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　　你是否了解美国文化呢？这5条流行语将帮助大家了解美国文化。

　　1) “未来每个人都有机会成名15分钟。” — 艺术家安迪·沃霍尔(Andy Warhol)

　　“In the future, everyone will be world-famous for fifteen minutes.” — Andy Warhol, artist

　　大家可能都熟悉一个英语词组“fifteen minutes of fame(意为[因新闻媒体报道]大出风头、短暂出名)”，而这一词组就是从安迪·沃霍尔的名言简化而来的。安迪·沃霍尔是20世纪艺术界的先锋人物，在1968年的一次画展策划上首次说这句话。

　　在这个Youtube、优酷等视频网站造星的时代，人人都能“成名15分钟的”想法变得更为触手可及。如今的美国人，尤其(但不仅限于)是年轻人，不断沉浸在网络媒体上。无数人抓住这一新趋势来实现自己一夜成名的愿望。并不是说世界其他地方就没有同样的现象，但美国在这方面确实独树一帜，很多人因创做的网络视觉内容而成名，并从此将其作为自己的事业。这是美国长期以来具有的企业家精神的体现。

　　喜剧演员柏·伯纳姆(Bo Burnham)就是网络成名的典型例子。2006年，还在上高中的他在YouTube上传了两首原创的搞笑歌曲，立刻火了起来，柏·伯纳姆本人都没料到自己的喜剧生涯从此开始。严谨的工作态度、新颖的喜剧内容(他的幽默有别于那些传统“安全”的幽默点)以及独特的舞台人格魅力使他这“15分钟”风头延长至十年多。

　　Almost everyone is familiar with the more distilled version of this quote: the expression “fifteen minutes of fame.” The original quote is credited to the pioneering 20th-century artist Andy Warhol, who included it in the program for a 1968 exhibition.

　　In this age of Youtube stars and live streaming, the idea of everyone's “fifteen minutes of fame” is truer than ever. Today's Americans, especially (but not limited to) teenagers and younger adults, exist in a constant state of media consumption, and countless people have embraced this new trend in their respective quests for a moment or two the limelight. While this is not to say that the same thing is not happening in other places around the world, the United States is particularly unique for the way that creators of viral Internet content have leveraged their newfound fame into actual careers. This is just one example of the entrepreneurial spirit that runs through much of the country's history.

　　The comedian Bo Burnham is just one example of this trend. In 2006, when he was still attending high school, he uploaded two original comedy songs to YouTube. They became a hit essentially overnight, and Burnham found himself at the beginning of an unexpectedly successful comedy career. Through a combination of a rigorous work ethic, challenging comedic content (his humor generally steers clear of “safer” targets), and an awkwardly charismatic on-stage persona, Burnham has turned his “fifteen minutes” into a decade.

    2) “你在跟我说话吗?” — 出自1976年电影《出租车司机》

　　“You talkin' to me?” — from the 1976 film Taxi Driver

　　短短几个字的一句台词甚至比电影本身更为著名。

　　这句频繁被引用的话出自美国最著名的电影之一——《出租车司机》。影片讲述了患有严重失眠症的孤独退伍老兵特拉维斯·比克尔(Travis Bickle)开夜班出租车的故事，纽约这座城市让他感到迷茫、愤怒。他对着镜子说的这句台词透彻地体现出美国的流行文化。

　　比克尔说这话的时候，自己一个人在房间里，想象自己面前是一个陌生人。这一场景与美国电影常见的“硬汉”人物形象形成强烈对比(从20世纪早期的西部片到《敢死队》等最新电影)。比克尔对着镜子说这话时，——“你在跟我说话吗?你在跟我说话吗?”——是在故作勇敢，模仿我们常在美国电影看到的形象。不过，也更像是渴望与谁接触。想想看，现在有多少美国人在社交媒体上把自己塑造成一个更聪明、自信的形象?这一场景在当下显得更为尖锐。

　　值得注意的是，这句台词是特拉维斯·比克尔的扮演者罗伯特·德尼罗(Robert De Niro)即兴发挥创作的。原剧本上只写着“特拉维斯对着镜子说话”。

　　A mere four words, this one line is even more famous than the film that spawned it.

　　Frequently cited as one of the greatest films of all time, the movie Taxi Driver follows Travis Bickle, a lonely war veteran who works nights as a taxi driver in an attempt to cope with his chronic insomnia. Much of the film revolves around the alienation and rage that Bickle feels at his surroundings of New York City. However, it is this one line of dialogue, which Bickle says to his mirror (as seen in the above still), that seems to have resonated most with American pop culture.

　　When Bickle says this line, he is alone in his room, trying to imagine himself in a confrontation with a stranger. This scene still stands as a stark contrast to, and perhaps a commentary on the countless “tough-guy” characters who have always populated America cinema (from early 20th-century Westerns to even recent films like The Expendables). When Bickle addresses his mirror—You talkin' to me? You talkin' to me?— he is trying to emulate the kind of bravado we all associate with American cinema. However, it instead comes across more as an effort to make contact with someone else. Considering how many Americans rely on social media and other means to project a wittier and more confident version of themselves, this scene feels even more poignant now.

    3) “我醒来就是这样完美无瑕。” — 碧昂斯(Beyonce)

　　“I woke up like this” — Beyonce

　　好莱坞电影和美国流行音乐对女性形象常有一套特定的标准。那要是女性们准备好反击了呢?

