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可以说是现代文化中最容易一眼就认出的卡通形象了。她就是没有微笑(好吧，其实是没有嘴巴)的蒙娜丽莎。今年Hello Kitty将迎来自己40岁生日。可是你知道么，Hello Kitty其实并不是一只猫?怎么样，不知道吧!有关这只“神秘的小猫”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，位于洛杉矶的日美国家博物馆将举办名为“你好!探索HelloKitty的超可爱世界”的回顾展出。展出将回顾清水优子在1974年创作这个卡通形象的由来及其在全球的影响。展出的组织者是克里斯蒂娜·河矢野教授，她也是《粉红全球化：Hello Kitty的跨太平洋之旅》的作者。河矢野教授在做客《洛杉矶时报》时和编辑卡洛琳·米兰达一起聊起了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其实并不是一只猫，这有点奇怪，因为她是一个长得像猫且名字叫Kitty(小猫)的卡通形象。但事实是，她是一个小学三年级的小女孩。
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.
河矢野教授说：“这是三丽鸥公司对我参加展出的发言词中更正的一个部分。Hello Kitty不是猫。她是一个卡通形象。她是一个小女孩，是我们的朋友，但她不是猫。她从来没有四只脚走路的形象，始终都保持着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还是个英国人，她的真名叫做Kitty White，生日是11月1日，所以Hello Kitty应该是天蝎座的(是个固执的小女孩)。他的父亲叫George White，母亲叫Mary White，他们一家居住在伦敦。据官方公布，她身高约为“五个苹果”那么高，体重约为“三个苹果”那么重。她还有一个叫做Mimmy的孪生姐妹。“而且她还养着一只叫做CHARMMY KITTY长得和她一模一样的宠物猫!”长得像猫但不是猫的卡通形象还养了一只猫……此外她还有一只叫做Sugar的小仓鼠，就像白色版本的小号萝莉熊。
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影响力同样巨大的还有“尿尿的凯文”贴纸，但Hello Kitty的形象更可爱更可信。说实话，我们的厨房用品中很多都有Hello Kitty的形象。她几乎无所不在。她代表着日裔美国人的一种身份。“Hello Kitty在70年代中期来到美国的时候，是作为一种商品主要在亚裔圈子如中国城、日本城等流行。”河矢野教授解释说：“我们和一些70年代长大的日裔美国人谈过，他们说‘这个形象对我们意义重大，因为这是我们日本的形象’。他们已经把Kitty看成了一种身份标记。”