TEDxRainier
Chris Bliss: Comedy is translation
Chris Bliss: A comedia é tradución.
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Cada acto de comunicación é, dalgunha maneira, un acto de tradución. Desde o escenario da TEDxRainier, o escritor Chris Bliss refelexiona sobre a maneira na que a boa comedia, en particular, pode traducir verdades profundas a un público masivo.
Chris Bliss - Writer
Chris Bliss explores the inherent challenge of communication, and how comedy opens paths to new perspectives. Full bio
Chris Bliss explores the inherent challenge of communication, and how comedy opens paths to new perspectives. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:15
Gabriel García Márquez is one of my favorite writers,
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Gabriel García Márquez é un dos meus escritores favoritos,
00:17
for his storytelling,
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pola súa forma de contar historias,
00:19
but even more, I think,
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pero aínda máis, creo,
00:21
for the beauty and precision of his prose.
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pola beleza e a precisión da súa prosa.
00:23
And whether it's the opening line from "One Hundred Years of Solitude"
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E xa sexa nas primeiras liñas de "Cen anos de soidade"
00:27
or the fantastical stream of consciousness
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ou no fantástico monólogo interno
00:29
in "Autumn of the Patriarch,"
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en "O outono do patriarca",
00:31
where the words rush by,
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onde as palabras se precipitan por
00:33
page after page of unpunctuated imagery
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páxinas e páxinas de imaxes sen puntuación
00:35
sweeping the reader along
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arrastrando ao lector
00:37
like some wild river
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como un río salvaxe
00:39
twisting through a primal South American jungle,
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revirándose a través dunha primitiva xungla sudamericana,
00:41
reading Márquez is a visceral experience.
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ler a Márquez é unha experiencia visceral.
00:44
Which struck me as particularly remarkable
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Isto sorpredeume sobremanera
00:46
during one session with the novel
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cando lendo a novela
00:48
when I realized that I was being swept along
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me din conta de que estaba sendo arrastrado
00:50
on this remarkable, vivid journey
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por este magnífico e vívida viaxe
00:53
in translation.
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na tradución.
00:55
Now I was a comparative literature major in college,
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Cando facía a miña especialidade en literatura comparada,
00:57
which is like an English major,
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que é como unha especialidade en inglés,
00:59
only instead of being stuck studying Chaucer for three months,
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só que no canto de quedarse atascado en Chaucer durante tres meses,
01:01
we got to read great literature in translation
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liamos grandes obras da literatura en tradución
01:03
from around the world.
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de todo o mundo.
01:05
And as great as these books were,
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E tan magníficos como eran estes libros,
01:07
you could always tell
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sempre te decatabas
01:09
that you were getting close to the full effect.
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cando estabas chegando ao seu clímax.
01:11
But not so with Márquez
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Pero non é así con Márquez
01:13
who once praised his translator's versions
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que nunha ocasión louvou as versións dos seus tradutores
01:15
as being better than his own,
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coma mellores que o orixinal,
01:18
which is an astonishing compliment.
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o cal foi unha louvanza incrible.
01:21
So when I heard that the translator, Gregory Rabassa,
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Así que cando oín que o tradutor, Gregory Rabassa,
01:23
had written his own book on the subject,
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escribiu un libro sobre este tema,
01:25
I couldn't wait to read it.
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non puiden esperar para o ler.
01:27
It's called apropos of the Italian adage
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O seu título proven dun dito italiano
01:29
that I lifted from his forward,
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que me chamou a atención,
01:31
"If This Be Treason."
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"Se isto é traizón".
01:33
And it's a charming read.
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E é un lectura engaiolante.
01:35
It's highly recommended for anyone who's interested
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É recomendable para calquera que estea interesado
01:37
in the translator's art.
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na arte da tradución.
01:39
But the reason that I mention it
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Pero a razón pola que o menciono
01:41
is that early on, Rabassa offers
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é que antes, Rabassa ofreceu
01:43
this elegantly simple insight:
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este simple e elegante pensamento:
01:47
"Every act of communication
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"Cada acto de comunicación
01:49
is an act of translation."
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é un acto de tradución."
