"The Big Bang Theory" is the most popular show on television.

《宅男行不行》是非常受歡迎的一部電視劇

It centers on four male friends who are characterized by essentially every Hollywood

主角是四位男性朋友

stereotype about geeks and nerds in existence. "Alright, just a few more feet and...

他們是好萊塢傳統的宅宅、書呆子刻板印象的集合體

Here we are gentlemen The Gates of Elzebub." "Good Lord!" "Don't panic. This is what the last 97 hours have been about."

"好了，再幾英尺..."

Leonard, Sheldon, Howard, and Raj all lack most of the traits traditionally associated with leading men in Hollywood.

- "終於! The Gates of Elzebub! - "天哪！" - "別慌 我們花了九十七個小時就是在等這一刻"

They're not conventionally handsome. They're not confident, and they're definitely not athletic.

Leonard, Sheldon, Howard 和 Raj 都缺少傳統好萊塢男主角會有的特質

What they are, are dorky insecure fanboys who are plagued with a wide variety of anxieties,

他們都不是典型的帥氣長相 都沒有自信 也完全沒有運動細胞

illnesses, and awkward personality quirks.

他們是沒安全感的書呆子迷弟 生活充滿種種的焦慮

They also happen to be the perfect embodiment of a media trope which I call: The 'Adorkable' Misogynist.

病痛、和奇怪的性格怪癖好

'Adorkable' Misogynists are male characters, whose geeky version of masculinity is framed

他們也剛好是 "可愛宅男厭女症" 這個類型的完美範例

as both comically pathetic and endearing.

"可愛宅男厭女症" 指的是 當這些書呆子男角色做了陽剛、性別歧視的行為

"Wait, wait, what's on top of them?" "Wireless webcams! Wave hello!"

被包裝成可悲或可笑的樣子

And it's their status as nerdy nice guys that then lets them off the hook for a wide range of creepy,

「等一下，上面那是什麼東西？」 「無線視訊！快打個招呼！」

entitled and downright sexist behaviors.

因為他們是書呆子 大家就願意原諒他們做的種種變態、

"You may want to put on slacks"

自以為是、以及完全性別歧視的行為

"What? Ew. Stop it! No! Leave me alone."

「妳可能會想換穿件褲子」

Now, in order to help explain how this convention works we will need to take a quick trip back in time to the 1980s.

「什麼？！」 「噁！停下來！不要！離我遠點！」

The year was 1984.

為了完整解釋這個手法 讓我們回到八零年代看看

"Say 'Cheese!'" "Cheese!"

1984 年

And one of the most popular summer movies was a film called "Revenge of the Nerds."

「笑一個～」

These weren't the first socially awkward nerds to grace the big screen,

當年最受歡迎的暑期喜劇叫《菜鳥大反攻》

but they did help popularize this type of character.

它不是第一部描寫不善社交書呆子的電影

Over the next few years, this geeky guy archetype quickly gained traction in Hollywood.

但它大大地奠定了這種角色的基礎、使他受到歡迎

And by the 1990s it had become something of a mainstay in comedy entertainment.

在這之後幾年，這樣刻板印象的書呆子男角色大大地受到好萊塢的喜愛

It's worth noting that this type of character is nearly always white—though there are a few rare exceptions.

到了九零年代這種角色幾乎出現在每部喜劇片中

"Caught ya sweetums!"

而這種角色幾乎每次都是白人角色 只有少數幾個例外

The Hollywood Nerd is almost always positioned in opposition to the expected norms of Macho Manhood.

「抓到妳了小甜心！」

This is usually accomplished through the juxtaposition with the jock archetype.

「好萊塢書呆子」總是被拿來和傳統陽剛男角色做對比

When contrasted with hyper masculine guys who perform a crude,

通常會直接和男性運動員類的角色並列

aggressive form of manhood, our geeky hero gets to be framed as the better,

當和這些超級陽剛的男性角色做著魯莽、

smarter, more sensitive alternative.

具有侵略性的行為 可愛的書呆子就相對成為了又溫柔、

He's the misunderstood nice guy.

又聰明、又體貼的選項

"Hi Betty."

他是那個總是被誤解的好男人

"I'm not kissing a nerd."

「嗨 Betty」

Who's unfairly bullied and mocked by his peers.

「我才不要親書呆子」

"Hey, not every guy's born with blonde hair and a chin you can crack walnuts with."

他總是被同儕欺負或取笑

"To catch babes, I had to use my imagination."

「不是每個男人都天身金髮又有帥氣的下巴」

He's presented as the clear underdog in the manhood competition.

