Hello Kitty is one of the most easily recognizable characters in the history of modern culture. She's the smileless (well, mouthless) Mona Lisa. And this year, she's turning 40! But did you know that Hello Kitty is not actually a cat? No? Well that's probably not the only thing you don't know about the enigmatic Kitty.
Hello Kitty可以說是現(xiàn)代文化中最容易一眼就認(rèn)出的卡通形象了。她就是沒有微笑(好吧，其實是沒有嘴巴)的蒙娜麗莎。今年Hello Kitty將迎來自己40歲生日。可是你知道么，Hello Kitty其實并不是一只貓?怎么樣，不知道吧!有關(guān)這只“神秘的小貓”你可能有更多不知道的事情呢!
Starting in October, the Japanese American National Museum in LA will host a retrospective exhibition, entitled Hello! Exploring the Supercute World of Hello Kitty, looking at the history and influence of the character created by Yuko Shimizu in 1974. The exhibition is curated by Christine R. Yano, professor and author of Pink Globalization: Hello Kitty's Trek Across the Pacific. Yano sat down with Carolina A. Miranda at LA Times, to talk Kitty and set the record straight on a few things.
今年10月，位于洛杉磯的日美國家博物館將舉辦名為“你好!探索HelloKitty的超可愛世界”的回顧展出。展出將回顧清水優(yōu)子在1974年創(chuàng)作這個卡通形象的由來及其在全球的影響。展出的組織者是克里斯蒂娜·河矢野教授，她也是《粉紅全球化：Hello Kitty的跨太平洋之旅》的作者。河矢野教授在做客《洛杉磯時報》時和編輯卡洛琳·米蘭達一起聊起了Hello Kitty并澄清了一些事情。
Turns out Hello Kitty is not actually a cat. Which is strange because she looks like a cat and is named Kitty. But nope, that is a girl in the third grade.
Hello Kitty其實并不是一只貓，這有點奇怪，因為她是一個長得像貓且名字叫Kitty(小貓)的卡通形象。但事實是，她是一個小學(xué)三年級的小女孩。
That's one correction Sanrio made for my script for the show. Hello Kitty is not a cat. She's a cartoon character. She is a little girl. She is a friend. But she is not a cat. She's never depicted on all fours. She walks and sits like a two-legged creature.
河矢野教授說：“這是三麗鷗公司對我參加展出的發(fā)言詞中更正的一個部分。Hello Kitty不是貓。她是一個卡通形象。她是一個小女孩，是我們的朋友，但她不是貓。她從來沒有四只腳走路的形象，始終都保持著小姑娘的站姿和坐姿�！�
Hello Kitty is a Brit! Her real name is Kitty White, and she was born on November 1, making her a Scorpio (the stubborn shrew). Her parents are Mary and George White, and she lives outside London. Her official height is listed as "Around 5 apples" and her weight is "Around 3 apples." She has a twin sister named Mimmy. AND SHE HAS A PET CAT NAMED CHARMMY KITTY WHO LOOKS EXACTLY LIKE HER. The cat-looking non-cat has a cat. She also has a hamster named Sugar who, um, kinda looks like a tiny, white pedobear.
Hello Kitty還是個英國人，她的真名叫做Kitty White，生日是11月1日，所以Hello Kitty應(yīng)該是天蝎座的(是個固執(zhí)的小女孩)。他的父親叫George White，母親叫Mary White，他們一家居住在倫敦。據(jù)官方公布，她身高約為“五個蘋果”那么高，體重約為“三個蘋果”那么重。她還有一個叫做Mimmy的孿生姐妹�！岸宜�養(yǎng)著一只叫做CHARMMY KITTY長得和她一模一樣的寵物貓!”長得像貓但不是貓的卡通形象還養(yǎng)了一只貓……此外她還有一只叫做Sugar的小倉鼠，就像白色版本的小號蘿莉熊。
Hello Kitty is ubiquitous in the same way that a Calvin-peeing-on-something decal is, but cute and far more authentic. Seriously, there is a box (of twine and wire for some reason) on our kitchen table with Hello Kitty on it. She's everywhere. And she represents a very specific identity for Asian Americans. As Yano explains:"When Hello Kitty arrived in the U.S. in the mid-1970s, it was a commodity mainly in Asian enclaves: Chinatowns, Japantowns, etc.," explains Yano. "In talking to Japanese Americans who grew up in the 1970s, they say, 'That figure means so much to us because she was ours.' It's something they saw as an identity marker."
和Hello Kitty影響力同樣巨大的還有“尿尿的凱文”貼紙，但Hello Kitty的形象更可愛更可信。說實話，我們的廚房用品中很多都有Hello Kitty的形象。她幾乎無所不在。她代表著日裔美國人的一種身份�！癏ello Kitty在70年代中期來到美國的時候，是作為一種商品主要在亞裔圈子如中國城、日本城等流行。”河矢野教授解釋說：“我們和一些70年代長大的日裔美國人談過，他們說‘這個形象對我們意義重大，因為這是我們?nèi)毡镜男蜗蟆�。他們已�?jīng)把Kitty看成了一種身份標(biāo)記。”