01:52
Now maybe that's been obvious to all of you for a long time,
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Quizais agora resulte moi obvio para todos vós,
01:55
but for me,
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pero para min,
01:57
as often as I'd encountered
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que no meu día día, me encontraba tan a miúdo
01:59
that exact difficulty on a daily basis,
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con esa mesma dificultade,
02:01
I had never seen the inherent challenge of communication
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nunca vira o reto inherente da comunicación
02:04
in so crystalline a light.
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dunha forma tan clara.
02:06
Ever since I can remember
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Desde que teño memoria
02:08
thinking consciously about such things,
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de pensar neste tipo de cousas,
02:10
communication has been my central passion.
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a comunicación foi a miña maior paixón.
02:12
Even as a child,
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Incluso de neno,
02:14
I remember thinking that what I really wanted most in life
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recordo pensar que realmente o que máis quería na vida
02:17
was to be able to understand everything
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era ser capaz de o entender todo
02:20
and then to communicate it to everyone else.
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e despois comunicarllo a todo o mundo.
02:23
So no ego problems.
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Así, sen problemas de ego.
02:26
It's funny, my wife, Daisy,
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É divertido, a miña muller, Daisy,
02:28
whose family is littered with schizophrenics --
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cuxa familia está chea de esquizofrénicos,
02:30
and I mean littered with them --
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e quero dicir izada deles,
02:33
once said to me, "Chris, I already have a brother who thinks he's God.
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unha vez dixome, "Chris, xa teño un irmán que cre que é Deus.
02:37
I don't need a husband who wants to be."
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Non necesito un marido que queira selo."
02:39
(Laughter)
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(gargalladas)
02:41
Anyway, as I plunged through my 20s
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Segundo me mergullaba nos meus vintetantos
02:43
ever more aware of how unobtainable
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era máis consciente do imposible
02:45
the first part of my childhood ambition was,
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que era acadar esta ambición de infancia,
02:48
it was that second part,
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era na segunda parte,
02:50
being able to successfully communicate to others
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en ser capaz de comunicar con éxito aos outros
02:52
whatever knowledge I was gaining,
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calquera coñecemento que adquiría,
02:54
where the futility of my quest really set in.
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onde realmente se mostraba a futilidade da miña busca.
02:57
Time after time,
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Unha e outra vez,
02:59
whenever I set out to share some great truth
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cando quixera que comezase a compartir algunha gran verdade
03:01
with a soon-to-be grateful recipient,
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con un receptor que pronto estaría agradecido,
03:03
it had the opposite effect.
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tiña o efecto contrario.
03:06
Interestingly, when your opening line of communication is,
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Curiosamente, cando o primeiro que dis é,
03:08
"Hey, listen up,
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"Ei, escoita,
03:10
because I'm about to drop some serious knowledge on you,"
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porque che vou explicar algúns coñecementos moi importantes",
03:14
it's amazing how quickly you'll discover
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resulta marabilloso o rápido que te encontras
03:16
both ice and the firing squad.
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coa frialdade e o pelotón de fusilamento.
03:20
Finally, after about 10 years
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Finalmente, tras uns 10 anos
03:22
of alienating friends and strangers alike,
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de amigos e descoñecidos alienantes,
03:25
I finally got it,
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finalmente o conseguín,
03:27
a new personal truth all my own,
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unha nova verdade persoal:
03:30
that if I was going to ever communicate well with other people
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se quería ser bo comunicando
03:34
the ideas that I was gaining,
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as ideas que aprendía,
03:36
I'd better find a different way of going about it.
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máis me valía encontrar outra forma de abordar á xente.
03:38
And that's when I discovered comedy.
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E foi entón cando descubrín a comedia.
03:41
Now comedy travels along a distinct wavelength
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A comedia viaxa por un ancho de onda distinto das
03:44
from other forms of language.
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outras formas de linguaxe.
03:46
If I had to place it on an arbitrary spectrum,
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Se a tivese que colocar nalgunha parte,
03:48
I'd say it falls somewhere
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estaría nalgún punto
03:50
between poetry and lies.
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entre a poesía e a mentira.
