Aquí tenéis una serie de textos en inglés para traducir al español. Podéis dejar vuestras respuestas en los comentarios.
El tema de hoy es “cultura popular”.
Here you have some English texts to translate into Spanish. You can leave your answer as a comment.
Today’s topic is “popular culture”.
“Reality TV is a term for television shows based on a group of real people who are put in an unusual or dangerous situation, or given the chance to achieve an ambition. Their experiences are shown live on television as entertainment. Reality TV often takes the form of a game, in which the viewers vote for people to leave the show until there is only one left. This person is the winner and receives a prize.”
“I didn’t expect to enjoy ‘Les Miserables’ because generally I’m not that keen on musicals, but I was given a ticket, so I went to see it.
The plot is quite complicated. It’s set in 19th century France, and it’s based on a story by the writer Victor Hugo. It’s about a man called Jean Valjean, who is sent to prison for 19 years just for stealing a loaf of bread. When he gets out of prison, Jean tries to make a new life for himself, but he finds this very difficult as an ex-convict, so he breaks his parole. Eventually, Inspector Javert finds him, and…well, I won’t reveal the ending!
The story was very moving and there were some wonderful songs. I thought that the main stars sang and danced brilliantly, and the costumes were superb. It’s one of the best shows I’ve ever seen, and I’m very glad that I decided to go.”
“In the following illustrated compilation are some of the most significant films in the history of sex on the screen. The influential film milestones and their memorable sexual/erotic scenes are thoroughly described. Including portrayals of sex and/or nudity, these films were often considered quite erotic, groundbreaking, unique and/or controversial at the time. The following listing of these influential, memorable and classic sex scenes and films takes into account all of the available surveys of this type of material, and attempts to provide an informed, detailed, unranked, chronological (by film title) grouping of the most influential and groundbreaking films and scenes. Some of the most notorious (or infamous) films are quite mediocre, usually made as an excuse to display nudity or eroticism of a star performer.”
“Rock and roll is not about structural innovation. One could apply “structural listening” to rock and roll, but it would be like using a microscope to read a magazine. The structure is already given, and is easily discerned. Rock and roll creates its effect through repetition (both across and within individual songs) and slight variation. The established forms and styles of rock trigger emotional responses, responses which are historically prescribed. By triggering the pleasure-effects of established styles, and at the same time introducing variations within its standard structures, rock and roll inspires both the comfort of the familiar and the thrill of the new.”
“In his most recent book, First as Tragedy, Then as Farce, Slavoj Zizek blames the failure of contemporary activism on our assumption that time is a one-way line from past to future. He argues that activism is failing to avert the coming catastrophe because it subscribes to the same notions of linear time as industrial society. According to Zizek, a regeneration of activism must begin with a change in our understanding of temporality. Paraphrasing Jean-Pierre Dupuy, Zizek explains that “if we are to confront adequately the threat of (social or environmental) catastrophe, we need to break out of this ‘historical’ notion of temporality: We have to introduce a new notion of time.” This new notion of time is a shift of perspective from historical progress to the timelessness of a revolutionary moment.”
“So, what’s up in 90210? What is the ideological spin of the series? Upon what cultural mythologies is the series built, and how are they connoted in the text? How do the writers work the issue of ‘realism’? What aesthetic strategies do they deploy to allow them to deal at this moment with this litany of ‘contemporary issues’: teen alcoholism, a parent’s addiction, teen sexuality, drinking and driving, date rape, eating disorders, racism, classism, child abuse, adoption, obsessive relationships, drugs, AIDS, steroid abuse, teen suicide, breast cancer, finding oneself the victim of a violent crime, toxic waste dumping, gambling, the divorce of one’s parents?”
