The Power of an Image — and the Mind behind It | Misan Harriman | TED

譯者: 麗玲 辛 審譯者: Yanyan Hong

There are so many strong opinions about how bad the internet has become.

很多人強烈主張， 網路環境已經變得很糟糕，

How it has weaponized mediocrity.

一般人具有攻擊性，

Normalized mis- and disinformation.

錯誤資訊和認知偏誤成為日常。

But for me,

但對我來說，

the information superhighway has always been my savior.

這條資訊超級高速公路 一直都是我的救星。

As a little boy,

小時候，

I was sent from Nigeria to boarding school in the English countryside.

我從尼日被送到英國鄉下的寄宿學校，

It was like "Harry Potter" without the magic.

那像是沒有魔法的《哈利波特》。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

It was a confusing and troubling time

對一個遠離家鄉、 本性敏感的小男孩來說，

for an already sensitive little boy who was far from home.

那是一段令人困惑和不安的時光。

I was more like

我好比

an exotic animal in a petting zoo rather than a student.

寵物動物園裡的 珍奇動物，而不是學生。

And to top it off, I'm dyslexic

雪上加霜的是，我有讀寫障礙

and today what would be described as neurodiverse,

以及現今所稱的神經多樣性，

which for me meant that the classroom was impossibly slow

對我來說，這意味著 教室進度過於緩慢，

and my brain was not capable of assimilating how they were teaching me.

我的大腦無法消化學校的教學內容。

So for a big part of my life,

所以在我生命大多時候，

I was ashamed of my own mind.

我為自己的心智感到羞愧。

And if I'm being honest, I was ashamed of myself.

老實說，我以自己為恥。

Luckily, the internet had other ideas.

幸運的是，網路上有各種想法。

Every time I consumed something online, my brain felt alive.

每次我上網閱讀觀看一些內容， 我的大腦感到充滿活力，

It was an awakening of sorts.

彷彿某種覺醒。

And luckily for me,

我很幸運，

I am the right age to have discovered the internet in that very, very moment.

發現網路的那一刻，我正在最適年齡。

So what did I start doing?

我開始做什麼呢？

I started realizing how my mind worked.

我開始了解自己的思維方式。

How I could assimilate audiovisual experiences intensely.

我熱切地吸取視聽體驗，

How I could name a song within the first second or the first note.

在第一秒或第一個音符 說出一首歌的名字，

Or talk about scenes in films like I lived them.

或者談論電影中的場景， 如同我親身經歷過。

And how overwhelmingly powerful artistic experiences were for me.

藝術體驗對我來說是那麼強大，

This became my savior.

因此成了我的救星。

And I wanted to share it with my friends.

我想與我的朋友分享，

So pop ballads like "More Than Words" by Extreme.

流行民謠，像極限樂團的 《More Than Words》，

Street poetry like “Brenda’s Got a Baby” by Tupac.

街頭詩歌，如圖帕克的 《Brenda’s Got a Baby》，

Films like "The Last of the Mohicans,"

還有電影，像《大地英豪》、

"Love Jones,"

《愛情瓊斯》，

and of course, "Cinema Paradiso."

當然，還有《新天堂樂園》。

These experiences were way more than entertainment for me.

這些體驗對我來說不僅僅是娛樂。

I was being raised by these experiences,

這些經驗將我養育長大，

and I needed to share it with as many people as possible.

我想要跟人分享，越多越好。

So my friends would come with their hard drives,

我的朋友會帶行動硬碟來，

and I would download and share pictures and poetry and film for them.

我幫他們下載、 分享圖片、詩歌和電影。

For me, the internet had become an endless library of the extraordinary.

對我來說，網路世界已經 是個了不得的無限圖書館。

And I didn't just have the keys to this library.

我不僅僅有這個圖書館的鑰匙，

I lived there.

我就是在那裡生活。

We would talk about Fela Kuti, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young.

我們談論費拉·庫蒂、 喬尼·米切爾、尼爾·楊，

These were my heroes.

他們是我的英雄。

These were the souls that have found the blueprint

他們是找到方向的靈魂，

of how to do and win in this thing called life.

知曉人生贏取之道。

It also saved my mental health.

這也拯救了我的心理健康。

The dancing of Misha Baryshnikov

對我來說，米夏·巴里什尼科夫的舞蹈

was for me, like watching a perfect sunset.

就像觀看完美的日落。

The voice of Sarah Vaughan was my North Star.

莎拉·沃恩的歌聲是我的北極星。

And of course, the words of Pablo Neruda?

當然，還有巴勃羅·聶魯達的文字，

Well, that will always be medicine for my soul.