03:54
And I'm not talking about all comedy here,
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Non estou a falar de toda a comedia,
03:56
because, clearly, there's plenty of humor
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porque, evidentemente, hai moito humor
03:58
that colors safely within the lines of what we already think and feel.
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que entra dentro dos límites seguros do que xa pensamos e sentimos.
04:01
What I want to talk about
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Do que quero falar é
04:03
is the unique ability that the best comedy and satire has
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da habilidade única que a mellor comedia e sátira teñen
04:06
at circumventing our ingrained perspectives --
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para eludir as nosas conviccións máis enraizadas.
04:09
comedy as the philosopher's stone.
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A comedia é como a pedra filosofal.
04:12
It takes the base metal of our conventional wisdom
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Toma coma base metálica o sentido común
04:15
and transforms it through ridicule
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e a transforma a través do ridículo
04:17
into a different way of seeing
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nun forma distinta de ver
04:19
and ultimately being in the world.
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e finalmente nunha forma distinta de estar no mundo.
04:21
Because that's what I take
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Porque iso é o que saco
04:23
from the theme of this conference: Gained in Translation.
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do título deste conferencia: Gañado na tradución.
04:26
That it's about communication
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Todo isto é sobre comunicación
04:28
that doesn't just produce greater understanding
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que non só produce unha maior comprensión
04:30
within the individual,
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a nivel individual,
04:32
but leads to real change.
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pero tamén leva a un cambio real.
04:34
Which in my experience means communication
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Na miña experiencia, comunicación significa
04:36
that manages to speak to and expand
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conseguir falar e expandir
04:39
our concept of self-interest.
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o noso concepto de interese propio.
04:42
Now I'm big on speaking to people's self-interest
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Creo que xa falei dabondo do interese propio da xente
04:44
because we're all wired for that.
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porque todos estamos programados para elo.
04:46
It's part of our survival package,
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É parte do noso paquete de supervivencia,
04:48
and that's why it's become so important for us,
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e é polo que se converteu en tan importante para nós
04:51
and that's why we're always listening at that level.
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e polo que sempre escoitamos a ese nivel.
04:54
And also because that's where,
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E tamén porque é onde,
04:57
in terms of our own self-interest,
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en termos de interese propio,
04:59
we finally begin to grasp
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finalmente comezamos a entender
05:01
our ability to respond, our responsibility
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a nosa habilidade para responder, a nosa responsabilidade
05:04
to the rest of the world.
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co resto do mundo.
05:06
Now as to what I mean by the best comedy and satire,
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Ben, cando falaba da mellor comedia e sátira,
05:09
I mean work that comes first and foremost
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referíame ao traballo que procede en primeiro lugar
05:11
from a place of honesty and integrity.
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da honestidade e da integridade.
05:14
Now if you think back
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E se agora voltas a pensar
05:16
on Tina Fey's impersonations on Saturday Night Live
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nas imitacións de Tina Fey, en Saturday Night Live,
05:19
of the newly nominated vice presidential candidate
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da nova candidata á vicepresidencia,
05:21
Sarah Palin,
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Sarah Palin,
05:23
they were devastating.
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verás que foron devastadoras.
05:25
Fey demonstrated far more effectively than any political pundit
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Fey demostrou que moito máis efectivo que calquera comentarista político
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the candidate's fundamental lack of seriousness,
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é a fundamental falta de seriedade do propio candidato,
05:31
cementing an impression
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cimentando unha impresión dela
05:33
that the majority of the American public still holds today.
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que a maioría de público estadounidense aínda ten.
05:36
And the key detail of this
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E o detalle principal disto foi
05:38
is that Fey's scripts weren't written by her
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que os guións de Fey no foron escritos por ela
05:40
and they weren't written by the SNL writers.
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nin por escritores do Saturday Night Live.
05:42
They were lifted verbatim
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Foron recollidos de forma literal
05:44
from Palin's own remarks.
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dos comentarios da propia Palin.
05:46
(Laughter)
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(gargalladas)
05:50
Here was a Palin impersonator
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Aquí está a imitadora de Palin
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quoting Palin word for word.
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citando a Palin palabra por palabra.
