Zahra Al-Mahdi: The infinite alchemy of storytelling | TED Fellows

翻译人员: Sandra Wang 校对人员: Jiasi Hao

[SHAPE YOUR FUTURE]

【塑造你的未来】

I grew up in Kuwait in the early ’90s,

90 年代初，我在科威特长大。

where I was raised by screens.

我是看着屏幕长大的。

The main windows to reality for me were television and the internet.

电视和网络 是我了解现实的主要途径。

Not because of their accuracy,

不是因为它们的准确性，

but because there were storytelling machines.

而是因为它们是讲故事的机器。

These machines told stories that contradict one another,

这些机器讲述着相互矛盾的故事，

but all somehow seem true.

但不知为何听上去都很真实。

The Arab region knew Kuwait to be one of the leading voices in media,

阿拉伯地区的人知道 科威特是媒体行业的领袖之一，

specifically for comedy shows and theater.

特别擅长喜剧节目和戏剧。

The rest of the world knew Kuwait to be a small country

而其余人在海湾战争时期， 知道了科威特是个小国家，

that was located between Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran during the Gulf War.

位于沙特阿拉伯、伊拉克和伊朗之间。

Both stories are true.

这两个故事都是真实的。

These screens that I drive my sense of reality from

这些形成我现实感的屏幕

told me different and sometimes contradicting stories

告诉我不同的、有时甚至是矛盾的

about who I am and where I come from.

关于“我是谁，我从哪里来”的故事。

And that was the only way I understood anything around me:

我理解周围的唯一途径就是

By placing it into different sets of stories.

把这些故事放入不同的故事集。

When social media came around,

当社交媒体出现后，

it changed the way screens worked for me.

它改变了我使用屏幕的方式。

It wasn't only a window for observations anymore,

屏幕不再是一扇仅供观察，

but an interactive one,

而是一个交互的窗口。

one I could use to identify everything around me

借此，我可以用更多样的方式

in even more varied in multiple ways,

去认识我身边的一切，

and to know myself better

更好地了解自己，

and actually participate in the storytelling process.

并真正地参与到讲故事的过程中。

It started with these drawings,

最开始我画了一些画，

mostly crosshatched on photographs that I took with my iPhone.

主要是在我用手机拍下的照片上 画上交叉阴影线。

With time, I started to animate them onto videos

随着时间的推移， 我开始把它们做成视频，

that told stories from different perspectives

从不同的角度讲述故事，

in a mocumentary series titled "Bird Watch."

制作了一部名为《观鸟》的伪纪录片。

It consists of scripted interviews by imagined minority voices

它包含了一系列脚本访谈，

由想象中的少数群体 来讨论一些普世价值问题。

discussing a general issue or one of common interests.

The title of the series is meant to ponder the idea,

这个系列的标题意在 引发人们的思考——

What if birds were watching back?

如果鸟也在观察我们会怎么样？

What would they think of our obsession with speed and oil?

它们会怎样看待 我们对速度和石油的痴迷？

Would they think we were dumb for standing under the rain?

它们是否会认为 我们不擅长在雨中站立？

The second episode, for example, is an interview with a little girl

比如说第二集， 是关于一个小女孩的访谈，

that tries to explain her definition of health,

意在解释她对健康的定义，

where she says she wants to be like her father,

她说她希望像她的父亲一样

be strong, smoke and tell children not to.

强大，抽烟， 然后告诉孩子们别抽烟。

And also like her grandmother,

她也想像她的祖母一样，

cook good food, be loved by everyone

做得一手好菜，被所有人爱戴，

and have diabetes.

同时身患糖尿病。

She also introduces us to the stomach animal.

她还向我们介绍了一种胃部动物——

It's the head of an animal that's connected to our stomachs

一个动物的头， 连接到我们的胃部，

and its objective is to continue eating even after we're full.

