解读The Beautiful People

每次看见光鲜的人物，我的脑子里都想起曼森的“the beautiful people, the beautiful people...”。终于有一天我上网好好查了查。发现了一篇解读。翻译并记录一下。（为啥爱听本土音乐，也是因为我这能力英语语境解读起来那个费劲。。听歌就剩听个响，别的都好难懂）

来源是https://www.songmeaningsandfacts.com/

Lyrically this is a relatively-complex song, to say the least. For instance, the name of this trackwas derived froman influential 1960s book by American author Marylin Bender whose title is“The Beautiful People”.This tune was alsoinfluenced by the teaching ofFriedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900). Nietzsche was a 19thcentury philosopher who had many deep things to say concerning just about everything.

这是一首歌词相对复杂的歌曲。例如，这条曲目的名字来自美国作家玛丽琳·本德在20世纪60年代出版的一本有影响力的书，书名就叫《美丽的人》。这首曲子也受到弗里德里希·尼采（1844-1900）的影响。尼采是一位19世纪的哲学家，他对于很多事都有深刻的见解。

But more specifically in that regard, it concerns a semi-complex philosophy he put forth calledÜbermensch which more or less reads like a classic case of social Darwinism.Marilyn also brings up “capitalism” and “old-fashioned fascism” in the lyrics.And all of these combined come together to form sort of a protest song being relayed by the band.

但更具体地说，在这方面，它涉及到他提出的一种半复杂的哲学，叫做"伯门施"，它或多或少读起来就像是社会达尔文主义的经典案例。玛丽莲还在歌词中提到了"资本主义"和"老式法西斯主义"。所有这些组合在一起， 组成了一种抗议式的歌曲。

And for the sake of readability, we will term what it is they are confronting, as Marilyn has, simply as“the culture of beauty”. But by the end of this post, after further analyzing all of the above, it shall be revealed that the main idea whichthis songis putting forth is a rather-simple one.

简单地说，我们将他们谈论的主题归纳为"美的文化"。 但经过本文的分析，你可能会发现这首歌的主要思想其实也没多复杂。

Within the context of the song (and the book it was derived from), what the titular term refers to, put as simply as possible, is American culture’s obsession with beauty.Or stated differently, let’s say that even everyday people are under a considerable amount of pressure to be physically attractive.And if they don’t live up to that ideology, their self-esteem is most often negatively affected.And this entire state of affairs has Marilyn Manson pissed off.

在歌曲（以及它来自的书）的语境中，标题术语所指的，简言之，是美国文化对美的痴迷。或者说，即使是普通人也为了具备身体上的吸引力而承受着相当大的压力。如果他们不履行这种意识形态，他们的自尊心往往受到负面影响。整个事态让玛丽莲·曼森很生气。

So the singer commences by artistically taking on the role of culture’s rulers.He does so as a roundabout way of highlighting how the privileged oftentimes view themselves superior to those who are “weak”.Or rather let’s postulate that at this particular point, the overall impression being put forth is that being “beautiful” isn’t so much about your looks as it is the class you belong to.Or rather the American/Western concept of beauty is intermingled with wealth/materialism.

因此，这位歌手首先在艺术上扮演了文化统治者的角色。他这样做是强调特权阶层往往认为自己优于那些"软弱"的人的一种绕道而行的方式。或者更确切地说，让我们假设，在这个特定点，被提出的总体印象是，"美丽"与其说是你的容貌，不如说是你属于的阶级。或者更确切地说，美国/西方的美的概念与财富/物质主义混为一体。

So for the most part, this particular passage can be read as a criticism of capitalist ideology.And while they’re at it, the band concludes the verse by also apparently taking a couple of jabs at organized religion (i.e. Christianity). It is worth stating that organized religion is another system which Manson has been known not to be too particularly fond of (i.e. the title of the album this song is featured on).

因此，在大多数情况下，这段话可以被解读为对资本主义意识形态的批评。乐队显然也通过抨击一些有组织的宗教 （比如基督教）来传达这个意思 。值得指出的是，有组织的宗教也是曼森一直不怎么待见的事物（比如这首歌所属专辑的标题）。

Second Verse

The second verse is a bit more-challenging to decipher. But going a bit out on a limb, we’ll say the first half of it may be alluding to the notion that no matter how someone may appear externally, internally we’re all defiled. And the second half is when Marilyn brings up the aforementioned references to “capitalism” and “fascism”. And the vocalist comes off as if he is espousing the latter over the former.

第二节

第二节的解释有点挑战性。它的前半部分可能暗指，无论有人的外部如何光鲜，内心里我们都挺脏。下半部分，是玛丽莲提到上述"资本主义"和"法西斯主义"。而且似乎他支持后者多余前者。

However, all things considered, such will logically be a symbolic as opposed to literal statement. And it appears that what he is actually saying, in layman’s terms so to speak, is that ultimately the culture of beauty will, or maybe can only be overcome by a culture of ruthlessness. Or perhaps he’s just fantasizing about something like that.

然而，从逻辑上讲，这都是一个象征性的陈述，而不是字面意思。用外行的话说，他实际上是在说，美的文化最终会现实的残酷所取代。或者他只是幻想发生这样的事情。

The Chorus

Meanwhile the chorus(es) appears to be based on two different concepts. First would be one hinting at the oppressive nature of the culture of beauty. Or stated differently, it would seem that Marilyn Manson equates the pressure for one to always appear beautiful as being akin to some type of captivity or imprisonment. And considering that such a thought process is once again dominant in American/Western society, then by extension the entire culture in and of itself is oppressive.

重复段

同时，重复段似乎基于两个不同的概念。首先是暗示美文化的压迫性。或者说，玛丽莲·曼森似乎把一个人总是追求光鲜的压力等同于某种囚禁或监禁。这样的思维再次在美国/西方社会占据主导地位，那么整个社会文化本身就具有压迫性。

In Conclusion

And secondly, which we can confidently conclude is the thesis statement of “The Beautiful People”, is the assertion that the culture of beauty is vain. That’s the concept which all of the metaphors and philosophical backgrounds and even the imagery on the music video, where Marilyn Manson appears as distastefully as possible, is ultimately meant to lead the audience back to. And it can be further said, taking the content of the intro into consideration for instance, that that vocalist actually hates individuals who operate under said mode of thinking.

我们可以自信地总结这首歌，就是，所谓"美的文化"是没有意义的。这就是歌中所有隐喻，哲学背景，甚至MV的影像的核心概念。玛丽莲·曼森尽可能用令人厌恶地外表出现，最终意在引导观众回到这个核心概念。可以进一步说，歌手实际上讨厌的是这种思维方式下生活的人。