05:54
Now that's honesty and integrity,
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Iso é honestidade e integridade,
05:56
and it's also why Fey's performances
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e é tamén polo que as actuacións de Fey
05:58
left such a lasting impression.
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deixaron unha impresión tan duradeira.
06:00
On the other side of the political spectrum,
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No outro lado do espectro político,
06:03
the first time that I heard Rush Limbaugh
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a primeira vez que ouvín a Rush Limbaugh
06:05
refer to presidential hopeful John Edwards as the Breck girl
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referirse ao aspirante a presidencia John Edwards como a rapaza Pantene
06:09
I knew that he'd made a direct hit.
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sabía que lle dera un golpe directo.
06:12
Now it's not often that I'm going to associate
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Non sucede de cotío que asocie
06:14
the words honesty and integrity with Limbaugh,
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as palabras honestidade e integridade con Limbaugh,
06:17
but it's really hard to argue with that punchline.
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pero é que é realmente difícil argumentar contra ese chiste.
06:20
The description perfectly captured
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A descrición amosa perfectamente
06:22
Edwards' personal vanity.
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a banalidade de Edwards.
06:24
And guess what?
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E sabedes que?
06:26
That ended up being the exact personality trait
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Ese trazo da personalidade estaba detrás
06:28
that was at the core of the scandal that ended his political career.
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do escándalo que acabou cosa súa carreira política.
06:33
Now The Daily Show with John Stewart
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The Daily Show con John Stewart
06:35
is by far the most --
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é de lonxe...
06:37
(Applause)
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(aplausos)
06:44
(Laughter)
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(gargalladas)
06:46
it's by far the most well-documented example
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é de lonxe o exemplo mellor documentado
06:49
of the effectiveness of this kind of comedy.
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da efectividade deste tipo de comedia.
06:52
Survey after survey,
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Enquisa tras enquisa
06:54
from Pew Research to the Annenberg Center for Public Policy,
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dende o Pew Research ao Centro Annenberg para Políticas Públicas,
06:57
has found that Daily Show viewers are better informed about current events
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descubriron que a súa audiencia estaba mellor informada sobre a actualidade
07:00
than the viewers of all major network and cable news shows.
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que a audiencia de todos os telexornais de cadeas públicas e de pago.
07:04
(Applause)
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(aplausos)
07:07
Now whether this says more
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Independentemente de se isto di máis
07:09
about the conflict between integrity and profitability
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sobre o conflito entre integridade e beneficios
07:12
of corporate journalism
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do xornalismo corporativo
07:14
than it does about the attentiveness of Stewart's viewers,
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que sobre a atención da audiencia de Stewart,
07:16
the larger point remains
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o principal punto segue a ser
07:18
that Stewart's material
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que o material de Stewart
07:20
is always grounded in a commitment to the facts --
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está sempre baseado nun compromiso cos feitos.
07:23
not because his intent is to inform. It's not.
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Non porque a súa intención sexa informar. Non é tal.
07:25
His intent is to be funny.
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A súa intención e ser gracioso.
07:27
It just so happens that Stewart's brand of funny
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Só acontece que a marca humorística de Stewart
07:30
doesn't work unless the facts are true.
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non funciona agás que os feitos sexan certos.
07:33
And the result is great comedy
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E o resultado é unha comedia brillante
07:35
that's also an information delivery system
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que tamén funciona como medio de información
07:38
that scores markedly higher in both credibility and retention
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e consegue cotas máis altas de atención e credibilidade
07:41
than the professional news media.
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que os medios de comunicación profesionais.
07:44
Now this is doubly ironic
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Isto é dobremente irónico
07:46
when you consider that what gives comedy its edge
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cando se ten en conta que o que dá á comedia a súa principal arma
07:49
at reaching around people's walls
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para collernos de improviso
07:51
is the way that it uses deliberate misdirection.
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é o modo en que nos desorienta deliberadamente.
07:54
A great piece of comedy is a verbal magic trick,
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Unha gran peza de comedia é un truco máxico verbal,
07:57
where you think it's going over here
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pensas que está indo para aquí
07:59
and then all of a sudden you're transported over here.
