Sisonke Msimang: If a story moves you, act on it
錫松克 姆西曼: 如果故事打動你,就請開始行動
Sisonke Msimang untangles the threads of race, class and gender that run through the fabric of African and global culture. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
doing a TED Talk.
and the panicking,
of Googling how to give a great TED Talk.
如何發表一場完美的 TED 演說。
奇瑪曼達.恩格茲.阿迪契。
because I always Google her
因為我經常 Google 她,
important and interesting things to say.
重要又有趣的事情。
when we have a solitary lens
certain groups of people,
if I had been famous first.
這就是我想進行的演講。
而我也是非洲人;
like, she's African and I'm African,
而我也是女權主義者;
and I'm a storyteller,
to learn how to code,
of that talk that existed,
and deliver it as if it was my own speech.
except the coding part,
除了寫程式的部分之外;
of a certain presidential candidate
某位總統候選人的太太
另一個我喜歡的人在演講,
given by one of my other faves,
probably write my own TED Talk,
自己的 TED 演講稿,
「說故事」的觀察。
my own observations about storytelling.
about the power of stories, of course,
about their limitations,
who are interested in social justice.
某些關注社會正義的人。
seven years ago,
in the telling of one tired old tale,
lots to celebrate about the flourishing
是很值得慶祝的事。
and connected via the internet,
而且能連上網際網路,
at the touch of a button
只需要按下滑鼠按鈕,
to grow up Dalit in Kolkata.
賤民階層如何生活。
man in Australia
of raising his children in dignity
具有自尊的孩子,
of people in our societies
because they make us care.
called the Centre for Stories.
「故事中心」的地方工作。
例如我們經常討論的議題:
about what it means to be black
or any of those other categories
as a social justice activist,
about nonfiction storytelling
所持的態度和方式,
more than entertainment,
a catalyst for social action.
the world a better place.
that even the most poignant stories,
即使是最讓人感動的故事,
who no one seems to care about,
of action towards social justice.
storytellers mean any harm.
故意要造成傷害。
like me and, I suspect, yourselves.
例如我,以及在座的你們。
and empathetic people.
意想不到的後果,
can have unintended consequences,
are not as magical as they seem.
說故事並不像看起來那麽神奇。
it's always got to be three --
make the world a better place.
an illusion of solidarity.
「共同一致」的幻覺。
like that feel-good factor you get
聽了奇幻故事一樣,
climbed that mountain, right,
that death row inmate.
towards social action.
then you care about them.
你自然就會關心他們。
as having a moral obligation
自己負有道義責任,
that shaped their lives.
when I was 14 years old.
你不一定要喜歡某個人,
you don't have to like someone
don't have to like someone
riding slowly enough, which I was.
我當時就是這樣。
I'm cutting across this field
where I grew up,
slowly pedaling,
in the getaway vehicle,
and I'm on the floor,
我還倒在地上,
才買了這輛脚踏車,
a lot of money for that bike,
and I start screaming.
and I start screaming, "Mwizi, mwizi!"
"Mwizi, mwizi! "
代表「小偷」的意思。
all of these people come out
正在興起。是吧?
and they've captured him,
他們已經抓住了小偷。
typical African justice, right?
with this unbridled fury.
confronted with someone
而不喜歡我的人。
simply because of what I represent.
with this look as if to say,
and your bike, you're angry at me?"
還有一輛脚踏車,你對我生氣?」
that he didn't like me,
living in a poor country.
我是一個生長在中產階層的小孩。
而他幾乎連食物都沒有。
that we don't want to hear,
want to crawl out of ourselves,
who steals your heart,
故事演說者背後,
whose voices are slurred and ragged,
疲憊不堪的聲音,
dressed in fine clothes like this.
站在這個講臺上。
angry-boy-on-a-bike stories
脚踏車上生氣男孩的故事,
their protagonists
那些故事裏的主角,
that we would bring home with us
想領養的那個小孩。
make the world a better place
in the personal narrative
過於投入在個人敘事中,
to look at the bigger picture.
他們感覺到羞辱時,
about their feelings of shame,
link that to oppression.
when someone says they felt small,
我們會理解地點點頭,
特別是有關社會正義的,
especially for social justice,
to explore and understand the political.
又能讓我們去探究和理解它背後的政治。
about the stories we like
我們所喜歡的故事,
兩者間的比較。
where there are larger forces at play,
出現了一股愈來愈大的力量。
beginning to replace the news.
用故事來取代新聞。
事實開始不被重視,
the decline of facts,
more than what we actually know.
遠勝過我們實際知道的真相。
on trends in America
最近有一份報告,
of young adults under the age of 30
「非常信任傳播媒體」。
are gaining trust
are losing the confidence in the public.
to have insights in many ways,
as a social justice activist,
credible facts from media institutions
結合傳媒機構提供的可靠事實,
of storytellers.
in terms of social justice.
媒體或是講故事的人身上。
on the media or on storytellers.
to make the world a better place.
讓這個世界更美好。
would be a better place, I think,
and more skeptical
about the social context
背後的社會脈絡,
that they love so much.
would be a better place
that storytelling is intellectual work.
說故事是耗費腦力的工作。
be important for audiences
對聽眾來說是非常重要的,
on their favorite websites,
增加更多的按鈕,
your storyteller believes in."
to your storyteller's next big idea."
來捐贈她下一個大理念」。
to the storytellers themselves.
can make the world a better place
beyond what feels safe.
但感覺不太安全的世界。
you are constructing.
you are dreaming."
to have a plan for justice.
為正義制定計劃,採取行動。
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Sisonke Msimang - Writer, activistSisonke Msimang untangles the threads of race, class and gender that run through the fabric of African and global culture.
Why you should listen
Sisonke Msimang tells stories about justice and human rights. In the early part of her career, Msimang set up a fund fight for people whose health had been compromised by their race, class and gender identities. In 2008 she became the executive director of the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa, responsible for making grants on human rights projects. Msimang is now the head of programs at the Centre for Stories, a new initiative that collects, preserves and shares stories about migrants, refugees and diverse people and places linked to the Indian Ocean Rim.
Msimang has been awarded a number of fellowships including from Yale University, the University of the Witwatersrand and the Aspen Institute. She also contributes regularly to the New York Times, Newsweek, the Guardian and a range of other outlets. You can watch her Moth talk on the power of listening here.
Sisonke Msimang | Speaker | TED.com