绝望的主妇开场片头动画的含义与解析
绝望的主妇是一部以女性为中心的黑色喜剧电视，风靡全球近一个年代。它是播放时间最长的一部电视剧，以女性为主导的一部电视剧。下面，我将以片头动画里所展现的一些典型的女性特质，带大家一起探索美国社会对妇女的认知。同时，开场动画所代表的女性形象以及她们的发展进程，这些动画人物形象通过著名的女性及婚姻艺术作品（主要以油画）所传导，动画与艺术作品的结合能够更清晰地展示片头想要传达的意境。
Desperate Housewives in an award winning comedy-drama series which run for over a decade, beginning in 2004 and ending with the most watched series finale of 2012. It was renowned for being the longest running hour-long series which featured all female leads. I will be exploring the characterisation used in the opening sequel to meet archetypal female character conventions and explore society’s perception of women. As well as the representations in the opening of women and how they evolve through time, which is conveyed by presenting famous art work of marriages and women and adding animation to the art to make the meaning clear.
我们必要承认：在绝望的主妇这部剧里，所有剧组人员创建出的场景和画面都是为了传递信息服务的，每个细节都有它的目的；场面调度、影视艺术及文字编排都是以一种特别的方式在表达意义，以某些特定的手法来描绘某件事情。尤其是绝望的主妇里以女权主义为中心的话题描述，这个我在后面再来分析探讨。
It must be recognised that all of these shots have been created to send a message, every detail has a purpose; the mise en scene, cinematography and editing all have been used in a specific way to make meaning, to portray something in a certain way. Specifically to Desperate Housewives the depiction of femininity is centralised which is what I will be exploring and analysing.
片头动画一开始，首先出现了亚当与夏娃的油画 【由德国文艺复兴时期的油画大师 Lucas Cranach the Elder（老·卢卡斯·克拉纳赫：1472 – 1553） 创作，他的儿子小·卢卡斯·克拉纳赫继承了他的衣钵，也是当地杰作的画家】，亚当与面具夏娃站在一颗苹果树下，这颗苹果树象征着伊甸园里的智慧树。我们看到夏娃接下了蛇嘴里的苹果，苹果立马变大，这时传说中的禁果从树上砸下，并压垮了亚当。夏娃，作为这个女性人物的象征，便成了男性的陨落的罪魁祸首。这也提示了早期人类起源里亚当与夏娃各自扮演的角色，人们普遍认为夏娃是个罪恶的妖妇，男人所犯下的错误都因夏娃而起，非常的不公允。随着动画接着传递，我们看到不同阶段，女性所扮演以及被社会所认定的角色。
The opening sequel begins with Adam and Eve standing below an apple tree which we learn to be the tree of knowledge. Eve then accepts the apple from the snake on the tree resulting in an oversized apple, a forbidden fruit from the tree falling and crushing Adam. Through this Eve, who is the symbol for all women is being portrayed as blameworthy for man’s downfall. This refers to the story of Adam and Eve in the Genesis and could be viewed as criticising the religious, common view that women are sinful temptresses and are therefore blamed for men’s mistakes, unjustly. The sequel continues to depict the different roles society forced upon women through time.
这个接下禁果的夏娃，闲得无聊，用创作者自己的话说：这是表达对丈夫的不满，比较明显的觉得体现在剧中角色Gaby身上。
之后我们看到的是埃及象形文字，然后出现了一个非常醒目的女者：她是Ramesses the Great （拉美西斯大帝，在位于古埃及法老掌权的鼎盛时期，又称拉美西斯二世）的王妃：妮菲塔莉。Nefertari这个名字的寓意是：美丽的陪伴者。她跟《绝望的主妇》这部剧里的其它女人一样，担任着一个普通妻子的角色。所以镜头上出现了被众多的孩子包裹着而喘不过气，这暗示着女性婚后生子回归家庭，整天围绕着孩子打转而分身乏术。在那个时代，女人的地位和声望完全仰丈于自己的丈夫，就像现今中国仍有很多家庭主妇一样，扮演着相夫教子的角色。这里有一个值得注意的地方：妮菲塔莉王妃的名字的象征意义（成为美丽的陪伴者），也凸显了女性只是作为男权社会附庸和隶属的存在。
The next illustration is of the Egyptian hieroglyphics[ˌhaɪərə’ɡlɪfɪks] and features one of the most famous royal wives of Ramesses the Great; Nefertari. Her name means “beautiful companion.” She is a woman who is known for her role as a wife like many of the characters who feature in this show. This could present the time in which women were only renowned through their husbands, like housewives who stay at home succumbing to the traditional roles of womanhood and depending on a man. She could also be included in the sequel to present that even centuries ago women were dependant on their husband’s status. The meaning of her name could also reinforce her passive role as it emphasises her role; to be a companion to her husband and to be beautiful, both shallow and passive elements.
接下来这个埃及的女王被一群孩子包围，伸手挣扎了半天掉下去，这也可以看作女人在家庭生活中被孩子折磨得无以复加，比较明显的觉得体现在剧中角色Lynette身上。
再往下，我们看到了著名油画《阿尔诺芬尼夫妇像》的特写，这幅画里的丈夫是一个意大利的富商和银行家，而妻子是一个与他离婚之后，再次嫁给他的女人，而这个妻子的角色象征了女人在当时婚姻中处于被动的女人们。我们可以看到：在《绝望的主妇》片头动画的这张油画中，意大利商人丈夫吃完香蕉随便往地上一扔，之后他的妻子马上过来清扫了香蕉皮，以及他身后的一堆垃圾，即使当时还怀着身孕，这也表现出了当时妇女的两个特征：打理家务和生育孩子。这与传统观念相呼应：男人是财富的独立创造者，做好贤内助是女人的本分。
注：这幅画对应《绝望的主妇》像片着Lynette与Tom这对夫妻，在《绝望的主妇》第一季第三集里面，有这样一段对话：
Lynette: I was looking so forward to a night out. 我每天都期盼着 在外面玩上一晚
Tom: I know, sweetie, I’m sorry, but…I… 我知道 亲爱的 我很抱歉 但是
——>> I’m beat. 我太累了
——>> I mean, do you remember what it was like to work a 60-hour week? 还记得一周工作60小时的时候吗
注意Tom最后的一句话，表明他认为家务活并不是什么特别有挑战的事，而且肯定没法跟他一周60个小时的工作量相提并论。这种对她老婆工作辛苦不以为然的潜意识通过他往刚洗干净的衣服里面扔香蕉皮得以放大，就好似他对把衣服洗净晾干这点事感觉都是机器做的一样。
There is then a close up shot of the well known oil painting “The Arnolfini Potrait” which is of Giovanni di Nicolao Arnolfini and his wife, dating back to 1434. The husband was known for being a wealthy italian merchant whilst the wife was known for marrying him again presenting women to hold a passive role in a marriage. On the opening sequel of Desperate Housewives the husband is made to throw a banana – a fallacy[‘fæləsi] symbol on the floor of their home and the wife immediately cleans it up after him, despite being pregnant: presenting women’s key feature as to give birth and clean. This presents the traditional view that men are the sole provider of wealth and the women therefore must clean up after them.
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