「我只能用我的想像力追女生」

"Is that another way of saying I'm out of this world?

他被描寫為男子氣概戰爭中弱勢的一方

Oh Lisa, I love the excitement of chasing ya."

「妳是說我不同凡響嗎？」

(Screams)

「噢 Lisa，我好愛追妳的感覺」

"Is this a good time to ask you about the dance?"

（尖叫）

On closer inspection, however, we start to notice that these type of characters are shown engaging in a variety of harassing,

「這是一個邀請妳去舞會的好時機嗎？」

entitled, and sexist behavior where women are concerned. They consistently stalk, spy on,

但當你仔細看 我們會發現這些角色常常做些騷擾人、

lie to, and try to manipulate the women in their lives.

自以為是、或性別歧視的舉動 他們時常跟蹤、監視、

They're overbearing. They refuse to take no for an answer and they often ignore the basic tenants of consent.

欺騙、或試著操控他們身邊的女性

Most of this behavior falls under the rubric of sexual harassment,

他們蠻橫又不肯接受對方說「不」 而總是無視雙方該同意的基本禮儀

and occasionally it escalates to the level of sexual assault.

大部分這樣的行為被大家認為是性騷擾

Both "Revenge of the Nerds" and "Sixteen Candles"

有時甚至嚴重到性侵害的程度

include scenes in which geeky nice guys commit acts of rape.

《菜鳥大反攻》和《少女十五十六時》兩部電影

This type of behavior should be understood as reprehensible.

都有好人書呆子做出強暴的行為

I say "should be" because that's not how these TV shows and movies frame it.

這種行為照常來說應該被指責的

Instead, this behavior is framed as kind of pathetic

我說「應該」因為這些節目和電影並沒有這樣做

but ultimately harmless

他們反而把這些行為描述為「可悲」

and even endearing in an 'adorkable' sort of way.

但「無害」

"You're that nerd."

甚至有點宅宅的可愛

"Yeah."

「你是那個書呆子」

"God, you were wonderful."

「是呀」

"Thanks."

「天哪，你好完美」

And it's the 'adorkable' part of the 'adorkable' misogynist that makes this trope so insidious.

「謝謝」

So let's return to "The Big Bang Theory." "We have to get rid of the time machine."

而這個「可愛宅」的部分就是「可愛宅男厭女症」中 最奸詐、陰險的部分

The four geeky friends on this show are written to be genuinely likable guys.

現在回到《宅男行不行》 「我們得丟掉這台時空旅行機器」

They're even capable of fleeting moments of heartfelt sensitivity, thoughtfulness, and sweetness.

這四名書呆子朋友被寫成真心討人喜愛的角色

"What is it?"

他們甚至在某些時候可以做出令人動心的體貼行為

"It's a snowflake from the North Pole."

「這是什麼？」

"Are you serious?"

「來自北極圈的一片雪花」

"It'll last forever. I preserved it in a 1% solution of polyvinyl acetyl resin."

「真的假的？」

This non-threatening, 'adorkable' framing is designed to excuse the other more toxic part of the trope.

「它可以被永久保存喔！ 我把它泡在 1% 的聚醋酸乙烯酯液體中」

The four leading men on "Big Bang Theory" each present their own distinct flavor of 'adorkable' misogyny.

這種不具侵略性的可愛宅設計 是為了為他們過分的行爲做解套

Howard is the creepy pervert with a heart of gold.

「宅男行不行」的四個男主角 分別展現出了「可愛宅男厭女症」的各種病徵

"Come to Papa you unkosher delight!"

Howard 是個好心的大變態

"I'm not necessarily talking to the food."

「來到爸爸這裡你這不符合猶太教規的小甜心」

"Would you have opened the door if you knew it was me?"

「我並不完全是在說食物」

"Not since I found out the teddy bear you gave me had a webcam in it."

「知道是我的話妳還會開門嗎？」

Throughout the first several seasons, he's depicted as a wannabe pickup artist.

「在知道你送給我的泰迪熊裡有針孔攝影機之後？ 當然不會」

"Yes. We're here to fix the cable."

在前面幾季，他被描寫為一名自以為是的追女高手

He stalks, harasses,

「對，我們是來修電視的」

objectifies, and tries to trick dozens of women into sleeping with him.

他會跟蹤、騷擾、

Howard talks about women the way a zookeeper might talk about trapping and taming wild animals.

