又中又英｜Get into hot water

Many Asians are obsessed with their skin colour. East Asian women in places such as China, Japan, South Korea, and Hong Kong often use umbrellas on sunny days to prevent their skin from darkening. They also use skin-whitening creams. Skin colour in places like India ranges from almost white to dark brown. Many South Asian women with darker skin go to extreme lengths to lighten their skin with creams. Skin-lightening in Asia is a multi-billion-dollar business. Movie directors often get into hot water when, for example, they choose white movie stars to play the part of Asians.

Netflix is now in hot water for choosing a mixed-race actress, who is mostly black, to play Cleopatra for its new four-part drama series. Cleopatra, an Egyptian queen, died more than 2000 years ago but Egyptian experts are furious with Netflix for choosing a black woman to play her. They insist Cleopatra was white with Greek features. To go to extreme lengths means to try very hard to achieve something. If you are in hot water, it means you are in a very difficult situation. Elizabeth Taylor, a white Hollywood actress, played Cleopatra in a 1963 movie. Cleopatra was born in Egypt of Macedonian descent. People of ancient Macedonia were considered white, but many historians say Cleopatra was of mixed-race.

Netflix said Cleopatra's ethnicity is not the focus of the TV series. It chose a mixed-race actress to play her because its research showed Cleopatra was likely mixed-race with Egyptian blood. For me, it's just a drama-documentary which I plan to watch. It is puerile (childish, silly) to argue about the skin colour of someone born in 69 BC.

许多亚洲人都很执迷于自己的肤色，在东亚例如中国、日本、南韩和香港等地的女士，在阳光普照的日子常会撑伞避免晒黑。他们也会用美白的乳霜。在一些地方例如印度，肤色由接近白色至深棕色不等。许多肤色较深的南亚女士会倾尽全力（go to extreme lengths）用乳霜去让自己的肤色变白。在亚洲，美白是门数以十亿元计的生意。假若电影导演选用白人电影明星去饰演亚洲人，便常会惹上麻烦（get into hot water）。

Netflix现在于其最新的四集电视剧中，选了一个混血、主要是黑人的女演员，去饰演埃及妖后，就惹上大麻烦（in hot water）了。埃及妖后克丽奥佩特拉死了超过2000年，但对于Netflix起用一个黑人女人去出演，研究埃及的专家们都勃然大怒。他们坚持，埃及妖后是带有希腊特徵的白人女性。To go to extreme lengths就是不顾一切、竭尽全力的去达成某事。若你是 in hot water，意即你在困境中，遇上大麻烦了。荷里活的白人女演员伊利沙伯‧泰莱，就曾于1963年的电影中饰演埃及妖后。克丽奥佩特拉出生于埃及，有着马其顿血统。古代马其顿的人被认为是白人，但许多历史学家都说克丽奥佩特拉是混血的。

Netflix说，克丽奥佩特拉的种族并非电视剧集的焦点。它起用一名混血的女演员去饰演，因为研究显示克丽奥佩特拉很可能是有埃及人血统的混血儿。对我来说，它不过是一出我准备会看的剧情纪录片。要去争拗一个生于公元前69年的人的肤色，实在幼稚（puerile）得很。

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Michael Chugani褚简宁
中译：七刻