它的目标是 在我们吃饱之后继续进食。

You see, Kuwait has one of the highest rates of childhood obesity.

要知道，科威特是世界上 儿童肥胖率最高的国家之一 。

Presenting it in an amusing story

用一个有趣的故事来呈现这个数据，

while pointing out that children are themselves a minor voice

并指出孩子们也是发声群体，

is a great way to really put the statistic into perspective.

是一个将数据转为观点的好方法。

Another episode is an interview with a horse breeder

另一集的访谈对象是 一名马匹饲养员，

who talks about the rules of making sure your well-bred horse

他告诉了我们一些规则

来确保品种优良的马 得到良好照顾。

is taken care of.

She, the horse, must not be seen by others,

马匹，她不能被别人看到，

must only mate with the same breed,

只能与相同品种的马交配，

must not be ridden by other men

不能让其他人骑，

and must be veiled.

而且必须带上头巾。

Making a story about a parameter of repression towards women funny,

让一个关于压迫女性的故事变有趣，

especially when it has animation or live action,

特别是当它含有动画和真人表演时，

is a great way to walk clear through walls

可以很好地越过障碍，

of censorship, intolerance and political correctness.

比如审查，偏狭和政治正确。

I tried to implement the ideas behind these two episodes

我在这两集纪录片中 尝试着实施了我的想法，

before or during my first art solo in 2014,

这发生在 2014 年我的第一个 个人艺术展之前和期间，

but I still had to put it into a story to both be understood and accepted.

但我仍然得创作出 让人理解并且接受的故事。

By speaking in someone else's voice,

通过以他人的声音讲述故事，

I was experimenting with detachment from ideas

我开始进行超出我想法的实验。

I grew up thinking where axioms.

我开始思考公理。

We're in a strange place

我们生活在一个奇怪的地方，

where our problem is the abundance of information,

在这里，我们的问题是信息过剩，

where the majority of people have a platform to be heard,

大部分人有发表意见的平台，

but representation is still an issue.

但缺乏代表性。

Representing a certain group, giving them justice.

代表一个特定群体，给予它们正义。

All of these stories can naturally contradict,

这些故事自然相互矛盾，

even if they differ slightly.

即使它们之间只有细微的不同。

We as humans are not merely the shape of body that we occupy

我们人类不仅仅是一个躯体，

or the specific description of behavior.

也不仅仅是行为的特定描述。

We're a multiplicity of stories,

我们是大量多样的故事，

stories that often come in repetitive patterns

时常以重复的模式再现的故事，

that can be rewritten and reread.

这些故事可以被重读和重写。

Having been raised by screens

我是看着屏幕长大的，

that told me different stories about who I am and where I come from

关于我是谁，我从哪里来， 这些屏幕往往会告诉我不同的答案，

confused me in the best way possible.

这很大程度上困扰了我。

I saw that history is not as static as we thought,

我认为历史 并不如我们所想，是静止的，

that stories can be told, retold,

历史的故事 可以一遍遍被讲述，

read and reread.

一遍遍被阅读。

A change of context,

一点情境上的变化，

change of perspective in hindsight

事后角度观点的变化，

can assign different values to everything and everyone around us.

就可以给我们身边的一切 赋予不同的价值。

The way I see it,

在我看来，

that's where artists are most important.

这就是艺术家最重要的地方了。

To present metadocumentations of our history,

去展现历史的的原貌，

to give villains their origin story.

去追溯反派人物的起源。

Nothing and no one can be said to be good or bad

没有东西或没有人 能在脱离故事背景的情况下，

in isolation of the story around it.

被说成是好的或坏的。

It's much like learning a new word.

这就像是学一个新词，

You have to use it in a sentence for it to make sense.

你得在一个句子中使用它才有意义。

And then to challenge its meaning,

其后，为了考验它的意义，

you begin to use it in an infinite amount of stories.

你开始把它用在无穷无尽的故事里。

Thank you.

谢谢。