那永遠是我靈魂的良藥。

So,

那麽，

how did I get to be this great observer of content

我如何變成出色的內容觀察者，

and become an artist?

並成為一名藝術家？

It was just sharing images.

一開始，我只是分享圖像。

And one of the images I shared all the time was this image

我經常分享的一張照片

就是科麗塔·史考特·金恩的 這張照片。

of Coretta Scott King.

This image was taken by Moneta Sleet Jr.,

這張照片由小莫內塔·斯萊特拍攝，

the first Black man to win a Pulitzer for photography.

第一個獲得普立茲攝影獎的黑人。

This image almost didn't happen because unbelievably,

這張照片差一點就不會存在， 因為，令人難以置信的是，

no Black media was invited

當時並沒有黑人媒體受邀，

to photograph the funeral of Dr. Martin Luther King.

為馬丁·路德·金恩博士的葬禮拍照。

When Coretta Scott realized, she said,

當科麗塔·史考特知道，她說：

"No one's coming into this church if Moneta Sleet is not allowed."

「如果不讓小莫內塔·斯萊特進來， 沒有人可以進入這個教堂。」

And thank the heavens that he was,

幸運的是他來了，

because it was his lens that captured the grace

正是他的鏡頭捕捉到了優雅，

and somehow, on an unimaginable day,

在一個無法想像的日子裡，

the strength of Coretta Scott King

他捕捉到了科麗塔·史考特·金恩 在她丈夫的葬禮上，

on the funeral of her husband with her baby girl, Bernice, in her lap.

膝上抱著小女兒伯妮斯， 展現出的堅強。

It was this image that taught me

正是這張照片教會了我，

that photography can be way more than wedding pics and birthday snaps.

攝影不僅僅是婚禮照片和生日快拍。

It was this image that let me know that at its best,

正是這張照片讓我知道， 在最好的情況下，

photography can let us know the work that we need to do.

攝影能讓我們知道我們的責任是什麼。

(Applause)

（掌聲）

So how did I become an actual photographer?

那麼，我是如何成為 一名真正的攝影師的呢？

Well, the answer of that is love.

嗯，答案就是愛。

My wife.

我的妻子，

My wife.

我的妻子，

We fell in love together

我們一起墜入愛河，

by feeling each other’s invisible scars like braille.

感受彼此看不見的傷疤， 像閱讀盲文一樣。

She fell in love with all the parts of myself

她愛上了我羞愧的所有自我。

that I was ashamed of.

She looked beyond my anxiety, my imposter syndrome,

在我的焦慮、冒充症候群之外，

and she saw a man that maybe had a point of view himself.

她看到了一個男人， 也許有自己的觀點。

So she bought me a camera for my 40th birthday.

她買了一台相機送給我， 作為 40 歲生日的禮物，

Just five years ago.

就在五年前。

So I have a camera now,

所以，我就有了相機，

I don't know what to do with it.

但我不知道該怎麼用。

And once again, I go online,

於是，又一次，我上網，

and I teach myself about ISO and aperture on YouTube.

在 YouTube 上 自學了 ISO 和光圈的知識。

I teach myself about editing with Adobe Lightroom on YouTube.

我自學使用 Adobe Lightroom 進行編輯。

And there's a great beauty for someone like me

對於像我這樣的人來說， 一個很大的好處是，

to be able to fail and fail in my little office, online,

我可以在我的小辦公室， 不斷在線上嘗試失敗，

watching free tutorials.

並觀看免費的教學影片。

This is a gift of the internet.

這是網路的恩典。

Everything changed when my daughter was born.

我的女兒出生時，一切都改變了。

You see, the thing about not loving yourself

你知道的，如果你不夠愛自己，

is that when something truly great,

當某個非常美好的東西，

something celestial, like a child, comes into your life,

天賜之物，例如一個孩子， 來到你的生命中，

you tell yourself you don't deserve it.

你會告訴自己，你不配擁有。

My daughter was premature,

我的女兒早產，

and I was terrified to be the custodian

成為如此珍貴寶物的監護人， 我非常害怕。

of something so beautifully precious.

So I hid behind my camera.

所以我躲在鏡頭後面。

And as I kept taking pictures of this little soul and as she got stronger,

我不斷地為這個小靈魂拍照， 隨著時間，她變得更加強壯，

the camera and my daughter taught me how to receive love

相機和女兒教我如何回應愛，

and taught me to accept

並教會我接受

the immense grace and privilege of being a father.

作為父親的巨大恩典和特權。

This was the most important moment in my photographic journey.

這是我攝影之旅中最重要的時刻。

Two years later, in 2020, George Floyd was killed.

兩年後，2020 年， 喬治·弗洛伊德被殺害。

And all of us saw that because of the power of social media.

