Happy birthday to Renaissance thinker Niccolò Machiavelli, who was born on this day in 1469. Most familiar today as the godfather of Realpolitik and as the eponym for all things cunning and devious, Machiavelli also had a lighter side, writing as he did a number of comedies. Christopher S. Celenza looks at perhaps the best known of these plays, Mandragola, and explores what it can teach us about the man and his world: http://publicdomainreview.org/20…/…/05/machiavelli-comedian/
Howard Chang https://books.google.com/books?id=FbhVOme1Mr4C&pg=PR10......
2016.6.25
1980年代英國電視幽默劇《Yes Minister》此刻被翻炒，正好讓大家回顧一下英國外交政策，作為註腳。
Mark Twain — 'Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn't.'
Yes, Prime Minister
這是Hans 20幾年前在香港買的書。
讀一篇，就覺得應該讀完它，才算最起碼的了解英國人士。
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGscoaUWW2M
Who reads the papers? - Yes, Prime Minister - BBC comedy
優酷網The modern version of British comedy 'Yes, Prime Minister'.
Yes Prime Manipulator: How a Chinese Translation of British Political Humour ...
這是先有電視影集，再有書1986和1987年上下兩冊。
香港的大學出版社有譯本。(印象)
2013年北京三聯出版社: 徐國強、閻春伶合譯《是，首相》(詳下Wikipedia 缺2013譯本)
Hacker: After 500 years has Britain's policy on Europe changed?
Sir Humphrey: Minister, Britain has had the same foreign policy objective for at least the last five hundred years: to create a disunited Europe. In that cause we have fought with the Dutch against the Spanish, with the Germans against the French, with the French and Italians against the Germans, and with the French against the Germans and Italians. Divide and rule, you see. Why should we change now, when it's worked so well?
Sir Humphrey: Minister, Britain has had the same foreign policy objective for at least the last five hundred years: to create a disunited Europe. In that cause we have fought with the Dutch against the Spanish, with the Germans against the French, with the French and Italians against the Germans, and with the French against the Germans and Italians. Divide and rule, you see. Why should we change now, when it's worked so well?
Hacker: That's all ancient history, surely?
Sir Humphrey: Yes, and current policy. We 'had' to break the whole thing [the EEC] up, so we had to get inside. We tried to break it up from the outside, but that wouldn't work. Now that we're inside we can make a complete pig's breakfast of the whole thing: set the Germans against the French, the French against the Italians, the Italians against the Dutch... The Foreign Office is terribly pleased; it's just like old times.
Sir Humphrey: Yes, and current policy. We 'had' to break the whole thing [the EEC] up, so we had to get inside. We tried to break it up from the outside, but that wouldn't work. Now that we're inside we can make a complete pig's breakfast of the whole thing: set the Germans against the French, the French against the Italians, the Italians against the Dutch... The Foreign Office is terribly pleased; it's just like old times.
Hacker: But surely we're all committed to the European ideal?
Sir Humphrey: [chuckles] Really, Minister.
Hacker: If not, why are we pushing for an increase in the membership?
Sir Humphrey: Well, for the same reason. It's just like the United Nations, in fact; the more members it has, the more arguments it can stir up, the more futile and impotent it becomes.
Sir Humphrey: [chuckles] Really, Minister.
Hacker: If not, why are we pushing for an increase in the membership?
Sir Humphrey: Well, for the same reason. It's just like the United Nations, in fact; the more members it has, the more arguments it can stir up, the more futile and impotent it becomes.
Hacker: What appalling cynicism.
Sir Humphrey: Yes... We call it diplomacy, Minister.
Sir Humphrey: Yes... We call it diplomacy, Minister.