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e de súpeto veste transportando para alá.
08:02
And there's this mental delight
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E niso hai deleite mental
08:04
that's followed by the physical response of laughter,
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seguido dunha resposta física en forma de riso,
08:06
which, not coincidentally,
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o cal, non por erro,
08:08
releases endorphins in the brain.
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libera endorfinas no cerebro.
08:10
And just like that, you've been seduced
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E xusto desa maneira es atraído
08:12
into a different way of looking at something
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ate unha nova forma de ollar algo
08:14
because the endorphins have brought down your defenses.
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porque as endorfinas baixaron as túas defensas.
08:17
This is the exact opposite
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Isto é diametralmente o contrario á
08:19
of the way that anger and fear and panic,
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forma en que a ira e o medo e o pánico,
08:21
all of the flight-or-fight responses, operate.
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e todas as respostas de fuxida ou enfrontamento, operan.
08:24
Flight-or-fight releases adrenalin,
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Os respostas de fuxida ou loita liberan adrenalina,
08:27
which throws our walls up sky-high.
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a cal levanta as nosas defensas ate o ceo.
08:29
And the comedy comes along,
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E a comedia
08:31
dealing with a lot of the same areas
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trata moitas das mesmas áreas
08:33
where our defenses are the strongest --
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onde as nosas defensas son moi fortes:
08:35
race, religion, politics, sexuality --
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raza, relixión, política, sexualidade.
08:38
only by approaching them through humor instead of adrenalin,
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Só polo acercamento a través do humor en lugar da adrenalina,
08:41
we get endorphins
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conseguimos endorfinas
08:43
and the alchemy of laughter turns our walls into windows,
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e a alquimia do riso derruba as nosas defensas,
08:46
revealing a fresh and unexpected point of view.
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revelando un novo e inesperado punto de vista.
08:49
Now let me give you an example from my act.
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Agora déixenme que lles de un exemplo sacado dos meus monólogos.
08:52
I have some material
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Teño algo de material
08:54
about the so-called radical gay agenda,
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sobre a recoñecida axenda dos homosexuais radicais,
08:56
which starts off by asking,
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que comeza preguntando,
08:58
how radical is the gay agenda?
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como de radicais é esta axenda homosexual?
09:00
Because from what I can tell, the three things gay Americans seem to want most
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Porque polo que vexo, as tres cousas que os homosexuais norteamericanos queren son
09:03
are to join the military, get married and start a family.
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entrar no exército, casarse e formar unha familia.
09:06
(Laughter)
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(gargalladas)
09:10
Three things I've tried to avoid my entire life.
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Tres cousas que levo toda a miña vida tentando evitar.
09:14
(Laughter)
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(gargalladas)
09:16
Have at it you radical bastards. The field is yours.
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Todo para vós, bastardos radicais. Todo voso.
09:19
(Laughter)
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(gargalladas)
09:22
And that's followed by these lines
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E vai seguido por este comentario
09:24
about gay adoption:
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sobre os dereitos de adopción dos homosexuais:
09:26
What is the problem with gay adoption?
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Cal é o problema coa adopción dos homosexuais?
09:28
Why is this remotely controversial?
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Por que é tan conflitiva?
09:30
If you have a baby and you think that baby's gay,
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Se tes un bebé e cres que é homosexual,
09:33
you should be allowed to put it up for adoption.
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deberías o poder dar en adopción.
09:35
(Laughter)
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(gargalladas)
09:37
You have given birth to an abomination.
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Deches a luz a unha abominación.
09:39
Remove it from your household.
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Sácao da túa casa.
09:43
Now by taking the biblical epithet "abomination"
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Neste punto ao tomar o epíteto bíblico "abominación"
09:46
and attaching it to the ultimate image of innocence, a baby,
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e o xuntar coa imaxe máis representativa da inocencia, o bebé,
09:50
this joke short circuits the emotional wiring
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este chiste curtocircuíta o cableado emocional
09:52
behind the debate
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detrás do debate
09:54
and it leaves the audience with the opportunity, through their laughter,
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e deixa a audiencia coa oportunidade, a través das súas gargalladas,
09:57
to question its validity.
