Thai flight attendants rebel against 'demeaning' TV soap 泰國電視劇引發空服員群起抗議

Air Asia flight attendants from Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia pose at the Air Asia Academy in Sepang, Malaysia, on Nov. 9, 2007. 二ＯＯ七年十一月九日，來自馬來西亞、泰國和印尼的亞洲航空空服員在馬來西亞雪邦的亞洲航空學院前一字排開。 照片：法新社 PHOTO: AFP

Thai flight attendants are demanding that a television series they say shows them as sex-obsessed bimbos not be aired.

The high-flying soap The Air Hostess War apparently caused anger in the industry after it opened with a three-day run earlier this month. The show features heated flirtations and petty revenge among the attractive cabin crew, complained the Thai Airways International labor union.

The show's opening scenes of vicious arguing between flight attendants over a handsome pilot was demeaning, said Somsak Srinual, acting president of the union.

Culture minister Khunying Khaisri Sri-aroon will be asked to help pull the program off the air. Representations will also be made to the Channel 5 television station and the chiefs of Thai Airways and the air force, said Somsak.

The layout of the cabin in the TV series clearly represents the inside of a Thai Airways plane, therefore the producers cannot argue that this is a fictional airline, the union leader said.

The series could very well stop young people from entering the industry if they believe the lifestyle is so emotionally draining, he added.

Darichat Jaikrajang, a Japan Airlines flight attendant, said the drama is deeply misleading: "Ability and discipline are far more important than physical beauty if you work as an air hostess.''

Media commentators frequently label Thai television as sensational and say it's willing to scrape the bottom of the social barrel in the hunt for high ratings. (DPA)

泰國空服員要求電視台停播一齣電視劇，他們覺得此劇把空姐拍成為性事著迷的花瓶。

這齣以航空業為背景的連續劇「空姐戰爭」本月初開播三天後，立即引發業者不滿；泰航工會抗議，該劇以一群俊男美女機組員間火熱的調情和鉤心鬥角的報復為主題。

工會代理主席宋薩．隋紐說，一群空姐為了一位英俊的機長而爆發激烈爭執的開場片段實在有損航空業形象。

工會要求文化部長坤英:凱西．西阿倫協助停播此劇；宋薩表示，他們也將向第五電視台、泰航長官和空軍表達抗議。

工會主席表示，電視劇中的客艙陳設明顯與泰航客艙相符，因此劇組製作無法以劇情純屬虛構作為藉口開脫。

他說，這齣電視劇裡描寫的那種煽情生活很可能讓對航空業有興趣的年輕人卻步。

一位在日本航空服務的空服員達莉查:賈卡雁表示，這齣連續劇嚴重誤導觀眾，「空服員的工作能力和紀律遠比外在美貌重要。」

媒體評論家常批評泰國電視太過聳動，甚至願意為了炒高收視率退而求其次選播一些爛節目。

（德通社／翻譯：袁星塵）

TODAY'S WORDS 今日單字 1. bimbo n. 空有身材的花瓶 (kong1 you3 shen1 cai2 de5 hua1 ping2) 例: My mom says my brother's girlfriend is a bimbo. (我媽說我哥哥的女朋友是一個花瓶。) 2. flirtation n. 調情 (tiao2 qing2) 例: "Flirtation won't work on me," Ray said. (「我不吃調情那一套，」雷伊說。) 3. demeaning adj. 有損聲譽的 (you2 sun3 sheng1 yu4 de5)，貶低人的 (bian3 di1 ren2 de5) 例: It was a very demeaning comment. (那是個非常貶低人的評論。) 4. sensational adj. 聳動的 (song3 dong4 de5)，轟動一時的 (hong1 dong4 yi4 shi2 de5) 例: Sensational news gets old after a while. (轟動一時的新聞不久就會失去新聞價值了。)

SAY WHAT? 說說看 scrape the bottom of the barrel 撿剩貨／濫竽充數 The phrase scrape the bottom of the barrel means to use something or someone that you're not keen on using because you can't manage to find anything or anyone else. For example, "Barry was really scraping the bottom of the barrel when he invited Suzanne to the prom." One could also say scrape the barrel. For example, "Look at Peggy's dress! It looks like my mother's curtains. She must have really scraped the barrel for that one." 「scrape the bottom of the barrel」意指因為找不到最渴望的人或物，便拿一些沒那麼喜歡的人或物來充數。例如：「巴瑞真是濫竽充數到邀請蘇珊去參加舞會」。 也可以說「scrape the barrel」，例如：「看看佩姬穿的那件洋裝！那簡直就是我老媽的窗簾布，她還真是無魚蝦也好欸」。

OUT LOUD 對話練習 Jewel: What are you watching? Jean: I'm watching a new Korean soap opera. Jewel: You're always glued to the television watching Korean soaps. Jean: I admit that I can't get enough of them. Jewel: I hope you're learning some Korean by watching them. Otherwise you're just wasting your time. 珠兒：妳在看什麼啊？ 珍：我在看一齣新的韓劇。 珠兒：妳老是賴在電視前看韓劇耶。 珍：我承認韓劇對我來說永遠都不嫌多。 珠兒：希望妳邊看邊學會一些韓文，否則妳只是在浪費時間。 glued to　不願離開／緊附於 A person who's glued to something is paying close attention to that thing, usually for a long period of time. People can be "glued to" things like computers or books. 說某人「glued to」某事表示這個人十分關注此事物，且通常會持續很久，人們可能會「glued to」如電腦或書籍等事物。