Ok, I seriously think that when Australians, British, New Zealanders, etc. do movies and shows that they should keep their accents! I mean really, I noticed that in one of the Beowulf movies that the folks were all talking like they were from the Middle Atlantic region of the US- um, that accent didn't exist back then. Also in fantasy it really wrecks the illusion of long ago and far away to hear everyone talking like they're from Delaware. Guys, we like different accents. What's this all about? Is there some nerd in the entertainment industry dictating that one, tired accent for all the world? Can you imagine how lame Zorro would have been had Banderas spoken like he was from Pennslyvania?
Why does everyone have to sound like they bought the same cloned accent from the local Walmart? Is it some weird conspiracy to make Pennsylvanians and Southern Californians feel unity? Individuality, dialects, accents- they are wonderful things! Can you imagine Gimli talking like he was from South Jersey? Or Gandalf from Upstate NY?
I first noticed this trend in the 90s with Hercules and Zena (I know..) This was supposed to be ancient Greece, the actors were from Australia or New Zealand, yet they spoke like they were from my uncle's neighborhood in South Jersey. Old British sounding accents would have been so much better. Again with the LOTR references, going by this theory, would the orcs sound like they were from the Bronx or would they be southerners (since they were bad-guys and kinda stupid- the acceptable American stereotypes)? Hiss.
The Legend of the Seeker- another absolutely GREAT show- but only the bad guy shows his accent. The show would just seem more at home with the British rather than the Mid-Atlantic accents. It's medieval times, for pity's sake! There was no Pennsylvania back then!
I remember reading a BLOG a year or so ago- a British one. This person was fussing about the same thing- that over there it seemed like there was only the London accent in shows and movies. We've been told to "celebrate our diversity" but it seems the only one taking this seriously is the Disney Channel. And with them it's the "Pass the Plate" and the other one with the kids and their parents during commercial breaks- all their shows have the same tired accent, too, except maybe Hannah Montana (no comment).
And hearing people of color sound like white guys from Dover, Del. is just disturbing. Am I just weird? (don't answer that) I just can't figure out why anyone would want everyone to sound exactly the same. A common language is nice and easy to follow, but people are not so stupid to not be able to figure out what "mate" and "y'all" mean. Or to be able to figure out a different pronunciation- if so, they just really need to get out more.
And if we are going to create a clone accent that everyone must needs speak like, could it not be London's? It sounds so much classier than the flat, bland American Northeast (and California, apparently).
Along these same lines, since when was Colorado pronounced with a yucky short a instead of the ah? Ditto for Nevada. And while I'm at it, I think that the East Indians sound much nicer when the Brits have taught them English, the M-A American sounds wrong with them somehow. And speaking of Indians, first, I will say that I wrote my congresspeople about not passing any bills that would hurt them, since well, duh- all that National Forest land that nobody can access, ought to be theirs, not the UN's. And also, things really ought to be made right with them, not breaking treaties by the US Gov again. But, how did these Native Americans from out West end up speaking like they were from Delaware? Did the gov insist that as well as speaking English that they had to speak it like they were from the Mid-Atlantic?
Again, I'll say, things need to be made right with the Native Americans, or Indians (as the ones I've met here prefer to be called). The Aussies did it with the Aboriginals, they put it to a vote and 90% od the people voted to make it right. We ought to do the same, really. Give them back their tribal lands, since NOBODY's on them anyway!!! How lame is it to keep it from them and just let it be waste?
If there is something that needs to be righted that was wrong, make it right. We did reparations for slavery, but the Amerindians are still being treated like the skeleton in the closet, the shameful secret that nobody wants to talk about or admit. Seriously, maybe if we write our congresspeople, it would happen. Then they wouldn't have to be on reservations or running casinos. It's gone on too long- did you know that even in the 1960s the Indians were being run off their land? That they were denied their traditions (and I ain't talkin 'bout peyote) and were not allowed to speak their language? How retarded is that? And they were actually being sterilized! Is this America or Red China? Well... now, there's a question these days. But, anyway, whether wrongs were done on whatever side of whatever issues, those folks who did the wrongs are long in the ground (except for the more recent issues of cultural prejudice), so let's just make things right and be a great nation once again.
If in our personal lives we need to make something right, we really should. It starts at home. And finally, if you have an accent, speak with it! There's nothing to be ashamed of. They preached diversity to us in the media for years, let's give it to 'em! Speak proudly. Break those pesky stereotypes. (All Itallians are not in the Mob, nor are all Russian men). And, yes, even you flat, nasal mid-atlantic-ers. Let's just be who we are and enjoy the uniqueness of our world and her cultures. Let's just say no to being clones!!! No need to feel threatened by an accent, is there? C'mon, now- really.
God Save America :-)
Rose
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