由於社交媒體的力量， 我們所有人都看到了這一幕。

And this time we refused to look away.

這一次，我們拒絕視而不見。

I looked to my wife and I said, “I have run out of tears.”

我看著妻子說： 「我的眼淚已經流乾了。」

And she said, "Look to your camera."

她說：「拿起你的相機看看。」

And I took my camera to the streets of London,

於是，我帶著相機來到倫敦的街頭，

not knowing if I would photograph five people or 5,000.

不確定我會拍攝到五個人還是五千人。

And I was able to observe

我因此得以觀察到

one of the greatest civil rights movements in our lifetime.

我們有生以來最大的民權運動之一。

The global protests after the death of George Floyd

喬治·弗洛伊德之死引發全球抗議，

is something none of us would have expected.

這是我們誰都沒有想到的。

And my lens was there.

我的鏡頭就在現場。

One morning I woke up and I couldn’t open my phone

某天早上醒來，我發現手機打不開，

because I had so many notifications.

因為我收到了很多通知。

The son of Coretta Scott King,

科麗塔·史考特·金恩的兒子，

Martin Luther King III,

馬丁·路德·金恩三世，

had somehow come across one of my images and posted it on his Twitter.

不知何故看到了我的一張照片， 並在推特上發布。

And then the world discovered me.

因此，世界發現了我。

(Applause)

（掌聲）

Millions of people saw these images and now, unbelievably,

數百萬人看到了這些圖像，

令人難以置信的是， 英國《Vogue》打電話來，

British “Vogue” came calling,

and they commissioned a then-unknown photographer

委託這位當時沒沒無聞的攝影師

to shoot the September issue of British "Vogue" 2020.

拍攝英國《Vogue》 2020 年 9 月號封面。

And in doing so, I became the first Black man

因此，我成為了第一位為英國版 《Vogue》拍攝封面的黑人。

to shoot any cover for British "Vogue."

(Applause)

（掌聲）

It took 104 years to get to my cover.

等了 104 年才登上封面。

Since then, I've had this extraordinary career

從那時起，我就開始了 這段非凡的職業生涯，

photographing amazing humans, amazing moments.

拍攝令人驚嘆的人物、 令人驚嘆的時刻。

But beyond all the glitz and all the glamour,

但在耀眼光輝和魅力之外，

it is really important for me

對我來說，真正重要的是

to recognize the intentionality

去認知到鏡頭的關注焦點 背後的意圖和同理心。

and the empathy of where my lens must look.

The world is burning right now

世界正在燃燒毀壞中，

and we cannot pass each other by like ships in the night.

我們不能像黑夜中的船隻般 擦肩而過，毫無作為。

So my lens has to look to where voices need to be lifted.

我的鏡頭必須關注 在需要有人聆聽的地方。

I recently have become an ambassador for Save the Children.

最近，我成為救助兒童會的大使。

And I went to Somaliland to cover the famine,

我去索馬利蘭報導饑荒，

the hunger crisis that is in the Horn of Africa.

非洲之角的饑荒危機。

These brave people are suffering because of climate change,

這些勇敢的人深受氣候變遷之苦，

something that they add very little to.

但並非始作俑者。

Many of the children are born into a hellscape

許多孩子出生在地獄般的環境中，

that is not of their making.

這也不是他們造成的。

1.6 million children are on the verge of acute malnutrition.

160 萬兒童瀕臨嚴重營養不良。

And I want my images to let you know

我希望我的照片能讓你知道真相，

that you cannot say you did not know.

再也不能說你不知情。

So I ask you to use whatever levers of power that you have,

我請求你，運用你所有的能力，

at dinner parties, on your social media,

在晚宴上，在社交媒體上，

speak to those that can do something about it

如果你自己無能為力， 就告訴那些可以採取行動的人。

if you cannot yourself.

I will finish by saying this.

我將以此作為結束，

Do not be afraid to take the road less traveled.

不要害怕走少有人走的路。

Wear your vulnerability with pride.

驕傲地展現你的脆弱，

It is what makes us human.

這才使我們充滿人性。

This age of perceived perfection,

追求完美的時代結束了。

it's over.

Very few of us are OK, and that's OK.

我們沒有幾個人完美，但沒關係。

And to the parents and teachers

至於父母和教師們， 在照顧不同心智的孩子時，

that are looking after children with different minds,

please let them know about the power

請讓他們知道他們的心靈 有多麼強大，擁有許多可能性，

and possibility of their minds.

Because they may have the answers

因為他們也許能找到答案，

that will allow all of us to look toward the horizon together.

讓我們共同展望未來。

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Applause)

（掌聲）