A Controversial Play — and What It Taught Me About the Psychology of Climate | David Finnigan | TED

翻译人员: Aria Li 校对人员: Lening Xu

Hi, I’m David.

大家好，我是大卫。

I'm a playwright from Ngunnawal country,

我是一名剧作家， 来自恩古纳瓦尔地区。

the unceded lands of the Ngunnawal people

位于澳大利亚东南部， 是恩古纳瓦尔人从未割让过的土地。

in southeast Australia.

I come from a family of climate scientists,

我来自一个气候科学家家庭，

and in 2014 I wrote a play entitled "Kill Climate Deniers."

2014 年，我写了一部名为 《杀死气候否认者》的剧本。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

The play follows the story of a group of eco-terrorists

这部剧讲述了这样一个故事： 一群生态恐怖分子

who take over Australia's Parliament House

在佛利伍麦克乐队的音乐会期间

during a Fleetwood Mac concert

占领了澳大利亚议会大厦，

and hold the entire government hostage,

并将整个政府扣为人质， 要求立即终止气候变化。

demanding an instant end to climate change.

So the story is ridiculous,

这个故事很荒谬，

but I wanted the play to start a conversation

但我希望这部剧能引发一场讨论，

about what happens when the unstoppable force of climate change

即当气候变化这一不可阻挡的力量

meets the immovable object of politics.

遇到政治这一顽固的阻碍时， 会发生什么。

OK so obviously the title “Kill Climate Deniers” is provocative.

标题 “杀死气候否认者” 显然是挑衅性的。

But just to be clear, when I wrote it, I wasn't targeting anyone real.

但需要明确的是，当我写作时， 我并没有对标任何真实的人物。

Now thanks to the work of journalists and scientists like Naomi Oreskes,

得益于娜奥米・奥雷斯克斯 这样的记者与科学家做的工作，

we know how climate denial began.

我们已经知道了 气候否认现象是如何开始的。

Oil and gas companies recognized the issue of greenhouse gas emissions

早在 1950 和 1960 年代， 石油和天然气公司就意识到了

back in the 1950s and '60s.

温室气体排放问题。

They set out to cast doubt on the science.

他们开始对科学产生怀疑。

They funded lobby groups, marketing firms, politicians.

他们资助了游说组织、 营销公司和政治家，

They astroturfed an entire climate denial movement into being.

他们催生了一场 全面的气候否认运动。

So now there's this industry of pundits and journalists

现在有这样一个 由专家和记者组成的行业，

who make a living denying the reality of climate change.

他们靠否认气候变化的事实谋生。

When I made the statement "Kill Climate Deniers,"

当我提出 “杀死气候否认者” 这一说法时，

I expected outrage from these people.

我预料到会引起这些人 （气候否认者）的愤怒，

But I did not expect pushback from the general public.

但我没料到会遭到普通大众的抵制。

I figured there are no real climate deniers.

我原以为没有真正的气候否认者。

If there are regular, normal people who don't believe in climate science,

即使有普通民众不相信气候科学，

they can't be that passionate.

他们也不会那么偏激。

So I was very wrong.

事实证明，我大错特错了。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Now to begin with, the play received exactly the attention I expected

首先，这部剧受到的关注 正是我所预期的，

关注它的人 也正是我所预期的那些人。

from exactly the people I expected.

When the first production was announced in 2014,

当 2014 年发布第一部作品时，

a conservative politician in my hometown of Canberra

我家乡堪培拉的一位保守派政治家

called for the play to be shut down.

呼吁停演这部剧。

There were angry articles in the Murdoch press

在默多克旗下的媒体， 布赖特巴特新闻网、信息战等

Breitbart, Infowars,

all the usual suspects in the right-wing media machine.

右翼媒体阵营中常见的媒体上 出现了一些愤怒的文章。

Some of these pundits accused the play of being an "incitement to terrorism,"

其中一些专家指责这部剧 “煽动恐怖主义”

and they referred me to the police.

还向警方举报了我。

Their argument was that people would see the show

他们的论点是 人们看了这部剧会受到启发，

and be inspired to take an entire government hostage

去挟持整个政府来阻止气候变化。

to end climate change.

Now the theater company didn’t have money for lawyers

当时，那家剧院没钱请律师，

or a crisis communications team,

也没有危机公关团队，

so out of concern for the actors' safety, the production was cancelled.

出于对演员安全的考虑， 演出被取消了。

But I didn't like backing down.

但我不想就此退缩，

It didn't feel good.

这种感觉很不好。

I felt as if giving up on the project

我觉得放弃这个项目

was like agreeing with the people attacking it.

就好像是在认同那些攻击它的人，

And I did not agree with them.

而我并不同意他们的观点。

The play was not an incitement to terrorism.

这部剧不是在煽动恐怖主义。

But no theater company was willing to take the risk

但是没有一家剧院愿意 去冒被举报给警方的风险。

of being referred to the police.

I couldn't get it up as a show.

我没法把它（这部剧）搬上舞台演出，

So instead, my musician friend Reuben Engel turned it into an album.