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de cuestionarse a súa validez.
09:59
Misdirection isn't the only trick
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A desorientación non é o único truco
10:01
that comedy has up its sleeve.
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que ten a comedia baixo a manga.
10:03
Economy of language
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A economía da linguaxe é
10:05
is another real strong suit of great comedy.
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outro punto forte da boa comedia.
10:07
There are few phrases
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Estas son unhas frases
10:09
that pack a more concentrated dose of subject and symbol
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que conseguen concentrar unha cantidade maior de información e símbolo
10:12
than the perfect punchline.
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que o mellor chiste.
10:14
Bill Hicks -- and if you don't know his work,
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Bill Hicks, se non coñecedes o seu traballo,
10:16
you should really Google him --
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deberiades consúltalo en Google.
10:18
Hicks had a routine
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Hicks tiña un monólogo
10:20
about getting into one of those childhood bragging contests on the playground,
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sobre os concursos de fachenda que fan os rapaces no patio,
10:23
where finally the other kid says to him,
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onde ao fin o outro rapaz dille,
10:25
"Huh? Well my dad can beat up your dad,"
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"Eh? Pois o meu pai pode darlle unha malleira o teu."
10:28
to which Hicks replies,
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ao que Hicks contesta,
10:30
"Really? How soon?"
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"De verdade? En canto tempo?"
10:32
(Laughter)
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(gargalladas)
10:37
That's an entire childhood
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Iso é a infancia enteira
10:39
in three words.
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en tres palabras.
10:41
(Laughter)
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(gargalladas)
10:44
Not to mention what it reveals
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Sen mencionar o que revela
10:46
about the adult who's speaking them.
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sobre o adulto que as está a dicir.
10:48
And one last powerful attribute
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E unha última poderosa característica
10:50
that comedy has as communication
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que ten a comedia como medio de comunicación
10:52
is that it's inherently viral.
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é que é intrinsecamente "viral".
10:54
People can't wait
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A xente non pode esperar
10:56
to pass along that new great joke.
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a contar outra vez ese chiste novo tan bo.
10:58
And this isn't some new phenomenon of our wired world.
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E isto non é un novo fenómeno do noso mundo interconectado.
11:01
Comedy has been crossing country
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A comedia leva cruzando o país
11:03
with remarkable speed
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cunha velocidade admirable
11:05
way before the Internet, social media,
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moito antes da Internet, dos medios sociais,
11:07
even cable TV.
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incluso da tele por cable.
11:09
Back in 1980
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Aló, en 1980,
11:11
when comedian Richard Pryor accidentally set himself on fire
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cando o cómico Richar Pryor prendeuse lume accidentalmente
11:14
during a freebasing accident,
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cando estaba manipulado cocaína,
11:16
I was in Los Angeles the day after it happened
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eu estaba en Os Ánxeles o día despois de que ocorrese
11:18
and then I was in Washington D.C. two days after that.
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e dos días despois estaba en Washington D.C..
11:22
And I heard the exact same punchline on both coasts --
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E escoitei exactamente o mesmo chiste en ambas costas:
11:25
something about the Ignited Negro College Fund.
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algo sobre a Ignited Negro College Fund.
11:29
Clearly, it didn't come out of a Tonight Show monologue.
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De certo, non veñen de ningún monólogo de Tonight Show.
11:33
And my guess here -- and I have no research on this --
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E a miña suposición, e non o investiguei,
11:35
is that if you really were to look back at it and if you could research it,
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é que se realmente se mirasedes atrás e puidesedes investigar,
11:38
you'd find out that comedy
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descubriríase que a comedia
11:40
is the second oldest viral profession.
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é a segunda profesión "viral" máis antiga.
11:42
First there were drums
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Primeiro foron os tambores
11:44
and then knock-knock jokes.
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despois os chistes de toc-toc.
11:46
(Laughter)
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(gargalladas)
11:48
But it's when you put all of these elements together --
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Pero é cando pos todos estes elementos xuntos
11:51
when you get the viral appeal of a great joke
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cando consegues o efecto "viral" dun gran chiste
11:54
with a powerful punchline
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cun final contundente
11:56
that's crafted from honesty and integrity,
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que foi construido desde a honestidade e a integridade,
11:58
it can have a real world impact
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e pode ter un efecto real
12:01
at changing a conversation.
