Politics uncovered

“白宫小透明”要逆袭了？

Politics can be fun – or at least funny.

政治可以很有趣 —— 或者至少很好玩。

This is what HBO's Veep has been trying to do – by making US presidential election into a comedy.

这正是HBO出品的美剧《副总统》试图做到的一点 —— 让美国总统大选成为喜剧。

Debuted in 2012, Veep follows the daily life of Selina Meyer, the fictional vice-president (or "Veep" for short) of the US. We see that as much as Meyer wants to have an influence, she – despite being the second-in-command of the country – is constantly ignored by the president and left out of important meetings. Although Meyer herself isn't exactly capable: She has to put out political fires every once in a while but usually ends up making things worse.

美剧《副总统》于2012年首播，讲述了一位虚构的美国副总统赛琳娜·梅耶的日常生活。剧中， 身为副手的梅耶想要有所作为，却一直被总统忽视，因而被排除在各种重要会议之外。梅耶的自身能力并不强：她时不时要处理政治上的分歧，但却往往让情况变得更糟。

The show also finds humor in a much darker side of politics: the fake smiles, racism and wrongdoings of politicians. When a mass shooting happens in the show, for example, instead of feeling shocked, Meyer is actually glad, because she feels it may help to distract people from her own disasters.

该剧也在政治阴暗面中挖掘出了幽默感：假笑、种族歧视以及政客们的错误行为。比如，当剧中发生了一场大规模枪击案时，梅耶非但没有震惊，反而相当高兴，因为她认为这件事或许能转移人们的注意力，不那么关注她的“烂摊子”。

"It feels like peeking behind a curtain and seeing the truth of who these politicians really are," wrote reporter Kathryn VanArendonk on Vulture.

“这部剧感觉就像从窗帘后面窥视这些政客的真实一面，”记者凯瑟琳·凡纳伦多克在Vulture网站上写道。

But Veep is refreshing not just for the way it handles politics, but also because it features a woman as its lead politician, especially in a comedy, considering the fact that comedies used to be an all-male territory.

但《副总统》令人眼前一亮之处不仅在于其处理政治内容的方式，还在于剧中主角是一位女性领导人。这在一部喜剧中尤为少见，因为此前，喜剧一直是男性的天下。

"There's more opportunity for women in comedic roles than 20 or 30 years ago," Julia Louis-Dreyfus, 58, who plays Meyer, said in an interview with Time magazine. "There's more opportunity for roles that are not just the wife – the angry wife – or the girlfriend – the cute, hot girlfriend."

“和二三十年前相比，女性在喜剧角色上有了更多机会，”现年58岁的梅耶扮演者茱莉亚·路易斯-德瑞弗斯在接受《时代周刊》采访时表示。“女性角色发挥的机会也变得更多了，不仅仅是愤怒的妻子，或者可爱性感的女友。”

In the 7th and final season of Veep, which came out on March 31, Meyer is finally running for president. Fans are speculating over whether she will make it to the Oval Office.

在3月31日播出的《副总统》第七季（也是最终季）中，梅耶终于决定竞选总统。剧迷们都在纷纷猜测她最终是否会入主白宫。

But no matter where the show – and Meyer – is heading, and whether or not you appreciate its political implications, the bottom line here is that Veep is funny. And what more can we ask from a comedy?

但不论剧集 —— 以及梅耶 —— 最终将走向何方，不论你是否喜欢剧中的政治深意，最起码《副总统》是部好玩有趣的剧。对于一部喜剧而言，我们还能有什么别的要求呢？