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Usenet Posted 21 years ago
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Fake onscreen Southern accents - why?
British actors have laid down some terrible American accents on celluloid: Michael Caine and Bob Hoskins spring to mind. And Vivien Leigh and Olivia De Havilland in ?Gone With The Wind'.
But not only British: Dan Akroyd and Morgan Freeman, as much as Jessica Tandy, supply accents in ?Driving Miss Daisy' as genuine as an orange grove in Vermont.
(And, whilst on GWTW, let's not forget that Clark Gable's accent had not a whiff of magnolia about it.)
A striking recent example that (I think) went with the joke was O Brother Where Art Thou? ? which is expressly set in Mississippi (though in some parallel universe). Every accent in that movie seemed almost officiously a bad attempt from north of the Mason-Dixon Line, all except Holly Hunter's (which is from suburban Atlanta, I think) and that of the blind guy who runs the radio station.
Whereabouts in the South did that guy's accent come from?
(The actor is, according to IMDb, one Stephen Root
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0740535/
born (and raised?) in Sarasota, FL. He might have been, y'know, acting, so the accent in the movie might not come from Florida.)
The only onscreen Mississippi accent I can recall as definitely genuine (another illusion to be shattered?) is that of Shelby Foote of Ken Burns ?Civil War' fame.
My suspicion is that, in Hollywood, there is the equivalent for Southern accents of the English ?mummerset': some particular vocal tics that pass as Southern from Chesapeake Bay to the Oklahoma line.
Don't Southerners object to the lack of authenticity?
Very few ?star' actors seem to retain a Southern accent: Holly Hunter is the only one I can think of, off the top of the head.
But if a Southern accent is ?box office poison', why do so many movies feature fake ones?
But not only British: Dan Akroyd and Morgan Freeman, as much as Jessica Tandy, supply accents in ?Driving Miss Daisy' as genuine as an orange grove in Vermont.
(And, whilst on GWTW, let's not forget that Clark Gable's accent had not a whiff of magnolia about it.)
A striking recent example that (I think) went with the joke was O Brother Where Art Thou? ? which is expressly set in Mississippi (though in some parallel universe). Every accent in that movie seemed almost officiously a bad attempt from north of the Mason-Dixon Line, all except Holly Hunter's (which is from suburban Atlanta, I think) and that of the blind guy who runs the radio station.
Whereabouts in the South did that guy's accent come from?
(The actor is, according to IMDb, one Stephen Root
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0740535/
born (and raised?) in Sarasota, FL. He might have been, y'know, acting, so the accent in the movie might not come from Florida.)
The only onscreen Mississippi accent I can recall as definitely genuine (another illusion to be shattered?) is that of Shelby Foote of Ken Burns ?Civil War' fame.
My suspicion is that, in Hollywood, there is the equivalent for Southern accents of the English ?mummerset': some particular vocal tics that pass as Southern from Chesapeake Bay to the Oklahoma line.
Don't Southerners object to the lack of authenticity?
Very few ?star' actors seem to retain a Southern accent: Holly Hunter is the only one I can think of, off the top of the head.
But if a Southern accent is ?box office poison', why do so many movies feature fake ones?
Top answer
[nq:1]British actors have laid down some terrible American accents on celluloid: Michael Caine and Bob Hoskins spring to mind. And ... of the head.
- [nq:1]British actors have laid down some terrible American accents on celluloid: Michael Caine and Bob Hoskins spring to mind.
- And ...
- of the head.
- [/nq] Since you seem to know, what exactly is wrong with the various attempts?
- I mean what features are you miffed about?
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6 Answers
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[nq:1]British actors have laid down some terrible American accents on celluloid: Michael Caine and Bob Hoskins spring to mind. And ... of the head. But if a Southern accent is ?box office poison', why do so many movies feature fake ones?[/nq]
Since you seem to know, what exactly is wrong with the various attempts? I mean what features are you miffed about? Do people in Minnesota sound like tha
Since you seem to know, what exactly is wrong with the various attempts? I mean what features are you miffed about? Do people in Minnesota sound like tha
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halcombe filted:
[nq:1]British actors have laid down some terrible American accents on celluloid: Michael Caine and Bob Hoskins spring to mind. And ... Freeman, as much as Jessica Tandy, supply accents in ?Driving Miss Daisy' as genuine as an orange grove in Vermont.[/nq]
I never had a problem with Hoskins's attempts at an American accent...I was surprised to learn after seeing "Who Framed
[nq:1]British actors have laid down some terrible American accents on celluloid: Michael Caine and Bob Hoskins spring to mind. And ... Freeman, as much as Jessica Tandy, supply accents in ?Driving Miss Daisy' as genuine as an orange grove in Vermont.[/nq]
I never had a problem with Hoskins's attempts at an American accent...I was surprised to learn after seeing "Who Framed
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[nq:1]Now if you want to talk about hideously inappropriate accents, there's Sean Connery in virtually anything he's done since leaving ... Chicago cop, or CGI flying Norman dragon, he never makes an attempt to sound like anything other than Sean Connery..[/nq]
Not Russian, but Lithuanian. Maybe when he was speaking Russian, that's what a Lithuanian accent sounds like!
Andrew Gwilliam
Not Russian, but Lithuanian. Maybe when he was speaking Russian, that's what a Lithuanian accent sounds like!
Andrew Gwilliam
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What I've noticed is that few southern actors retain their southern accents in order to get parts other than in Deliverance. Hollywood's southern accents are as related to the south as the BBC accent is to Yorkshire. It is a made up accent which is comprehendable to the maximum number of people. The difference is that while the BBC made up one accent for all the announcers, each movie actor has to
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Andrew Gwilliam filted:
[nq:2]Now if you want to talk about hideously inappropriate accents, ... an attempt to sound like anything other than Sean Connery..[/nq]
[nq:1]Not Russian, but Lithuanian. Maybe when he was speaking Russian, that's what a Lithuanian accent sounds like![/nq]
In any event, it's not a universal Scottish failing...Alan ******* is a marvel with all sorts of dialect.
[nq:2]Now if you want to talk about hideously inappropriate accents, ... an attempt to sound like anything other than Sean Connery..[/nq]
[nq:1]Not Russian, but Lithuanian. Maybe when he was speaking Russian, that's what a Lithuanian accent sounds like![/nq]
In any event, it's not a universal Scottish failing...Alan ******* is a marvel with all sorts of dialect.
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[nq:1]What I've noticed is that few southern actors retain their southern accents in order to get parts other than in ... Mississippi delta accent - neither could understand a word the other was saying, and I was having trouble understanding both.[/nq]
On PBS they use subtitles for programs about Louisiana.
On PBS they use subtitles for programs about Louisiana.
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