Sheila steps into a wood-paneled room and addresses a ring of home-care aides in navy blue scrubs. Soft light filters through the curtains as they begin with a prayer: "Father God, as we go through this meeting, open up our minds, open up our ears, so we can hear, so we can see. Amen."
希拉走进一间墙壁镶着木板的房间,向围坐成一圈的、穿着藏蓝色防护衣的家庭护工讲话。柔和的光线透过窗帘照进来,她们开始祈祷:"父神,在我们进行这次会议时,请开启我们的思想,请开启我们的耳朵,让我们可以听到,让我们可以看到。阿门。"
The aides take turns introducing themselves and offering brief sketches of their jobs. Sheila is their manager. They are employed by At Home Care, LLC, a business in southeastern Mississippi, and they are speaking to a camera -- to a documentary crew that is filming their meeting for a mini-series titled "Working: What We Do All Day."
护工们轮流自我介绍,并简要描述自己的工作。希拉是她们的经理。这些护工受雇于密西西比州东南部的家庭护理有限责任公司,她们此刻正在对着摄像机说话:一个纪录片摄制组正在拍摄这场会议,这个摄制组在拍的迷你剧集纪录片叫《工作:我们整天都在做什么》。
Some describe the closeness they have with the people whose bedpans they change, whose medications they administer. One, Caroline, her pulled-back hair flecked with gray, says she probably knows the clients she takes care of better than their own children do.
一些护工描述了她们与被照顾的人之间的亲密关系,她们给这些人更换便盆、给他们服药。其中一位护工叫卡罗琳,她向后梳起的头发有几缕灰白,她说她可能比客户自己的子女还要更了解她所照顾的客户。
Then Sheila asks: "You all have any questions for me? Any comments for me?" This innocent query opens a floodgate of discontent that takes both Sheila and the viewer by surprise.
然后希拉问:"你们有什么问题要问我吗?对我有什么要说的吗?"这个单纯的提问立刻打开了倾泻不满的闸门,让希拉和观众都大吃一惊。
There are questions about time-keeping and payment-tracking systems. An aide named Amanda says a client had her drive 10 miles to pick up a pizza: "Is the GPS picking up all that?"
有关于工作计时和跟踪支付系统的问题。一位名叫阿曼达的护工说,一位客户让她开车10英里去取披萨:"GPS能检测到我的这些行程吗?"
No, Sheila says sympathetically, aides don't get paid for extra driving. "It don't seem right," she concedes, "because you're burning your gas."
希拉同情地说,不能,护工不会因为额外的跑腿而获得报酬。"这确实不太合理,"希拉承认,"因为烧的是你的汽油。"
None of this releases the pressure in the room; if anything, it just keeps building. "How are we supposed to live and survive?" one woman asks. "We have kids to take care of, homes to take care of."
这些话无法让房间里的压力得到释放,压力反而在不断增加。"我们要怎么活下去呢?"一位女士问道,"我们要养孩子,还要养家。"
Caroline notes that she has been with the company for almost three years without seeing a raise. Sheila stares downward, as though battening her emotional hatches.
卡罗琳指出,她在公司工作了近三年,却没有涨过薪。希拉低头盯着地面,似乎在情绪上已经准备好要迎接一场风暴。
The scene is documentary gold. It requires no commentary, no interviews. It is a simple, powerful illustration of an American workplace, boiling like a pot of tomato sauce, ready to spit hot rivulets of grievance at anyone who stirs it.
这一场景是纪录片的黄金时刻。此时不需要评论,也不需要采访。它简单而有力地表现了美国的工作环境:就像一锅煮沸的番茄酱,只要有人搅动它,就会随时喷溅出如汤汁般滚烫的怨愤。
We feel for the workers. We feel for Sheila, who seems caught in a crossfire, trying her best. We feel righteous anger at whoever might be to blame for all this dissatisfaction. But who, precisely, is that?
我们同情护工们。我们同情希拉,她仿佛陷入了一场交火,但还在尽自己最大的努力。我们对造成所有这些不满的罪魁祸首感到义愤填膺。但这个罪魁祸首到底是谁呢?
This is one of many big questions that "Working" may not have anywhere near enough time to answer.
这是《工作》根本来不及回答的许多宏大问题之一。