　　2013年，碧昂斯发布了名为《碧昂斯》的专辑，开启了这一趋势。专辑里一首名为《完美无瑕》的歌词尽显女性主义光芒，其中有一句是“我们完美无暇，女士们，告诉他们，我醒来就是这样完美无瑕。”时间跳到2014年8月，演员、作家莉娜·丹恩(Lena Dunham)在Instagram上发了一张让人不敢恭维的照片，估计是她刚起床时照的，图的配文是：“这不正是碧昂斯歌词所唱的吗?(其实昨晚什么都没喝，这表情是纯自然的)”

　　丹恩可不是唯一一个在社交媒体上发自己起床照片的人，也不是第一个。碧昂斯发行同名专辑的那天Tumblr网站用户创建了 iwokeuplikethisflawless(我醒来就是这样完美无瑕)专题，用户可以在里面上传自己刚起床时的自拍。直到今天，Instagram上#iwokeuplikethis专题还是很火。这一流行趋势体现了人物(尤其是女性)形象在美国社会中的作用，也体现了人们想要打破主流媒体和文化塑造的固定形象。

　　Hollywood films and American pop music beat their audiences over the heads with specific standards and images of feminine beauty. But what happens when women decide to fight back?

　　Beyonce got the ball rolling when she released her self-titled album in 2013. It contained the song “Flawless,” which is filled with empowering feminist lyrics, including “We flawless, ladies tell 'em / I woke up like this.” Skip ahead to late August of 2014, when the actor and writer Lena Dunham published a less-than-flattering photograph on Instagram, presumably taken moments after she'd woken up. The post included the following caption: “Is this what Beyonce was singing about? (Also, pretty depressing that this look isn’t even fueled by one ounce of alcohol)”

　　Dunham was far from the only person to create a social media post with this theme. In fact, she wasn't even the first. The Tumblr blog iwokeuplikethisflawless was created the day Beyonce's album was released to showcase user-submitted selfies taken after waking up. Today, the Instagram tag #iwokeuplikethis is still a popular one. This trend illustrates the role that one's image (particularly that of women) plays in American society, and it also shows how willing people are to rebel against the standards that mainstream media and culture present them with.

    4) “我们在这里，来给我们个乐子!” — 美国涅磐乐队(Nirvana)《少年心气》(Smells Like Teen Spirit)

　　“Here we are now / Entertain us” — Nirvana, “Smells Like Teen Spirit”

　　涅磐乐队是九十年代最具影响力的乐队，对后来的流行音乐发展趋势也有一定影响。涅磐乐队风靡全球，无疑，歌手、吉他手科特·柯本(Kurt Cobain)功不可没。

　　柯本写的歌在年轻人中引起巨大共鸣，歌词简单却充满激情，触及当时年轻一代面临的共同感受：无聊、冷漠、对爱情无比困惑。90年代的社会发展趋势(包括网络普及、计算机技术的重大发展)深刻地影响了我们生活的世界，当今社会也与当时情况有众多相似之处。柯本为涅磐乐队写的词极具突破力，《少年心气》甚至在今天比20年前更能突出时代特征。

　　90年代的媒体称柯本为年轻一代的发言人。尽管柯本本人并不是特别喜欢，但看一眼他写的歌词，会发现他的确不负如此称号。此外，他在各种采访和现场表演中体现的那个颇具魅力、爱自嘲的形象在如今美国文化中也独具一席地位。

    5) “妈妈常说：'人生就像是一盒巧克力，你永远不知道将尝到哪种滋味。'" — 出自1994年电影《阿甘正传》

　　“My momma always said, 'Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.'" — from the 1994 film Forrest Gump

　　《阿甘正传》是一部20世纪体现美国人生活和历史的经典电影。主角带着观众一同经历了半个世纪前美国主要大事件，包括越南战争、中美建立外交关系等。不过，电影让人印象最深的是里面朗朗上口的台词。

　　直到现在，还有很多人乐于朗诵阿甘默念过的那句生活与巧克力糖果类比的著名台词，其中的关键原因不只在于汤姆·汉克斯用那浓重的南方口音缓缓念出时颇具韵味，而更在于这句话给人带来的希望。美国是一个多元化程度高得惊人的国家，但乐观是整个国家的本质特点。马丁·路德·金著名的《我有一个梦想》演讲便是这种情感最好的体现之一：无论事情有多可怕，转角处总会有希望。

　　The classic film Forrest Gump is a whirlwind of 20th-century American life and history. The film's titular character takes viewers through some of the most defining American events of the last 50 years, including the Vietnam War and the opening of US relations with China. But for better or for worse, the film may be best remembered today for its wealth of endlessly quotable lines.

　　I'd venture to say that there's a key reason why so many people still enjoy reciting Forrest's famous musings on the similarities between life and cacao-based confections, and it isn't just the thick Southern drawl that Tom Hanks used to deliver the line. No, I believe it's the sentiment of hope underlying the quote. The United States may be an unbelievably diverse nation, but a sense of optimism runs through the fabric of the country. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s iconic “I Have a Dream” speech might be one of the best articulations of this sentiment: that no matter how dire things may appear, hope looms eternal on the horizon.