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Television in Brazil: Frame the swamp

巴西的电视：为这片湿地镶边

A vintage Brazilian telenovela is updated for a different age

经典巴西电视剧为不同时代进行了更新

When Benedito Ruy Barbosa first pitched “Pantanal”, a telenovela about rugged ranchers and landless peasants, to TV Globo, Brazil’s biggest television network, it was rejected.

《潘塔纳尔》讲述了粗犷的牧场主和无地农民的故事，当本尼迪托·鲁伊·巴博萨第一次向巴西最大的电视网“巴西环球电视网”推销这部电视连续剧时，遭到了拒绝。

So Mr Barbosa took his idea elsewhere.

因此，巴博萨带着他的想法去了其他地方。

For months his crew relocated to the region that gave the show its name, which is home to the world’s largest tropical wetland.

几个月来，他的剧组搬到了让这部剧得名的地区——世界上最大的热带湿地。

They flew over floodplains in small aircraft to reach their locations.

他们乘坐小型飞机飞越了泛滥平原，到达了他们的外景拍摄地。

They filmed their actors silhouetted against sunsets.

他们拍摄了演员在夕阳下的剪影。

The resulting drama, first aired in 1990, captivated audiences.

由此产生的电视剧于1990年首次播出，令观众着迷。

At a time of hyperinflation, high crime and unemployment, the landscape of “Pantanal” seemed like paradise.

在有着恶性通货膨胀、高犯罪率和高失业率的时代，潘塔纳尔的风景就如天堂一般。

Now, three decades on, paradise is being remade, this time by TV Globo.

如今，三十年过去了，天堂正在被重拍，这一次负责重拍的是巴西环球电视网。

These days streaming services threaten the network’s hegemony, especially among middle-class and younger Brazilians.

如今，流媒体服务威胁着该电视网的霸主地位，尤其是在中产阶级和巴西年轻观众中的霸主地位。

Instead of Mr Barbosa, now in his 90s, his millennial grandson, Bruno Luperi, is in charge.

负责人不再是现年90多岁的巴博萨，而是他千禧一代的孙子布鲁诺·卢佩里。

The generational reset has paid off.

这一代人的重拍已经取得了成功。

Since the new “Pantanal” had its premiere in March, hordes of youngsters have followed it on TV and online.

新版《潘塔纳尔》自从在三月份首播以来，便在电视和网上吸引了大批年轻人的关注。

Parents and grandparents who remember the original are also tuning back in.

那些还记得原版的父辈和祖父辈观众也在重新收看。

At its peak the show has been watched by over a third of Brazilians, or 77m people.

在该剧的收视率巅峰时期，有超过三分之一的巴西人，即7700万人观看了该节目。

Even some supporters of the right-wing president, Jair Bolsonaro—who tend to think TV Globo is biased against him—have succumbed.

就连该国的右翼总统雅伊尔·博索纳罗的一些支持者也已经屈服了，要知道，他们多半都认为巴西环球电视网对博索纳罗有偏见。

Adapting his grandfather’s work was daunting, says Mr Luperi.

卢佩里表示，改编他祖父的作品是个艰巨的任务。

He has succeeded in large part by honouring the original.

他的成功在很大程度上归功于对原版的尊重。

Revolving around three generations of the Leoncio family, the plot is a faithful retelling of their loves and losses.

剧情围绕着莱昂西奥家族的三代人展开，如实地讲述了他们的爱与失。

The cast and budget are bigger, but the locations—mostly in the municipality of Aquidauana—are often the same.

演员阵容和预算规模比原版更大，但拍摄地--主要是在阿圭达瓦讷市--大多都是一样的。

(The actual Pantanal region stretches across more than 42m acres, from south-western Brazil into Bolivia and Paraguay.)

(实际的潘塔纳尔地区面积横跨4200多万英亩，从巴西西南部一直延伸到玻利维亚和巴拉圭。)

Many scenes are again filmed at sundown, when the Pantanal’s waters sparkle and cattle stir up glistening dust.

同样地，许多场景在日落时拍摄，那时，潘塔纳尔的水波光粼粼，牛群扬起的尘土闪闪发光。

Though set in the present, the new “Pantanal” looks back to bygone habits and draws on regional folklore.

虽然故事背景设定在现在，但新版《潘塔纳尔》回顾了过去的生活习惯，并借鉴了当地的民间传说。

Characters dance the Paraguayan polka, wear straw hats woven from caranda, a tropical palm, and drink terere, a kind of mate tea.

角色们跳着巴拉圭波尔卡舞，戴着用caranda这种热带棕榈树编织而成的草帽，喝着叫Terere的马黛茶。

These customs barely survive in the Pantanal, notes Guilherme Rondon, a musician from a local family who has been involved in both versions of the show.

来自当地家庭的音乐家吉列尔梅·隆登指出，这些习俗在潘塔纳尔几乎不复存在。他在两版剧中都有出演。

The programme, he thinks, is helping preserve the region’s traditions.

他认为，该项目有助于保护该地区的传统。

It is also attracting tourists.

也在吸引游客。

But in other ways, says Mr Luperi, the “era has changed”, on-screen and off it.

但卢佩里表示，在其他方面，“时代已经改变了”，银幕内外都是如此。

Over three decades deforestation in the Amazon has disturbed rainfall and flood patterns in the Pantanal.

三十多年来，亚马逊的森林砍伐扰乱了潘塔纳尔的降雨和洪水模式。

On the single-lane highways that cut through the vast cattle ranches, signs still warn drivers about armadillos and anteaters crossing the road.

