In Blockbuster Era, No Room at the Box Office for the Middlebrow

👉 blockbuster n. 威力非常强的炸弹；产生轰动效应的电影；大片

big-budget movies

【拓展】换词意识，blockbuster是这篇文章的核心概念，整篇文章节选200余字，而对大片这个概念出现6次之多，但是作者换了6次不同形态。

1. event movies 大片；现象级电影

2. huge franchise pictures 大片；大IP授权拍摄续集/翻拍

3. Death-Star-size movies

4. colossal movies

5. “tent pole” movies  大片儿；“杠把子”电影

👉 Middlebrow is the core of Confucian philosophy. 中庸之道是儒家思想的核心。

中庸的译法：

① moderation n. 中庸

moderate adj. 普通的；温和的；中等的；适度的

② the golden mean n. 黄金分割点

highbrow culture 高眉文化，属于所谓“上流社会”欣赏的文化形式，包括歌剧、芭蕾、绘画等。

lowbrow culture 低眉文化，属于大众的，更通俗的文化形式，包括流行音乐，流行小说等。

To combat the arrival of streaming services and mammoth flat-screen televisions, Hollywood has swung sharply toward event movies like “Avengers: Endgame” (Disney), “Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw” (Universal) and the coming “Jumanji: The Next Level” (Sony). Lumbering sequels and remakes at least have a shot at cutting through the Instagram-Netflix-Fortnite-TikTok clutter and filling seats.

👉 swing toward 向……倾斜；更倾向于或偏好于某物 （move/lean toward）

swing vi. 摇摆

常见的用法：

① 作名词 : mood swing 情绪波动

He had a mood swing after knowing that he didn’t pass the exam.

在知道自己没有通过考试之后，他出现上了情绪上的波动。

② 作动词：swing the voters 拉对方选票，动摇选民意志

swing voters 摇摆选民，中间选民

👉 have a shot at

有机会能……（have a chance to do sth.）

👉 cut through the clutter 突破重围；脱颖而出

clutter n. 一堆杂乱的东西

cut v. 砍

With consumers getting an overload of information, advertises have to be more creative to cut through the clutter to gain attention. 

“These huge franchise pictures are elbowing out midrange and lower-budget movies,” said Jason E. Squire, editor of “The Movie Business Book.” “It’s harder for midsize movies to get theaters in the first place, much less hold onto them long enough to build an audience.”

👉 elbow out 推出；肘出

👉 much less do sth. 更不用说……（not to mention/ let alone，让步状语的引导词）

比较：let alone doing sth.

Death-Star-size movies have been around for decades, but they used to land at specific times of the year, and more modest films could steer clear. Now colossal movies arrive almost every weekend.

Mr. Dergarabedian noted that Studios used to be able to reliably counterprogram “tent pole” movies. A modest comedy aimed at young men, for instance, could go up against a fantasy sequel, and both could thrive. But that strategy has become precarious.

👉 steer clear of sb. or sth. 避开/绕开某人、某物（avoid）

👉 counterprogram vt. 制衡（电视圈术语）

👉 precarious adj. 不牢靠的，不稳定的