物化女性、甚至試圖欺騙女性與他上床

"See first we let the lawyers and the jocks thin the herd, and then... we go after the weak and the old and the lame"

Howard 形容女性的方式 就像是動物園長在形容如合捕捉野生動物

He's conniving,

「首先讓律師、運動員先挑過一輪 然後我們再進攻去圍捕老弱爛的選擇」

he's manipulative, and his behavior sometimes crosses the line into criminal activity.

他非常陰險、

"There's the house! I found America's Top Models!"

狡詐，而且偶爾會做出實際上犯罪的行為

"Are you sure?"

「找到了就是這間房子！ 我找到了超級名模生死鬥的房子！」

"Look on the roof! Anaise and Giselle are sunbathing,

「你確定嗎？」

European-style!"

「你看屋頂上！Anaise 和 Giselle 正在曬日光浴！」

"You can recognize people on Google Earth?"

「歐洲式日光浴」

"Of course not. I got a buddy of mine at NORAD to have a spy drone fly over."

「從 Google Earth 也可以清楚看到人嗎？」

I should note that once Howard is in a committed long-term

「當然不行。 我找了北美空防司令部的朋友飛了一台無人機過去」

relationship, the way that his male chauvinism is expressed does shift slightly.

當 Howard 進入了一段穩定關係後

So he stops trying to be a womanizer, but he still demands to be taken care of.

他的男性沙文主義展現方式有了些許對改變

And he refuses to share in any of the domestic responsibilities.

他不再試著當追女高手，但他轉而要求另一半照顧他

"Wanna pause the video game and help me clean up?"

他拒絕做任何家事

"I am cleaning up. Look at the mess the Joker made of Gotham City!"

「要不要暫停一下電動，幫我打掃房子？」

"I want this to feel like my house too."

「我有在打掃啊～你看小丑把高譚市弄得一團糟！」

"Oh, honey. Of course it's your house. Why else would you be cleaning it all the time?"

「我想要感到這也是我的房子」

Raj is the sensitive guy turned inappropriate drunk.

「噢親愛的，這當然也是你的房子啊！ 不然你怎麼會成天在打掃～」

He's the show's token geek of color and is endlessly mocked for being the most effeminate of the four friends.

Raj 是個體貼但喝酒就亂性的男人

"I'm sorry, what was your name again?"

他是這節目中的代表有色人種 並且經常因為他的陰柔氣質被取笑

Raj is also the most socially awkward around women. In the first few seasons, he can't speak to women at all.

「不好意思，我忘了你叫什麼名字？」

"That's just fascinating!" "Thank you."

Raj 也是在女人面前最尷尬的角色 在前面幾季，他完全無法和女人講話

Except when he's drunk or on drugs.

「實在太有趣了！」 「謝謝」

"Would you like to hear more about it in my hot tub?"

除了他喝醉或嗑藥的時候

And it's in those uninhibited moments when we see some very extreme levels of

「要不要來我家的熱水浴缸跟我聊更多？」

underlying misogyny come to the forefront.

而在這完全無壓抑的狀態下我們看到 Raj 內心

"I'm very comfortable here."

誇張的性別歧視

"Penny dear—why don't you shoot another Silver bullet my way?"

「這裡好舒服」

"Where are you going? We're doing so well... She never even got to see my penis!"

「親愛的 Penny，當個可人兒幫我再拿瓶啤酒？」

"Tada!"

「欸你要去哪裡？我以為我們處得很好？」 「她還沒看到我的老二欸！」

Leonard is the nice guy enabler. He plays the more down-to-earth, "normal" one of the group.

「Tada！」

Still, he participates in much of the same behavior as his cohorts, just to a lesser degree.

Leonard 是個爛好人 他飾演著一個腳踏實地的「正常人」

Leonard's character arc is basically the pathetic nice guy who refuses to take no for an answer,

但他仍然參與著他朋友們的種種越舉行為 只是稍稍輕微一點

and who eventually gets the girl.

Leonard 的角色基本上就是個可悲的好人 不停的死纏爛打

"How did you get her to go out with you?"

棄而不捨、最終追到了女生

"Well, she moved in across the hall."

「你做了什麼讓她會願意跟你約會？」

"He started to slowly wear me down."

「她搬到了我家對面」

"Like a river carves a canyon."

「他開始一直煩我、煩到我累」

One of the roles that Leonard plays on the show is as the guy who excuses and enables the sexism of his male friends.

「就像河流切開懸崖一樣」

"You know that deep down inside Howard's a really nice guy."

Leonard 也扮演專門幫朋友的性別歧視行為找藉口的角色

"Cut the crap, you set this up, didn't you?"

