華人漫畫家記錄中美疫情眾生相,搞笑又讓人心疼
China Daily 2020-04-11 09:00
對(duì)海外同胞來說,疫情是一場(chǎng)考驗(yàn)?zāi)土Φ某志脩?zhàn)
有網(wǎng)友曾總結(jié),在這場(chǎng)狙擊戰(zhàn)中,“中國打上半場(chǎng),外國打下半場(chǎng),海外華人打全場(chǎng)”
美籍華人翁辰是一名漫畫家,出生在武漢,目前定居西雅圖
病毒來襲時(shí)兩座城市都首當(dāng)其沖,“魔幻”的現(xiàn)實(shí)激發(fā)她拿起畫筆
從中美兩種不同文化的視角,記錄下疫情中她的觀察和思考
The Chinese-American cartoonist Weng Chen has transformed her surreal life during the epidemic into comics, which have resonated with people in both the US and China. The creative mind records her true life in humorous satire, revealing her dilemmas and frustrations when confronting different COVID-19 responses from two cultural backgrounds.
美籍華人翁辰是一名漫畫家,最近幾個(gè)月,她把疫情期間她所經(jīng)歷的“魔幻”生活畫了下來,收獲了國內(nèi)外不少讀者的喜愛。她用幽默的筆觸記錄自己的真實(shí)生活,也記錄了中美兩種文化下兩國對(duì)疫情不同的應(yīng)對(duì)措施,以及帶給她的切身感受。
The artist now lives in Seattle, the first city ravaged by the coronavirus in the US. And the first-known US case, from the Life Care Center in Kirkland, Washington, is only a 10-minute drive from her daughter's school. Moreover, months earlier, she was already anxiously checking the news from her hometown of Wuhan, the hardest-hit city in China.
翁辰目前定居西雅圖,西雅圖是美國最早發(fā)現(xiàn)疫情的地區(qū),而美國第一例新冠肺炎病例就發(fā)生在距離她女兒學(xué)校十分鐘車程的養(yǎng)老院里。事實(shí)上,她幾個(gè)月前就已經(jīng)在提心吊膽地關(guān)注武漢的消息了,武漢是她的家鄉(xiāng)。
The proximity of the novel coronavirus inspired her to steer her creations, which previously focused on parent-child themes, to life changes under the threat of the disease.
病毒的步步緊逼激發(fā)了她的創(chuàng)作想法,她把筆觸由家庭、育兒轉(zhuǎn)向了疾病帶來的生活變化。
Online learning
Washington state announced a stay-at-home order on March 23. However, her two children, ages 7 and 5, had spent three weeks at home already due to the suspension of classes in her school district. And if Weng's experience is any measure, the multitasking between work and child care at home can prove challenging.
她所在的華盛頓州3月23日發(fā)布了“居家令”,但她5歲和7歲大的兩個(gè)孩子早在三周前就因?qū)W校停課在家隔離了。兼顧在家辦公和育兒是個(gè)很有挑戰(zhàn)性的活兒。
The students do have online courses from school, but it's the parents' duty to ensure their children carry out the study on the app. "The teacher will give assignments online, and the student can choose to complete or ignore them," she said. "Even if you submitted your assignment, the teacher won't review it. It's pretty casual."
在家的學(xué)生們可以上網(wǎng)課,其實(shí)就是在軟件上下載視頻觀看,監(jiān)督學(xué)習(xí)也都是家長的責(zé)任?!袄蠋熢诰W(wǎng)上布置任務(wù),你可以在網(wǎng)上完成,也可以不做。你做了老師也不會(huì)看,是一種非常放松的網(wǎng)課?!?/p>
According to Weng, even the simplest courses were called off due to fairness concerns — some households without internet connections and computers objected to the e-learning experience — and consequently no one could learn from home.