在穿过巨大养牛场的单车道高速公路上，仍有指示牌警告司机注意横穿马路的犰狳和食蚁兽。

But sightings of them are rarer.

但它们的身影却越来越少见。

Charred palm trees recall the fires that in 2020 blazed through roughly a quarter of the region, killing 17m vertebrates by some estimates.

烧焦的棕榈树让人想起2020年的大火，那场大火席卷了该地区四分之一左右的面积，据估计，造成了1700万脊椎动物死亡。

In the Pantanal’s southern reaches, a visitor’s best chance of spotting the jaguar, its most legendary creature, is now in the rice fields, not on the plains.

如今，在潘塔纳尔的南部河段，游客最容易发现当地最传奇的生物——美洲豹的地点并非平原，而是稻田。

The telenovela writer should illuminate these changes, Mr Luperi thinks.

卢佩里认为，这部剧的编剧应该把这些变化写出来。

Man’s relationship with nature is at the core of the show, he explains.

他解释到，这部剧的核心是人类与自然的关系。

Characters monitor crops and the silt building up in rivers.

角色们负责监察庄稼和河流中堆积的泥沙。

The show’s new generation of ranchers press their elders to farm their land in a more sustainable way.

这部剧的新一代牧场主敦促他们的长辈以更可持续的方式耕种土地。

In 1990 Velho do Rio (Old Man of the River), a magically shape-shifting character, was one of the first figures in a Brazilian soap opera to defend the environment.

1990年，神奇的变身角色Velho do Rio(河边的老人)是巴西肥皂剧中保护环境的首批人物之一。

This time around he comports himself like an activist.

这一次，他的行为举止像一名活动人士。

In one scene, to punish a forest arsonist, he is transformed into an anaconda and tries to drag the offender into the flames.

在一场戏中，为了惩罚森林纵火犯，他被变成了一条蟒蛇，试图将罪犯拖入火焰中。

Other kinds of behaviour have been updated too.

其他类型的行为也进行了更新。

The protagonist of both versions is Jove Leoncio—a young man who in his Generation X incarnation enjoyed a barbecue, but as a Gen Z-er has turned vegetarian, observes Taís Ilhéu, a journalist and telenovela fan.

记者同时也是个电视剧迷的塔伊斯·伊洛观察到，两版的主人公都是乔夫·莱昂西奥，在作为X世代年轻人的典型时喜欢烧烤，但在人物背景变为Z世代的一员后，他变成了素食主义者。

The Jove of the 1990s would occasionally make homophobic jokes; now he chastises his father’s.

20世纪90年代的乔夫偶尔会开一些恐同的笑话；而现在，他会严厉批评他父亲的同类笑话。

Meanwhile, viewers who (surveys suggest) themselves have less sex than their forebears are also offered fewer racy scenes on ranches and in rivers.

与此同时，对于那些（调查显示）比祖先性生活更少的观众，在牧场和河流中发生的色情场面也会更少。

The sexualities depicted in the story are more diverse.

故事中描绘的性别更加多样化。

And other tensions and scenarios are interpreted differently.

对其他紧张场景和剧情的解读也不同。

Maria Bruaca, a downtrodden-housewife character, was often mocked by audiences of yore.

玛丽亚·布鲁卡是一个受压迫的家庭主妇角色，过去经常被观众嘲笑。

Portrayed and viewed more sympathetically, she has become a fan favourite.

在新版中，她被刻画得更有同情心，也更能激发观众的同情心，现在已经成为粉丝的最爱。

Not everyone is enamoured of the remake.

但并不是所有人都喜欢翻拍的这版。

The pace of the series is quicker, and some scenes seem designed to be clipped for the internet, says Luiz Joaquim, a cultural critic who prefers the original.

更喜欢原版的文化评论家路易斯·华金认为，新版的节奏较快，有几场戏似乎就是为了互联网设计的。

Other sequences are vehicles for (doubtless lucrative) product placement: in a recent episode, a character extols at length the virtues of her favourite washing detergent.

其他镜头则是植入广告的工具(这无疑是有利可图的)：在最新的一集中，有一个角色对她最喜欢的洗衣粉大加赞扬。

In Portugal, where it has aired since May, the new “Pantanal” has flopped.

在葡萄牙，新版《潘塔纳尔》自5月份开始播出，但却以失败告终。

TV Globo does not seem too bothered.

巴西环球电视网似乎并没有太在意。

Amauri Soares, the network’s director, says its stories cater to contemporary Brazil and won’t always appeal overseas (though “Pantanal” will soon be broadcast across Latin America).

该电视网的主管阿毛里·苏亚雷斯说，这部剧的故事迎合的是当代巴西观众，不会总能吸引到海外观众(尽管《潘塔纳尔》很快就会在拉丁美洲播出)。

That domestic audience is rapt.

这些国内观众都被吸引住了。

As Veneza Ronsini of the Federal University of Santa Maria says—paraphrasing Jesus Martin-Barbero, a distinguished anthropologist—Brazil has an urban face but a “peasant heart”.

正如圣玛丽亚联邦大学的维内扎·罗西尼所说--套用杰出人类学家杰斯·马丁巴贝罗的话--巴西有一张城市脸，但有一颗“农夫心”。

And as the lyrics of the telenovela’s theme-tune insist, the “heart of Brazil” lies in the Pantanal.

正如这部电视剧的主题曲歌词所强调的那样，“巴西的心脏”在潘塔纳尔。

来源：经济学人