它使他們得到解脫、被寬宥並且也被淨化。

The power lies with the priest, who listens, yet says nothing.

過程中，權力掌握在牧師的手裡，他只負責聆聽，卻一句話也不說。

In this act, it is the confessor who admits to wrong-doing, not an authority who accuses one of a crime.

在這個行為中，是懺悔人自己承認這些不好的想法或行動，而不是由一個權威來進行指控。

That, dear viewer, happens to be a very effective way to make sure that people aren’t up to no good.

正是這樣，我親愛的觀眾，恰好成為一種確保人們沒有為惡的有效方法。

It is so effective that the act of confession then spread to our schools, hospitals, even to our families.

這個方法是如此有效，以至於懺悔的文化迅速地散播到校園、醫院，甚至進入家庭之中。

We began to confess about more and more, not just our crimes but our ailments, our motivations, our dreams.

我們開始對更多事情進行懺悔，範圍不再限於我們的罪，而延伸到我們的病痛、動機與夢想。

Confession became so ubiquitous that we internalized it.

懺悔是如此無所不在，以至於我們開始將它內化。

We’re no longer looking for validation from a priest, but in the eyes of our peers.

我們不再從牧師身上，而是從我們同儕的眼中尋求認同。

We love to talk about ourselves, we no longer need to be compelled to.

我們開始愛談論關於自己的事，而那並不是因為我們被權威強迫。

We have saddled ourselves with the obligation to tell the story of who we really are -

我們開始覺得有義務要交代自己真實的模樣，

and what better way then a quick selfie in the restroom?

這其中又有什麼比在廁所裡迅速自拍更好的方法呢？

Foucault uses the confession to illustrate one of the ways in which power is fragmented.

傅柯利用「懺悔」這個概念來闡述權力被瓦解的其中一種方式。

While many would argue that power emanates from the top downwards,

許多人認為權力是由上而下的傳播，

Foucault argues it also emanates upwards from ourselves.

但傅柯認為它同樣也由我們自身從下而上的散發。

There exists the prevalent idea that today we are more free to discuss sex, drugs and rock n’ roll than our prudish past.

有一個流行的說法是：相較於我們過份保守的前人，時下的我們在談論性、毒品與搖滾樂時更加自由。

Not so, argues Foucault.

並非如此，傅柯這樣宣稱。

After all, the confessional demanded we enumerate our sins in the most vivid descriptions.

畢竟，懺悔的儀式要求我們以最鮮明的描述來列舉我們的罪。

Later, in Victorian England, doctors and their patients couldn’t stop talking about those naughty behaviors.

日後，在維多利亞時期的英國，醫生和他們的病人們總無法停止談論這些小癖好。

It was never a question of not talking about these things,

談論這些性、毒品等議題從來不是個問題；

it was always a question of when, where and how we could talk about them.

相反地，何時、何地以及我們如何討論這些事情，才是問題所在。

The way that we talk about ourselves is both dictated by power and, at the same time, creates power.

我們談論自己的方式既被權力主宰，同時也產生權力。

Power isn’t a bad guy that needs to be defeated, it’s a set of relations that determine how we think, talk and act.

權力並不是個應該被擊敗的壞傢伙，它是決定我們如何思考、如何言說以及如何行動的一連串關係。

What can and cannot be said?

什麼是可以或不可以被敘說的呢？

How must we say it?

我們又該怎麼描述他們？

Every time we take a selfie, we’re confessing to society, and participating in those very same relations.

每當我們自拍時，我們也在對這個社會進行懺悔，並涉入這些關於思考、言說與行動的相似關係中。

These things aren’t simply determined by a Bureau of Selfies,

這些事情並不是由「自拍局」來決定，

but in the truth that we produce as we talk about, and take pictures of, ourselves.

而是在我們在討論自己或自拍時所呈現出的真實來決定。

When we take selfies, are we simply exercising our freedom of expression?

當我們自拍的時候，我們只是在履行表達意見的自由嗎？

Or are we confessing to the world around us in a way that limits us?

或者，我們只是在以一種同時會限制我們的方式，對這個世界進行懺悔呢？

What inner truth do your selfies reveal, dear viewer?

那親愛的觀眾，你的自拍照又揭露了些什麼關於你的內在呢？