-1:25
291,384 次觀看
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yes_Minister
Amazon.com
Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn's superb sitcom Yes, Prime Minister entered 10 Downing Street with Jim Hacker now Prime Minister of Britain, following a campaign to "Save the British Sausage." Whether tackling defense ("The Grand Design"), local government ("Power to the People"), or the National Education Service, all of Jim Hacker's bold plans for reform generally come to nothing, thanks to the machinations of Nigel Hawthorne's complacent Cabinet Secretary Sir Humphrey (Jeeves to Hacker's Wooster) who opposes any action of any sort on the part of the PM altogether. This is usually achieved by discreet horse-trading. In "One of Us," for instance, Hacker relents from implementing defense cuts when he is presented with the embarrassingly large bill he ran up in a vote-catching mission to rescue a stray dog on an army firing range. Only in "The Tangled Web," the final episode of series 2, does the PM at last turn the tables on Sir Humphrey. Paul Eddington is a joy as Hacker, whether in mock-Churchillian mode or visibly cowering whenever he is congratulated on a "courageous" idea. Jay and Lynn's script, meanwhile, is a dazzlingly Byzantine exercise in wordplay, wittily reflecting the verbiage-to-substance ratio of politics. Ironically, Yes, Prime Minister is an accurate depiction of practically all political eras except its own, the 1980s, when Thatcher successfully carried out a radical program regardless of harrumphing senior civil servants. --David Stubbs
Product Description
In an unlikely chain of events, Jim Hacker emerges as the most viable candidate for his party's next Prime Minister. Now that he gets his own car and driver, a nice house in London, a place in the country, endless publicity and a pension for life, what more does he want? Bernard: I think he wants to govern Britain. Sir Humphrey: Well, stop him, Bernard! Named one of the Top Ten TV programs of all time by the British Film Institute, this brilliantly observed comedy of manners pits the well-meaning Prime Minister Jim Hacker against the machinations of the Cabinet Secretary, Sir Humphrey Appleby, in the ultimate political marriage of inconvenience. Paul Eddington (Good Neighbors) stars as Jim Hacker and Academy Award nominee Nigel Hawthorne (The Madness of King George) first drew wide notice in the role of Sir Humphrey Appleby.是，大臣[編輯]
| 是，大臣 是，首相 Yes Minister Yes, Prime Minister | |
|---|---|
《是，大臣》的標題卡片
| |
| 類型 | 政治諷刺 英國情境喜劇 |
| 原創 | 安多尼·傑 喬納森· 林恩 |
| 主演 | 保羅·愛丁頓 奈傑爾·霍桑 德里克·福德斯 |
| 國家／地區 | 英國 |
| 語言 | 英語 |
| 系列數 | 5 |
| 集數 | 38[1][2] |
| 每集長度 | 30分鐘 （聖誕特別篇為60分鐘，另有幾部短片）[1] |
| 配樂作曲 | 羅尼·哈澤赫斯特 |
| 製作 | |
| 製作人 | 斯圖亞特·艾倫 雪梨·洛特比 皮特·懷特摩 |
| 機位 | 多機位 |
| 播映 | |
| 首播頻道 | BBC二台、Gold （後續系列）[3][4] |
| 圖像制式 | 576i (SDTV) |
| 播出日期 | 1980年2月25日[1]－1988年1月28日[2] |
《是，大臣》（Yes Minister，後來續集名為Yes, Prime Minister）是一套於1980年代播出的英國電視情境喜劇。這套影集走英式幽默的路線，由安東尼·傑（Antony Jay）與喬納森·林（Jonathan Lynn）創作，自1980年到1984年，在BBC上播出三季，每季7集。續集，《是，首相》，兩季，每季8集，在1986至1988年播出。上下兩部之外，還另有一部聖誕特別篇。總共有38集。除聖誕特別篇為60分鐘外，其餘37集為30分鐘。這套影集以嘲諷當時英國政壇各種現象為主題，是當時很受歡迎的電視影集。
