(单词翻译:单击)
By the mid-20th century, the historian Warren Susman argued, a great shift was taking place.
历史学家沃伦·苏斯曼认为，到20世纪中期，一场巨大的转变正在发生。
American values had traditionally emphasized a collection of qualities we might shorthand as “character”: honesty, diligence, an abiding sense of duty.
美国的价值观传统上强调诸多我们可以简称为“品格”的特质：诚实、勤奋、持久的责任感。
The rise of mass media changed those terms, Susman wrote.
苏斯曼写道，大众传媒的兴起改变了这些说法。
In the media savvy and consumption-oriented society that Americans were building, people came to value — and therefore demand — what Susman called “personality”: charm, likability, the talent to entertain.
在这个美国人正在打造的深谙媒体之道、以消费为导向的社会，人们开始重视--也因此要求--苏斯曼所说的“个性”：魅力值、讨喜度、娱乐才能。
“The social role demanded of all in the new Culture of Personality was that of a performer,” Susman wrote. “Every American was to become a performing self.” That demand remains.
苏斯曼写道: “在新的个性文化中，所有人的社会角色都是演员。每个美国人都要去表演自我。” 这种需求仍然存在。
Now, though, the value is not merely interpersonal charm, but the ability to broadcast it to mass audiences.
然而，现在注重的不仅仅是人际魅力，而且还有向大众传播的能力。
Social media has truly made each of us a performing self.
社交媒体真的让我们每个人都成为了一个自我表演者。
“All the world’s a stage” was once a metaphor; today, it’s a dull description of life in the metaverse.
“全世界都是舞台” 曾经是一个比喻; 今天，这是对虚拟世界生活的枯燥描述。
As the journalist Neal Gabler foresaw in his book Life: The Movie, performance, as a language but also as a value, bleeds into nearly every facet of experience.
正如记者尼尔·加布勒在《生活:电影》一书中所预见的那样，表演作为一种语言，同时也是一种价值，几乎渗透到经历的方方面面。
A recent H&M ad campaign promised that the brand would make sure that “you are the main character of each day.”
H&M最近的一则广告承诺，该品牌将确保“你是每一天的主角”。
In September, my partner booked a hotel room for a weekend trip; the confirmation email vowed that the stay would allow him to “craft your next story.”
9月，我的同伴预订了周末旅行的酒店房间; 确认邮件发誓暂住这里将让他“编造你的下一个故事。”
My iPhone is now in the habit of transforming photographs and videos from my camera roll into mini-movies.
我的iPhone现在习惯于将相机中的照片和视频转换为迷你电影。
The bespoke videos come with a soundtrack selected by the operating system.
这个定制视频配有操作系统选择的电影配乐。
They also come unprompted: I was recently served up a slideshow, set to strings that Ken Burns might appreciate, of pictures I’d taken of my dog.
它们也会自发产生：我最近收到了一个幻灯片，肯·伯恩斯可能会喜欢的我给狗狗拍的一系列照片。
The aim, of course, is commercial.
当然，这是出于商业目的。
What better way to encourage customers to be loyal than to tell them their life should be a movie?
还有什么比告诉客户他们的生活应该是一部电影更好的鼓励客户忠诚的方法呢？
A life so full that it gets optioned: the new American dream.
一种如此充实的生活，以至于可以选择：新美国梦。