翁辰說現(xiàn)在即便是這樣簡(jiǎn)單的網(wǎng)課也沒了,因?yàn)橐紤]公平。一些家庭由于不能上網(wǎng)或者沒有電腦反對(duì)線上課程,這樣一來,所有網(wǎng)課都停止了。
Face masks
As an Asian American, Weng is prudent about protection and naturally considers wearing a mask a necessity. In one of her strips, she listed several common circumstances for Asians to put on masks in daily life. In contrast, Americans instinctively say "nah" to masks even when told they can safeguard against Ebola and HIV.
作為一名亞裔,翁辰很注重防護(hù),也自然意識(shí)到戴口罩的必要性。她在漫畫中曾這樣講述:亞洲人平時(shí)生活中可以有很多戴口罩的理由,相比之下,即使告訴美國人戴口罩能防埃博拉、防艾滋病,他們都對(duì)此不屑一顧。
After the face mask story was published on social media platforms abroad, comments trickled in, such as this one: "Some Americans use them for robbing 7/11 stores."
這篇關(guān)于戴口罩的漫畫發(fā)布到國外圖片網(wǎng)站后,有外國網(wǎng)友紛紛前來神評(píng)論:有些美國人戴口罩是為了搶劫711商店。
In the early days of the outbreak, the artist said she was really worried while her neighbors were still at ease. "I can't step in to persuade them to wear masks," she said. "I feel helpless when I have to watch the situation getting more severe."
疫情暴發(fā)伊始,翁辰憂心忡忡,但鄰居朋友們好像仍不當(dāng)回事。她說,“我也不能要求或者說服他們戴口罩,但看著情況這樣嚴(yán)峻下去我感到很無助。”
However, as the pandemic worsens in the US, Weng's comics also chronicle Americans' changing attitude when they finally come to realize the importance of social distancing, which, to some degree, is good news for her.
隨著疫情在美國不斷加劇,翁辰筆下的美國人也開始轉(zhuǎn)變觀念,意識(shí)到隔離的重要性,這對(duì)她來說也算是一個(gè)值得欣慰的好消息了。
Prejudice
She described people's overreactions to Wuhan in one of her strips. "I think since it happened there, it is what it is," she said. "This could happen in any city and I don't feel stigmatized by it."
面對(duì)海外對(duì)武漢的污名化標(biāo)簽,她說:“我不覺得因?yàn)樗l(fā)生在武漢,然后我作為一個(gè)武漢人,就會(huì)不好意思,或者是覺得不敢說。我覺得它既然是在那里發(fā)生了,就是在那里發(fā)生了。這件事情可以發(fā)生在任何城市?!?/p>
The artist believes people who have ingrained prejudices could shout at anything, a sad result of their own knowledge and worldviews.
她認(rèn)為有歧視心理的人對(duì)誰都會(huì)發(fā)泄心中的不滿,這也是他們的認(rèn)知和長期以來的觀念造成的結(jié)果。
While acknowledging the deep-rooted stereotypes of Chinese in US society, Weng says "many incidents occurred because we don't know each other". And the Chinese-American offers insightful stories from a personal perspective to overcome this ignorance.
她承認(rèn)美國社會(huì)中的確有對(duì)中國人的偏見,但同時(shí)認(rèn)為“很多事其實(shí)是因?yàn)槲覀兓ハ嗖涣私狻薄6鳛槿A人,正在用自己的觀點(diǎn)和引人深思的故事消除其中的隔閡。
The cartoonist said she frankly has no intention to justify or explain anything. "I like to draw my life. When people read my comics, they may think 'we're alike'," she said. "Then they'd realize I am from China."
翁辰說她的漫畫其實(shí)“并沒有想去特意解釋或者證明什么”,而是通過自己的故事“展現(xiàn)普通人的生活”,大家看到并產(chǎn)生共鳴后意識(shí)到“這是一個(gè)來自中國的畫家,她跟我真的好像。”
病毒肆虐,沒有誰能獨(dú)善其身
希望地球村里多一點(diǎn)感同身受
少一些推諉指責(zé)
希望我們都早日跟疫情說拜拜
來源:China Daily 微信公眾號(hào)