于是，我的音乐家朋友鲁本・恩格尔 把它改编成了一张专辑。

Reuben sampled dialogue from the play

鲁本从剧本中选取了一些对白，

and wove it into a series of original electronic tracks.

并将其编入一系列原创电子音轨中。

We toured that record around Australia.

我们带着这张唱片在澳大利亚巡回演出。

We couldn't get into theaters,

我们无法进入剧院，

so we went to nightclubs, we held dance parties.

所以就去夜店，举办舞会。

Then we launched an unauthorized covert walking tour of Parliament House.

然后，我们在国会大厦发起了一次 未经授权的秘密徒步游览活动。

People downloaded a special version of the album on headphones

人们在耳机中下载了一个特别版本的专辑，

and listened to the music and the story

在澳大利亚权力中心的真实场景中 边走边听音乐和故事。

while walking around the real-life setting of Australia's halls of power.

Like so.

就像这样。

(Applause)

（掌声）

(Music)

（音乐）

(Music ends)

（音乐结束）

Now all of this helped to build up an audience for the project.

所有这些都有助于 为项目积累观众。

But even more importantly, there were no real-life copycats.

但更重要的是， 现实生活中并没有模仿者。

Not one government building was taken hostage by eco-terrorists

在佛利伍麦克乐队的音乐会期间，

没有一座政府大楼被生态恐怖分子劫持。

during a Fleetwood Mac concert.

So four years after the original production was canceled,

因此，在原演出被取消四年后，

the play finally made it to the stage in 2018

这部剧终于在 2018 年

at the Griffin Theatre in Sydney,

登上了悉尼格里芬剧院的舞台，

followed by productions in Prague, London, Los Angeles and so on.

之后在布拉格、伦敦、 洛杉矶等地演出。

Obviously I was very happy.

显然，我非常高兴。

And in one version of the story,

在这个故事的某个版本中，

that's where it ends.

这就是结局。

This project just joins a long list of things

这个项目只是右翼评论员 发现的一长串义愤填膺的事情之一，

right-wing commentators have found to be outraged about,

alongside Elvis, smartphones,

与猫王、智能手机、

twerking, Miley Cyrus, Fortnite,

电臀舞、麦莉・赛勒斯、《堡垒之夜》、

the Beat Generation, skateboarding,

垮掉的一代、滑板运动、

Woodstock, Woodstock '99,

1999 年伍德斯托克音乐节、

sugary cereal, TikTok,

含糖麦片、抖音、

gay marriage, NWA, feminism,

同性婚姻、NWA 乐队、女权主义、

the Twist, Dungeons and Dragons,

扭摆舞、《龙与地下城》、

LiveJournal, shopping malls and women reading novels.

生活日记、购物中心和 女性阅读小说等并列其中。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

But as the play made its way into the world,

但随着这部剧走向世界，

something else started happening.

其他一些情况开始出现了。

I started hearing from climate deniers.

我开始收到来自气候否认者的反馈。

And not fossil-fuel pundits

而且不是那些化石燃料行业的专家

or right-wing journalists,

或者右翼记者，

real climate deniers.

而是真正的气候否认者，

Regular, normal people.

他们是普通老百姓。

And I couldn't get my head around it.

我对此实在是想不通。

Like, why did they care so much?

他们为什么这么在意呢？

Like, if you're an ExxonMobil executive,

如果你是埃克森美孚公司的高管，

then you have a financial incentive to downplay climate science.

那你为了经济利益会有动机去 淡化气候科学的影响。

But if you're a high school teacher in Queensland

但如果你是昆士兰州的一名高中教师，

or a massage therapist in Massachusetts,

或是马萨诸塞州的一名按摩理疗师，

why would you spend your nights and weekends

你为什么要花晚上和周末的时间，

desperately trying to debunk Earth science research?

拼命地试图去驳斥地球科学研究呢？

Now it turns out that although climate denial began

现在看来，尽管气候否认

as an astroturfed movement created by fossil fuel companies,

最初是由化石燃料公司 蓄意炮制的一场人造运动，

it caught on because it connects with a certain group of people

但它之所以流行起来,

是因为它以一种非常真实的方式与 特定人群产生了共鸣。

in a very real way.

I got emails, I got physical letters, I got phone calls.

我收到电子邮件、纸质信件， 还接到了电话。

They started showing up to performances of the play.

他们开始出现在这部剧的演出现场。

And as the show got bigger and bigger,

随着演出的规模越来越大，

there were more and more of them, and they were passionate.

这类人也越来越多， 而且他们态度十分偏激。

I wanted this play to start a conversation, and it did.

我本想让这部剧开启一场讨论， 它确实做到了，

It just was not the conversation I thought I was starting.

只是并非我原本预想的那种讨论。

I ended up speaking with hundreds of climate deniers

在这个项目推进的过程中， 我最终与数百名气候否认者进行了交流。

over the course of this project.

Now some of them wanted to insult me and threaten me.

其中一些人想辱骂我、威胁我；

Some of them wanted to tell me variations on the same gag,

一些人想跟我讲类似的玩笑话，

like, "What if I wrote a play called 'Kill Climate Scientists?'"

比如，“要是我写一部叫 《杀死气候科学家》的剧会怎样？” 

But some of them were interesting.

