评论
打印
Sheila steps into a wood-paneled room and addresses a ring of home-care aides in navy blue scrubs.
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。
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.”
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，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.
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。
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.”
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.
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。
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.
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: “Y’all have any questions for me? Any comments for me?”
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？”
This innocent query opens a floodgate of discontent that takes both Sheila and the viewer by surprise.
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.
有关于工作计时和跟踪支付系统的问题。
An aide named Amanda says a client had her drive 10 miles to pick up a pizza: “Is the GPS picking up all that?”
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.
希拉同情地说，不能，护工不会因为额外的跑腿而获得报酬。
“It don’t seem right,” she concedes, “because you’re burning your gas.”
“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.
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。
“How are we supposed to live and survive?” one woman asks. “We have kids to take care of, homes to take care of.”
“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.
卡罗琳指出，她在公司工作了近三年，却没有涨过薪。
Sheila stares downward, as though battening her emotional hatches.
希拉低头盯着地面，似乎准备好要迎接一场情绪风暴。
The scene is documentary gold. It requires no commentary, no interviews.
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。
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.
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.
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。
We feel righteous anger at whoever might be to blame for all this dissatisfaction. But who, precisely, is that?
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的其中之一。