香港TVB明珠台也曾經轉播這套影集，當時中文名叫《首相你想點》。中國大陸在中國中央電視台以《是，大臣》之名播出7集後，因譯制導演——上海電影譯制廠原廠長陳敘一去世，翻譯者後繼無人，不得不無疾而終。[5]
這部劇以一位英國政府內閣大臣在白廳的辦公室為背景（其後在《是，首相》續集中為唐寧街10號，即英國首相府），講述了由保羅·愛丁頓（Paul Eddington）扮演的內閣大臣吉姆·哈克 （Jim Hacker，《是，首相》中為首相）的執政歷程。他爭取的各項法令和工作效率的改善，都受到了英國行政部門的反抗，特別是他的常務次官（英國公務員中的高級官員）漢弗萊·阿普比爵士（由奈傑爾·霍桑（Nigel Hawthorne）飾演）。他的首席私人秘書伯納·伍利（Bernard Woolley，由德里克·福德斯（Derek Fowlds）飾演）是一個兩邊倒的牆頭草，然而，因為他的公務員身份，故此更多地受漢弗萊爵士（有權決定伯納的晉升離任）的影響。幾乎每集都是以漢弗萊爵士說，「是，大臣」結尾。漢弗萊爵士在這句台詞中回味他的勝利，或者，相當少的時候，承認他的失敗。
這部劇，無論在口碑，還是在評論家那裡，都取得了巨大的成功。它獲得了五個BAFTAs（英國電影和電視藝術學院電視獎），另有三個BAFTAs提名。 2004年的時候，它在英國最佳情境喜劇的投票中名列第六。這部劇也是英國首相柴契爾夫人最喜歡的一部電視影集。
書籍
此影集亦有相關衍生書籍出版——劇本輯錄成書，由BBC Books以日記體形式出版。至於海克沒出場的部分則以公務員之間的私人備忘錄、「訪問」及其他角色的信件填補。
《是，首相》的三部小說分別於1981年、1982年、1983年出版，後來結集成硬封面修訂本。
《Yes, Minister》的簡體中文版《是，大臣——一位內閣大臣的日記》（陳體芳等譯）及《是，首相——詹姆斯·哈克閣下的日記》（楊立義、婁炳坤譯）由學林出版社於1992年出版。程虹翻譯了《遵命大臣：內閣大臣海克爾日記》，有趣的是，她的丈夫李克強如今成為了中華人民共和國國務院總理（Prime Minister）[6]。繁體中譯本《好的，首相》由張南峰翻譯，香港中文大學出版社於1993年出版。
經典對白
- 人人平等，但是有些人比其他人更加「平等」（出自《動物農莊》）
- 拿破崙獎是北約頒發的一個獎……頒給對歐洲統一貢獻最大的政治家。 （補充）拿破崙以來，如果不算希特勒的話。
- ——人類沒有特權，哈克先生。我們不凌駕於自然之上，我們屬於自然。你知道，人也是動物。 ——我知道，我剛去過下議院。
- 實際上，只有城市中產階級操心保護鄉村的事情，因為他們不用住那裡。
- 我國政府的運作方式在於大臣從我們提供的方案中遴選決策，對吧？所以，如果他們掌握了事實，他們會看到其他可能性，甚至會自己提出方案來，而不從我們提供的兩三個方案中選。
- 有四個詞能讓大臣採納提案：快捷、簡單、時興、便宜。還有四個詞能讓提案被大臣否決：複雜、耗時、昂貴、爭議。要徹底排除大臣採納的可能性，就得說這個決定「有魄力」。「有爭議」只表示「會失去部分選票」，「有魄力」表示「會輸掉整個大選」！
- 政治第一定律：只有官方否認的才可信。
- ——信息自由運動進展如何？ ——對不起，我不能說。
- 公務員工作三原則：越拖延越高效，越費錢越便宜，越秘密越民主。
- 政府應對指責的五個標準理由（借口）
1.這些事都有合理解釋，但出於安全考慮，不能公開。 2.由於降低了預算，監管力量削弱才有了這一疏忽。 3.該實驗值得一做，並已經停止，得到了大量珍貴數據。還提供了就業。 4.有些重要信息，塵埃落定以後我們才能得知。下不為例。 5.由個人決策失誤引起，已根據內部紀律條例予以處理。
- 典型歐共體官員什麼樣？義大利人的組織能力，德國人的「彈性」，法國人的「謙遜」，再加上比利時人的「想像力」，荷蘭人的「慷慨」，還有愛爾蘭人的「智慧」！而且還是個美差！喝香檳、吃魚子醬、公家豪華轎車、私人飛機……個個都伸嘴在食槽里拱，大多數人連前蹄也伸了出去！
- （談歐共體）
——大臣，我們客觀的來看。這是各國利益的博弈場，我們為什麼要加入？ ——為了加強自由西方國家的聯盟。 ——大臣，是為了離間德法，從而壓倒法國。 ——那法國為何加入？ ——為保護他們沒用的農民免遭戰爭。 ——德國不是吧？ ——他們是為了清洗種族滅絕的罪名，請求重新加入人類社會！ ——這也太尖酸刻薄了！那些小國總不是為了自身利益吧！ ——是嗎？盧森堡是為了賞錢，作為歐共體首都，資金滾滾來。
參考資料[編輯]
^ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Lewisohn, Mark. Yes Minister. BBC Comedy Guide.[18 August 2007]. （原始內容存檔於13 October 2007）.
^ 2.0 2.1 Lewisohn, Mark. Yes, Prime Minister. BBC Comedy Guide. [18 August 2007]. （原始內容存檔於17 March 2007）.^ http://uktv.co.uk/gold/homepage/sid/7451
^ Yes, Prime Minister to be revived. BBC News. 29 March 2012.
^ 譯製片的無奈：我們還需要配音嗎？
^ http://cn.nytimes.com/article/culture-arts/2013/01/07/c07minister/
^ [1]
外部連結
BBC第七台《是，首相》Antony Jay, a Machiavelli Scholar and a Creator of ‘Yes Minister,’ Dies at 86
Antony Jay, whose keen appreciation of Machiavelli and corporate behavior helped make the 1980s British television series “Yes Minister” and “Yes, Prime Minister” instant classics of political satire, died on Aug. 21. He was 86.
His death was announced by a family spokesman, who did not state where Mr. Jay had died or the cause.
Mr. Jay, a producer at BBC Television and a writer for the satirical news program “That Was the Week That Was” in the 1960s, was a close student of complex organizations and the behavior of the people who ran them.