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para cambiar unha conversa.
12:03
Now I have a close friend, Joel Pett,
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Agora teño un amigo íntimo, Joel Pett,
12:05
who's the editorial cartoonist
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quen é debuxante humorístico
12:07
for the Lexington Herald-Leader.
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para o Lexington Herald-Leader.
12:09
And he used to be the USA Today Monday morning guy.
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E era o tipo de USA Today da mañá dos luns.
12:12
I was visiting with Joel
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Estaba visitando a Joel
12:14
the weekend before the Copenhagen conference on climate change opened
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no fin de semana anterior á conferencia de Copenhague sobre o cambio climático
12:17
in December of 2009.
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en decembro de 2009.
12:19
And Joel was explaining to me
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E Joel contábame
12:21
that, because USA Today
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que, por causa de que o USA Today
12:23
was one of America's four papers of record,
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ía ser un dos catro periódicos estadounidenses oficiais,
12:25
it would be scanned by virtually everyone in attendance at the conference,
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ía ser examinado por case calquera que asistise á conferencia,
12:29
which meant that, if he hit it out of the park with his cartoon
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o que significaba que, se podía facer unha boa coa súa tira
12:32
on Monday, the opening day of the conference,
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do luns, o día de apertura das conferencias,
12:34
it could get passed around
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podería chegar
12:36
at the highest level among actual decision-makers.
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á cúpula das persoas que realmente toman as decisións.
12:39
So we started talking about climate change.
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Así comezamos falando do cambio climático.
12:42
And it turned out that Joel and I
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E resultou que tanto a Joel como a min
12:44
were both bothered by the same thing,
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molestábanos a mesma cousa,
12:46
which was how so much of the debate
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e era que a meirande parte do debate
12:48
was still focused on the science
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seguise enfocada na explicación científica
12:50
and how complete it was or wasn't,
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e como de completa era ou deixaba ser
12:52
which, to both of us,
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e iso a ámbolos dous
12:54
seems somewhat intentionally off point.
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parecíanos que era una forma de intentar liar o tema.
12:57
Because first of all, there's this false premise
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Porque primeiro de todo, é unha premisa falsa
13:00
that such a thing as complete science exists.
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que exista unha explicación científica completa.
13:04
Now Governor Perry of my newly-adopted state of Texas
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O gobernador Perry do meu novo estado adoptivo de Texas,
13:07
was pushing this same line this past summer
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estaba usando este mesmo argumento o último verán
13:10
at the beginning of his oops-fated campaign
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ao comezo dunha campaña electoral destinada ao fracaso
13:14
for the Republican presidential nomination,
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para a nomeamento presidencial republicano,
13:17
proclaiming over and over that the science wasn't complete
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proclamando unha e outra vez que a ciencia non estaba completa
13:20
at the same time that 250
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e naquel momento 250 dos
13:23
out of 254 counties in the state of Texas
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254 condados do estado de Texas
13:26
were on fire.
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estaban ardendo.
13:29
And Perry's policy solution
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E a solución política de Perry
13:31
was to ask the people of Texas
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foi pedir aos habitantes de Texas
13:33
to pray for rain.
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que rezaran pedindo chuvia.
13:36
Personally, I was praying for four more fires
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Persoalmente, eu rezaba por catro lumes máis
13:38
so we could finally complete the damn science.
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para que finalmente puidesemos completar a maldita explicación científica.
13:41
(Laughter)
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(gargalladas)
13:46
But back in 2009,
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Pero alá en 2009,
13:48
the question Joel and I kept turning over and over
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a pregunta á que Joel e máis eu seguiamos volvendo
13:51
was why this late in the game
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era por qué a estas alturas do partido
13:53
so much energy was being spent talking about the science
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seguiamos gastando enerxía en falar da ciencia
13:56
when the policies necessary to address climate change
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cando as políticas necesarias para abordar o cambio climático
13:59
were unequivocally beneficial for humanity in the long run
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eran de forma inequívoca beneficiosas para a humanidade a longo prazo
14:03
regardless of the science.