但也有一些人很有意思。

These deniers wanted to explain to me why climate science was wrong.

这些否认者想向我解释 为什么气候科学是错误的，

They had a whole worldview.

他们有一整套的世界观。

They said, "The reality is, David,

他们说：“大卫，实际情况是，

that climate change is a made up excuse

气候变化是自上而下 大规模干预计划的虚构借口。

for a huge program of top-down intervention.

What climate activists really want is to stifle our freedoms.

气候活动家真正想要的是 扼杀我们的自由。

They want to control what we eat,

他们想控制我们的饮食，

they want to choke the life out of rural communities,

想毁掉乡村社区的生机，

and they want to throw the doors open to massive global migration."

还想为大规模的全球移民敞开大门。”

Now I wanted to respond to these people and say,

我想回应这些人，告诉他们：

"I'm sorry, you're wrong.

“抱歉，你们错了，不是这么回事。” 

That's not what it's about."

But the more I talked with them, the more I realized...

但和他们交流得越多， 我就越意识到……

They're right.

他们是对的。

They are completely correct.

他们完全正确。

I mean, they're not correct about climate change being a made up excuse.

我的意思是，他们说气候变化是 虚构的借口，这是不对的，

That, sadly, is not true.

不幸的是，气候变化是真实存在的。

But the consequences of climate change?

但气候变化的后果呢？

Yes, diets are going to change.

没错，饮食会发生变化。

Yes, a lot of communities in exposed locations will be forced to leave.

没错，很多位于易受影响地区的 社区将被迫迁移。

Yes, there will be huge movements of people

没错，国内和国际之间会有 大规模的人口流动，

within and between countries, they're right.

他们在这方面是对的。

And we don't even realize how right they are.

而我们甚至都没有意识到 他们在多大程度上是对的。

I believe in the science of climate change,

我相信气候变化的科学，

and so do probably most of the people in this room.

在座的大多数人可能也是如此。

But more often than not,

但通常情况下，

we go about our lives as if it's not real.

我们在生活中表现得好像 气候变化不是真的一样。

We plan our careers, we build houses,

我们规划职业、建造房屋、教育子女，

we educate our children as if the future will look like the past.

就好像未来会和过去一样。

But the world we're educating them for no longer exists.

但我们为子女规划的那个世界 已经不复存在了。

At one degree warming,

升温 1 摄氏度时，

we are already on a planet unlike anywhere humans have ever lived in the past,

我们所处的星球已经和 人类过去生活过的任何地方都不一样了，

and our systems are starting to buckle under the strain.

我们的体系在压力下开始出现问题。

Now whether you believe that we are sleepwalking into disaster

不论你认为我们是在懵懵懂懂地走向灾难，

or if you think we're going to turn things around through high-tech solutions

还是认为我们将通过高科技解决方案

or massive social movements,

或大规模社会运动来扭转局面，

whatever climate future you believe in,

无论你相信的气候未来是怎样的，

our lives are going to radically change.

我们的生活都将发生根本性的变化。

Our future will not look like our past.

我们的未来不会和过去一样。

We accept the science,

我们认可相关科学理论，

but we haven't processed the consequences.

但却没有充分考虑其后果。

We don't explicitly deny climate change,

我们并非明确地否认气候变化，

but in our actions, we're like soft deniers,

但在行动上， 我们就像是温和的否认者、

stealth deniers.

隐性的否认者。

I'm one of these people.

我就是这类人之一，

Maybe you are too.

也许你们也是。

I keep my carbon footprint as low as possible.

我尽可能地降低自己的碳足迹，

But then I got on a plane to give this talk.

可之后我却搭乘飞机来做这场演讲。

I read research reports about which cities will be vulnerable in future decades

我阅读过有关未来几十年哪些城市

会容易遭受气候冲击、 资源冲击的研究报告，

to climate shocks, resource shocks.

And then I forget all that and think,

然而随后我就把这些抛诸脑后，心想，

I just want to buy a flat in my hometown.

我只想在自己的家乡买一套公寓。

If you believe something but you act like you don't believe it,

如果你相信某件事 但行为表现却像是不相信它，

do you really believe it?

那你真的相信这件事吗？

Now climate deniers understand the consequences of the science,

现在，气候否认者明白 相关科学理论所带来的后果，

so they don't accept the science.

所以他们不接受这些科学理论。

They know what it means if it's true, so they won't allow it to be true.

如果这是真的，他们知道这意味着什么， 所以他们不会允许其成真。

I think we can learn from climate deniers.

我认为我们可以向气候否认者学习。

I want to be more like that high school teacher in Queensland,

我希望自己能像 那位昆士兰州的高中教师，

that massage therapist in Massachusetts,

或是马萨诸塞州的按摩理疗师，

because they live what they believe.

因为他们践行着自己所相信的理念。

You and I, we think we know better.

而你我，我们自认为懂得更多，

We are the ones in denial.

实则是我们自己在否认现实。

And I know deep down that the longer we deny reality,

而且我深知， 我们越是长时间地否认现实，

the harder the shock when it hits.

当冲击来临时， 所受到的打击就会越沉重。

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）