In his books “Management and Machiavelli: An Inquiry Into the Politics of Corporate Life” (1967) and “Corporation Man” (1972), he drew parallels between kings and business leaders; as a writer and producer of management training films for Video Arts, a company he founded with the comic actor John Cleese, he was practiced in mining corporate culture for comedic effect.
With Jonathan Lynn, a colleague at Video Arts, Mr. Jay decided to shine a bright light on the dark machinations of government and the relationship between public officials and civil servants, a strange codependency in which the nominally powerful ended up as putty in the hands of their ostensible inferiors.
In “Yes Minister,” which ran from 1980 to 1984, audiences delighted in the weekly predicaments faced by the Right Honorable James Hacker (Paul Eddington), the well-meaning head of the fictional Ministry for Administrative Affairs; his wily, smooth-talking permanent under secretary, Sir Humphrey Appleby (Nigel Hawthorne); and Sir Humphrey’s whipsawed private secretary, Bernard Woolley (Derek Fowlds).
In “Yes, Prime Minister,” the same cast returned, with Hacker elevated to prime minister. Both series were broadcast in the United States by PBS.
The series addressed, Mr. Jay told The New York Times in 1988, “the great undiscussed subject of British politics,” which he defined as “the tension not of left and right, not of Conservative and Socialist, but of all civil servants and all ministers.”
Audiences enjoyed the scrupulously nonpartisan skewering of narcissistic politicians and obstructionist bureaucrats. Ministers, members of Parliament and civil servants laughed or squirmed, depending on the joke.
“I suppose you could say that the fun of the series comes from showing civil servants as politicians see them and politicians as civil servants see them,” Mr. Jay told The Guardian in 1986. “I can tell you without any doubt that if you showed politicians and civil servants as they see themselves, you would have the most boring series television ever encountered.”
Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher declared “Yes Minister” her favorite program. “Its closely observed portrayal of what goes on in the corridors of power,” she told The Daily Telegraph, “has given me hours of pure joy.”
Antony Rupert Jay was born on April 20, 1930, in London. His father, Ernest, and his mother, the former Catherine Hay, were actors. He attended St. Paul’s School and Magdalene College, Cambridge, where he earned a degree in classics and comparative philology in 1952.
After serving two years with the Royal Signal Corps, he joined the current affairs department of BBC Television, where he developed the current affairs program “Tonight.” He became editor of the program and head of the television talk features department.
In 1957 he married Rosemary Watkins, who survives him, along with their four children: Michael, David, Ros and Kate.
Mr. Jay left the BBC in 1964 to become a freelance writer and producer. David Frost, with whom he worked on “That Was the Week That Was,” hired him as a writer for “The Frost Report,” and the two collaborated on a book, “To England With Love” (1967), a sendup of their countrymen published in the United States as “The English.”
He wrote the documentary “The Royal Family” to celebrate the investiture of Charles as Prince of Wales in 1969 and, with the director Edward Mirzoeff, wrote another royal documentary, “Elizabeth R.: A Year in the Life of the Queen” (1992), to mark the 40th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s accession. In 1988 he was made a bachelor knight of the realm.
In addition to “Management and Machiavelli,” which Forbes magazine called “among the most provocative and perceptive books ever written on the subject of management,” he wrote “Effective Presentation: The Communication of Ideas by Words and Visual Aids” (1970) and “The Householder’s Guide to Community Defense Against Bureaucratic Aggression” (1972).ading the main story
While writing on corporate culture and politics, Mr. Jay became interested in public choice, a branch of political theory that treats voters, politicians and civil servants as self-interested agents and analyzes their behavior accordingly. He was also influenced by the anthropological works of such writers as Robert Ardrey.
“I am fascinated by how organizations behave and how people behave in organizations,” he told The Daily Telegraph in 2005. “During my own experiences I saw how an awful lot of animal behavior, particularly primate behavior, comes up in the modern corporation.” All of this fed directly into his scripts for “Yes Minister.”
Mr. Lynn joined Mr. Jay in writing “The Complete Yes Minister,” presented as the edited and annotated diaries of James Hacker. It was published in 1984, and a sequel, “Yes, Prime Minister,” appeared in 1986. The two later collaborated on a stage version of “Yes Prime Minister.” Directed by Mr. Lynn, it opened at the Chichester Festival Theater in 2010 and later transferred to the West End in London.
Correction: August 31, 2016
An obituary on Tuesday about Antony Jay, a creator of the British television series “Yes Minister,” no comma is cq misstated the name of the fictional government agency depicted in that show. It was the Ministry of Administrative Affairs, not the Ministry of Administrative Public Affairs.
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