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sen importar a ciencia.
14:05
So we tossed it back and forth until Joel came up with this.
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Así que lle demos voltas e voltas ata que Joel tivo esta idea.
14:08
Cartoon: "What if it's a big hoax and we create a better world for nothing?"
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Tira: "E se todo é unha gran argallada e creamos un mundo mellor para nada?"
14:16
(Laughter)
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(gargalladas)
14:19
You've got to love that idea.
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Ten que encantarte a idea.
14:21
(Applause)
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(aplausos)
14:28
How about that? How about we create a better world for nothing?
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Que pasa con iso? Que hai de crear un mundo mellor para nada?
14:32
Not for God, not for country, not for profit --
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Non por Deus, non polo país, non polos beneficios,
14:35
just as a basic metric for global decision-making.
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só como un indicador básico para a toma de decisións globais.
14:39
And this cartoon hit the bull's eye.
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E esta tira golpea xusto no centro do furacán.
14:42
Shortly after the conference was over,
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Pouco despois da clausura da conferencia,
14:44
Joel got a request for a signed copy
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Joel recibiu unha petición dunha copia firmada
14:46
from the head of the EPA in Washington
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desde a xefatura da Axencia de Protección Medioambiental (EPA) de Washington
14:48
whose wall it now hangs on.
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e agora mesmo colga nos seus muros.
14:50
And not long after that, he got another request for a copy
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E non moito despois diso, recibiu outra petición de copia
14:53
from the head of the EPA in California
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para a xefa do EPA en California
14:55
who used it as part of her presentation
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quen o usou como parte de súa presentación
14:58
at an international conference on climate change
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na conferencia internacional sobre o cambio climático
15:01
in Sacramento last year.
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en Sacaramento o ano pasado.
15:03
And it didn't stop there.
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E non acaba aquí.
15:05
To date, Joel's gotten requests from over 40 environmental groups,
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A día de hoxe, Joel recibiu peticións desde 40 asociacións medioambientais,
15:08
in the United States, Canada and Europe.
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nos Estados Unidos, Canada e Europa.
15:11
And earlier this year,
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E anteriormente neste ano,
15:13
he got a request from the Green Party in Australia
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recibiu una petición do Partido Verde de Australia
15:15
who used it in their campaign
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quenes o usaron na súa campaña
15:17
where it became part of the debate
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onde se converteu en parte do debate
15:19
that resulted in the Australian parliament
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que levou ao parlamento australiano
15:22
adopting the most rigorous carbon tax regime
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a adoptar o réxime fiscal sobre a contaminación carbónica
15:24
of any country in the world.
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máis estrito do mundo.
15:27
(Applause)
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(aplausos)
15:32
That is a lot of punch
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Iso é moito impacto
15:34
for 14 words.
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para 14 palabras.
15:37
So my suggestion to those of you out here
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Así que a miña suxestión para aqueles aí fora
15:39
who are seriously focused on creating a better world
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que seguen centrados en crear un mundo mellor
15:42
is to take a little bit of time each day
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é tomar un pouco de tempo cada día
15:44
and practice thinking funny,
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e practicar o pensamento cómico
15:47
because you might just find the question that you've been looking for.
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porque quizais acabedes encontrando a resposta que buscabades.
15:50
Thank you.
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(Grazas)
15:52
(Applause)
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(aplausos)
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Chris Bliss - WriterChris Bliss explores the inherent challenge of communication, and how comedy opens paths to new perspectives.
Why you should listen
Chris Bliss is a national headline comedian, with credits including the Tonight Show and the Late Show with David Letterman, as well as an internationally renowned variety artist, opening for superstars from Eric Clapton to Michael Jackson.
In 2005, he founded MyBillofRights.org, with the mission of creating monuments and permanent displays of the Bill of Rights in civic spaces across America. The organization expects to dedicate America’s first monument celebrating the Bill of Rights at the Arizona Capitol Mall, in December 2012.
Chris Bliss | Speaker | TED.com