第一夫人被“變身”為黑奴

Photo courtesy of El MundoMichelle Obama has graced magazine covers from Time to People to Vogue looking powerful, beautiful, and downright regal, but now a Spanish magazine is picturing her bare breasted, and as a slave.

美國第一夫人米歇爾·奧巴馬曾為多本雜志如《時代周刊》，《人物》，《VOGUE》拍攝過封面人物，無不以強勢，美麗及尊貴的形象示人。但是，近日某西班牙雜志卻將她描畫成一個坦胸露乳的黑奴形象。

The cover of Magazine Fuera de Serie, which is widely available in Spain as a newspaper lifestyles supplement, shows the first lady's face superimposed onto an 1800 portrait of a female slave by Marie-Guillemine Benoiste, a French neoclassical painter.

雜志《Fuera de Serie》在西班牙是一本廣受歡迎的生活類雜志，近日其封面人物——第一夫人化身成為1800年代的一位女性奴隸形象。

According to the magazine's editor, the picture is meant to honor Michelle Obama who they call the "gran mujer" (great woman) who "conquered the heart" of the man who would be president and "seduced the American people."

據(jù)雜志編輯稱，這幅作品意在向這位征服美國總統(tǒng)，征服美國人的偉大女性致敬。

Many commentators aren't seeing it that way. "Let's be clear: This image has nothing to do with acknowledging Obama's enslaved foremothers, and everything to do with reinforcing and extending the historical denial of black women's individuality…" writes Althea Legal-Miller for The Clutch. She continues "The portrait robs Obama of her identity, voice, and intellect, and visually shackles her to a politically passive subject, resigned to an assigned role as slave."

然而，許多評論家并不這樣看。愛爾西亞法律米勒在《The Cluth》上評論道：“讓我們清醒一點吧!這一形象與承認(rèn)米歇爾·奧巴馬的祖輩們曾是奴隸的事實沒有半點關(guān)系，這幅圖片所強調(diào)和表達(dá)的完全是對黑人女性的歷史性否認(rèn)。這一形象抹殺了米歇爾·奧巴馬的身份，聲音和智慧并肆意將她塑造成為一個被動的政治話題和奴隸形象。 ”

Some art historians describe the original painting as a tribute to emancipation in France, which occurred in 1794 and also as a feminist statement linking the universal bondage of women to the institution of slavery. Benoiste was one of the few established female artists of her era. The reality is, the majority of people today who encounter the image will have little knowledge of its art historical significance. Instead they will simply see the first lady of the United States as a half nude servant. Accompanied by the headline, "Michelle, Granddaughter of a Slave, Lady of America" it's more of a willfully ignorant attention-grab designed to spark controversy (and magazine sales) than a legitimate homage.

有些歷史學(xué)家將原作視為是對1794年的法國黑奴解放運動的頌揚和反對黑人女性束縛與奴隸制的女權(quán)主義宣言。Benoiste正是在那個時期成長起來的少數(shù)幾個頗有建樹的女性藝術(shù)家之一?？涩F(xiàn)實情況是，今天的大多數(shù)人看到米歇爾·奧巴馬的這一形象時并不了解畫作的藝術(shù)歷史意義。他們只會看到美國第一夫人這一半裸的奴隸形象。再配上標(biāo)題“米歇爾·奧巴馬，奴隸的后代，美國第一夫人”，這幅圖片更多的是要刻意引發(fā)爭執(zhí)而非真正的敬意。

This is not the first time a magazine cover featuring Mrs. Obama has garnered accusations of racism. In 2008, the New Yorker published a satirical drawing of her decked out as a radical Black Panther fist bumping with her husband who is wearing a traditional Muslim robe.

這已不是第一次米歇爾·奧巴馬作為封面人物引發(fā)對于種族歧視的指控。2008年，雜志《New Yorker》曾刊登了一張具有諷刺意味的照片，照片上的米歇爾·奧巴馬打扮的像一只兇猛的黑豹與身穿傳統(tǒng)穆斯林長袍的奧巴馬總統(tǒng)十指緊握。

While the Obamas entered office in a supposedly "post-racial" America, what they encountered was a country where bigotry is still alive and kicking and often stirred up by their very presence in the White House. At times serving as a surrogate punching bag for her husband, Michelle Obama is likely to be labelled in some quarters as an "angry black woman" instead of the smart, accomplished person who she is.

奧巴馬就職時期的美國依舊存在種族歧視，他所面對的這個國家偏執(zhí)思想仍然十分活躍并且會時常被激起。盡管米歇爾·奧巴馬是個睿智，有修養(yǎng)的女人，但她會時而被一些激進分子貼上“生氣的黑女人”的標(biāo)簽而被當(dāng)成她丈夫的出氣筒。

Mikki Taylor, former editor of Essence and author of Commander in Chic writes, "The looming shadow of racism is always there and it's very sad. Who was more feisty than Barbara Bush? Laura Bush always spoke her mind, but Michelle Obama takes the heat for being an independent-thinking woman. It's so clearly based on race and a backward way of thinking."

《Essence 》雜志的前任編輯Mikki Taylor寫到，“種族歧視的陰影總是若隱若現(xiàn)，這真的是一件讓人傷心的事。顯然，這幅作品以種族為背景，是一種倒退的思想。

Karine Percheron-Daniels, the artist who created the image, isn't shedding any light on its underlying message. She is quoted saying she depicted the first lady in such a manner "for obvious reasons." She adds, "I'm sure [she] would love it, and I hope that someday she can see it." We suspect the first ladies' opinion would be, in her typically dignified fashion, "no comment."

這幅作品的作者Karine Percheron-Daniels并未對這幅作品的隱喻做出闡述。她說她之所以以這種方式描繪第一夫人是有原因的。她還說，“我肯定她會喜歡的，我也希望有一天她會看到。 ”我們猜想第一夫人會以她慣用的尊貴方式來回應(yīng)，那就是“無可奉告”。