「妳知道，在 Howard 的內心深處他其實是個好人」

"Yes."

「不要鬧了，你安排的對不對？！」

"She's a hooker, isn't she?"

「對...」

"A prostitute, yes."

「她是妓女對不對？」

"You already gave her the money?"

「性工作者，對」

"Yes."

「你已經付錢了嗎？」

"Thank you!"

「付了」

He might roll his eyes at his friends' antics, but he never seriously challenges their behavior.

「謝謝你！！！」

"But I'd like to get lost in her Bermuda Triangle."

他可能對朋友的舉止翻白眼 但從來不會嚴正指正他們

"That's not helpful."

「我多想在她的百慕達三角洲中迷路」

"Then I won't say I'd like to cover three quarters of her surface area."

「講這幹麻」

"Are we done?"

「那我不會說我很想要覆蓋她四分之三的表面面積」

And his mild protests work as a springboard for still more sexist jokes.

「夠了沒？」

"Not yet. This is fun! Ooh, I know! I'd let her free my willy!"

而他這種輕微的抗議舉動 只會鼓勵朋友們說出更多性別歧視的笑話

Sheldon, is the innocent bigot.

「還不夠，這好玩欸！ 喔喔喔我會讓她餵我的 willy」

Most of the guys display a general disdain for icky girl stuff,

Sheldon，天真無害的歧視者

but Sheldon is the one who harbors the most virulent form of casual misogyny.

這些男生都對女生的東西有種一概的反感

"Tonight's theme: flags of countries that have been torn apart and the women I have a feeling were responsible."

而 Sheldon 卻擁有著最強烈又漫不經心的厭女症狀

"My father used to say that a woman is like an egg salad sandwich on a warm, Texas day."

「今晚的主題是所有被分裂過的國家國旗， 我覺得都是被女人害的」

"What?"

「我爸以前常常說女人就像是 在德州熱天下的一個雞蛋沙拉三明治」

"Full of eggs and only appealing for a short time."

「什麼？」

The whole shtick of Sheldon's character is that he's too smart to understand or care to understand

「滿滿的蛋，而讓人喜歡的時間很短很短」

what's socially appropriate and what's not. As such, he's dismissive of nearly everyone and their feelings.

Sheldon 被設定為聰明到無法或沒興趣了解對或錯的人

But when he belittles and devalues women,

因此他完全不在乎其他人和其他人的感受

it's very specifically because they are women.

但每當他歧視或批評女性

"Thanks to you, I know better than to ask if you're menstruating."

都非常明顯清楚地攻擊她們是身為女性這一點

"And based on your behavior, I don't have to."

「因為妳，我知道問妳是不是在更年期時不恰當的」

"All you hear women say is 'I'll just have a salad.'

「但看妳的行為舉止我也不需要問」

"'Where's my lipgloss? I think this element should be called radium.'

「女人總是說『噢我只要吃沙拉就好』

"That last one was Madame Curie. You know what, she was kind of an honorary man. She had a penis made of science."

『我的唇膏呢？』、 『這個元素應該被取名叫做“鐳”』

So how does "The Big Bang Theory" keep us, as the audience, sympathetic to men who behave in such reprehensible ways?

「最後一句是在說居里夫人 但其實她可以算是榮譽男人 畢竟她有個科學做的老二。」

Well, it's done by leaning heavily on a combination of ironic humor and a popular writer's trick known as lamp shading.

到底為什麼《宅男行不行》能夠持續讓我們這些觀眾 對做出這樣舉動的男人感到同情或同理呢？

Most of the jokes on "The Big Bang Theory," such as they are, revolve around the following ironic hook:

答案是他們用了「諷刺性的幽默」 以及一個常見的寫作手法「燈罩笑話」

Since geeky guys don't fit into the macho mold of what we expect sexism or male entitlement to look like,

《宅男行不行》中大部分的笑話都是同一個形式的

it's funny to watch them engaging in that type of behavior.

因為宅男書呆子不是我們「期待的」性別歧視那種陽剛男人角色

"It's 'anything-can-happen-Thursday, let's hit the clubs and meet hot women!"

當他們做出這些事情的時候反而會變得「好笑」

"Here we go! Lock up your daughters. We're gonna hit it and quit it!"

「今天是什麼都可能發生的星期四！ 我們去夜店釣些正妹！」

Notice the target of the joke is not the misogynist behavior.

「走！快把你的女兒們關在家。我們要去射後不理！」

"Or... we could finish eating and go to the comic book store."

