YGYM專業翻譯服務和學習
用幽默化解悲傷的過程，往往可以創造出一個引人注目的故事所需要的各種各樣的情感結構。
那麼，你如何在自己的故事中創造出這種效果呢？今天TED的演講者Jodie Houlston Lau就給我們分享了小貼士。
演講者：Jodie Houlston-Lau
演講題目: How to make a sad story funny
A World War II veteran processes the devastation he’s witnessed from the confines of an intergalactic zoo.
一位二戰老兵正在處理他在星際動物園内目睹的慘狀。
As an estranged parent and child meet at a fraught family reunion, a little girl mumbles, “How do you do?” from behind a dirty curtain.
當一對疏遠的父母和孩子在緊張的家庭聚會中相遇時，一個小女孩躲在肮髒的窗簾後面喃喃自語：“你好嗎？”
After the death of his best friend, a lonely king travels to the end of the world in search for answers and... walks into a bar.
在他最好的朋友死後，一個孤獨的國王前往世界的盡頭尋找答案，順道.......走進酒吧。
It may seem counterintuitive, but comedy is often key to a serious story. As a writer, you need your audience to experience a range of emotions, no matter what your genre. Whether you want to evoke fear, grief, or excitement, when people are exposed to one emotion for too long, they become desensitized to it.
這似乎有悖常理，但喜劇往往是嚴肅故事的關鍵。作為一名作家，你需要你的讀者體驗一系列的情感，無論你是什麼類型的作家。無論你是想喚起恐懼、悲傷還是興奮，當人們長時間接觸一種情緒時，他們會變得不那麼敏感。
Comic relief is a tried-and-true way of creating the varied emotional texture a compelling story needs. So how can you create this effect in your own stories? Whether you use characters, situations, language, or any combination of the three, timing and contrast are crucial.
喜劇浮雕是一種行之有效的方法，可以創造引人入勝的故事所需的各種情感層次。那麼如何在自己的故事中創造出這種效果呢？無論你使用人物、情境、語言，還是三者的任意組合，時機和對比都至關重要。
Take the “Epic of Gilgamesh.” This ancient Mesopotamian tale is possibly the oldest known work of literature, and yet the story remains compelling today. As King Gilgamesh approaches the end of the world, he walks into a bar. We think we’re reaching the climax of his story— only to have our expectations subverted.
以“吉爾伽美什史詩”為例。這個古老的美索不達米亞故事可能是已知最古老的文學作品，但這個故事今天仍然引人入勝。當吉爾伽美什國王即将面臨世界末日時，他走進了一家酒吧。我們認為我們正在達到他故事的高潮——結果卻颠覆了我們的期望。
That brief respite allows the tension to build even higher to a later, true climax. It both relieves and creates tension. This lesson also applies to modern stories: by briefly lightening the mood, you can build tension in your stories exactly when it’s needed.
這種短暫的喘息讓緊張局勢進一步加劇，直至出現真正的高潮。它既可以緩解壓力，也可以制造緊張感。這一課也适用于現代故事：通過短暫地緩和氣氛，你可以在需要的時候在故事中營造緊張氣氛。
The moment at the bar doesn’t just amplify the audience’s emotional response— it also complicates it. The wise bartender questions the purpose of Gilgamesh’s quest— setting the stage for the final, more nuanced resolution.
You can use comic relief not only to create contrast with graver moments, but to comment on them.
在酒吧的那一刻，不僅放大了觀衆的情緒反應，還使之複雜化。這位睿智的調酒師質疑吉爾伽美什追求的目的——為最終更微妙的解決方案奠定基礎。你不僅可以使用喜劇浮雕與更嚴肅的時刻形成對比，還可以對它們進行評論。
Sidekicks are one of the most common and direct ways to do this: they can supply sneakily perceptive commentary on the main action, often while simultaneously serving as blundering, hapless punchlines.
搭檔是最常見和最直接的方式之一：他們可以對主要動作提供偷偷摸摸的洞察力評論，通常同時充當浮躁、倒黴的妙語。
Kurt Vonnegut’s “Slaughterhouse-Five” takes a different approach: the story continuously alternates between horrific war scenes and wacky science fiction moments. These scenes provide comic relief, but also open a dialogue about what’s usually unspeakable, highlighting the arbitrary nature of human suffering in a way that makes it more impactful.
庫爾特·馮内古特（Kurt Vonnegut）的《五号屠宰場》采用了不同的手法：故事不斷地在恐怖的戰争場景和古怪的科幻瞬間交替出現。這些場景提供了喜劇性的撫慰，但也開啟了一段關于通常無法言說的内容的對話，以一種更具影響力的方式突出了人類苦難的随機性。
Arundhati Roy’s “The God of Small Things” takes yet another approach to comic relief. The narrative style draws upon the perspective of children to infuse a tragic story with poignant humor.
阿倫達蒂·羅伊（Arundhati Roy）的《小東西之神》（The God of Small Things）采取了另一種喜劇救濟方式。叙事風格借鑒兒童視角，為悲劇故事注入凄美的幽默。
When the adults funnel decades of tensions over race, class, and family dynamics into their expectations for their children’s behavior, you can’t help but chuckle with recognition when, at the moment she’s expected to put on a perfect performance of politeness, 7-year-old Rahel “[ravels] herself like a sausage into the dirty airport curtain and [won’t] unravel.”
當成年人将數十年來因種族、階級和家庭動态而産生的緊張情緒轉化為他們對孩子行為的期望時，當她被期望表現出完美的禮貌時，你會情不自禁地笑出聲來，7-一歲的 Rahel “[将自己像一根香腸一樣卷入肮髒的機場窗簾裡，并且還[不會] 解開。”
At the same time, you know her failure to behave will only add to the tension. Afterward, she thinks, “the play had gone bad. Like Pickle in a monsoon.” This punchline underscores the reality of the situation: the reunion is so forced and formal, Rahel feels like her family are actors in a play, and she feels powerless in the storm of what’s happening.
與此同時，你知道她不守規矩隻會加劇緊張。之後，她想，“這出戲已經糟透了。就像季風中的泡菜。”這句俏皮話強調了現實情況：重聚是被迫卻又正式的，Rahel覺得她的家人就像劇中的演員，她在正在發生的風暴中感到無能為力。
To make the most of comic relief, think not only about what moment in your story would most benefit from a splash of contrasting emotion, but also: what message you’d like to convey that you can’t say directly? Which of your readers’ assumptions would you like to call into question?
為了充分利用喜劇效果，不僅要想一想你的故事中哪一個時刻最能從強烈的對比情緒中獲益，還要想一想：你想傳達哪些你不能直接表達的資訊？你想混淆讀者的哪些假設？
來源：網絡，僅供參考學習，侵删