注意在這裡，好笑的地方不是性別歧視的言論

"Also a good plan."

「或者... 我們也可以把吃飽後去漫畫店」

Instead, it's making fun of men who are not traditionally masculine enough to believably pull it off.

「也不錯」

"Smell that? That's the smell of new comic books."

這裡好笑的部分是因為這些男人並不是傳統陽剛的男性 所以並不可能真的做出這樣的事情

Unlike many of our earlier examples from the 1980s, the creepy behavior on "The Big Bang Theory" is

「聞到沒？是新拆封的漫畫書味道」

meant to be understood for what it is.

和八零年代那些範例不一樣的是 《宅男行不行》中的變態行為

"I know you think you're some sort of smooth-talking ladies man,

都是故意要讓大家覺得變態的

but the truth is you are just pathetic and creepy."

「我知道你自以為是個受歡迎的玩咖，

And this is where ironic lamp-shading comes in.

但其實你不但可悲還有點詭異」

"So, what are you saying?"

這就是「燈罩笑話」手法使用的時機了

Which is when media makers deliberately call attention to a dissonant or overly clichéd aspect of their own production.

「所以... 妳到底覺得怎麼樣？」

Rather than writing better different punchlines,

就是當掌鏡人故意讓你看到一個明顯、老套到不得了的橋段

writers attempt to duck any potential criticism by pointing out the sexism inherent in their own jokes themselves.

他們不用寫新的笑話

"That's it. Confirmed. We now have the address of the Top Model house."

只要自己也指出自己的老套、指出自己的性別歧視 就可以變成一個笑話

"Hey, for the record, what you guys are doing is really creepy."

「確定了！我們有了超模房子的地址！」

"You know what, if it's creepy to use the internet military satellites and robot aircraft to find a house full of gorgeous young models

「欸，你們在做的事情很變態欸」

so that I can drop in on them unexpectedly, then fine, I'm creepy."

「如果只是用軍事衛星和無人機去找正妹住的地方，

This technique of making something super obvious to viewers is meant to let us know that the writers are self-aware

讓我可以偷偷去找她們， 這樣就叫做『變態』，那我想我就是『變態』」

and to make us feel like we're all in on the joke.

這種「讓某件事情超明顯」的手法是為了觀看者知道「作者其實也知道」

Most comedy writers know that retrograde style bigotry is no longer acceptable on prime-time television.

可以讓人感到我們其實是一起講了這個笑話

But many of them still want to use sexist, racist, and homophobic jokes as an easy way to get cheap laughs.

大部分的喜劇作家都知道這種食古不化的性別或種族歧視 已經不該再出現於精華時間的電視節目中

"Actually, Indian Monopoly is just like regular accept the money's in rupees instead of hotels you build call centers

但很多人還是想要講性別、種族、甚至同性戀歧視的笑話 用來製造一些簡單的笑點

and, when you pick a chance card you might die of dysentery."

「其實印度的大富翁跟大富翁很像，只是幣值是盧比， 本來蓋飯店改蓋電話客服中心，

Ironic lamp-shading provides a clever way for them to keep getting away with it.

而且抽機會卡的時候可能會死於痢疾」

"Just FYI, that was racist."

「諷刺燈罩笑話」手法讓他們巧妙地躲過使用這些不合時宜的對白該受的批評

Now the problem with this comedic device is that by itself—

「喔對，這完全是種族歧視」

"Hey! Why am I in charge your phone support? Seems a bit racist."

這種手法的問題在於

it doesn't critique or challenge sexism, homophobia, or racism.

「為什麼我要負責客服？ 感覺很種族歧視欸」

It simply acknowledges it in a humorous way.

它並沒有批評或反對性別、同性戀、或是種族歧視

"Very clever, but still racist."

它僅僅是用一種幽默的手段指出這件事情

"Duly noted, Steve from Wichita."

「很聰明，但還是種族歧視」

Acknowledging bigotry is not the same thing as critiquing bigotry,

「知道了啦，來自 Wichita（白人居多的城市） 的 Steve（白人名字）」

especially when the punch lines end up making light of serious social issues like sexual harassment.

指出歧視和批判歧視是兩回事

"Dr. Cooper, you said things to your employee that you just cannot say in the workplace."

尤其當這些笑話輕浮的描寫了 像是性騷擾這樣的嚴重社會問題

"Oh, I see the confusion here.

「Cooper 博士 你對員工說的話在工作場合非常不恰當」

No, no, Alex thought I was singling her out. No, I meant that all women are slaves to their biological urges,

「噢，我知道誤會的癥結點了