Why does mainstream American Pop-Culture ignore Atlanta? (Decatur, Dallas: apartment, neighborhood)

[DeaconJ]

Originally Posted by TBClub

Im not talking about movies/tv shows being filmed here! Im talking about movies/tv shows being set here, as in the plot.

And I am not talking about the 70s or the 90s, im talking about contemporary pop culture.

I agree that mainstream plays into LA, NY, or Chicago, because a lot of times being set in those cities is necessary for the plot to work... but even cities like Denver, Houston, Dallas, Philadelphia, Boston, Phoenix all get to be the setting, even if it wasnt filmed there, of tv shows or movies.

And yes, I know that rap groups all mention Atlanta, but rap/r & b is not what im getting at becuase the only reason they do this is that they are from here. And I am not talking about people being from Atlanta representing the city in pop culture.

I think Roslynholcomb offered the best explanation.

Also, here is something interesting:

Category:Films set in the United States by city - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Atlanta, the 8th largest metro, is not even listed!

Also, another thing. Roslyn you mentioned how those cities all have identities. I agree Atlanta does not really have one. But some of these movies or tv shows dont even play into the identity of the city. its just a backdrop for the movie, it is probably mentioned in the first few minutes, but otherwise you wouldnt know what city it was if you missed that part.

Take any random Tv Show or movie that is set in the present time and is not dependent on the city it takes place in. Could you ever see that show being set in Atlanta? (thats why I mentioned grey's Anatomy as an example)

ex. Boston Legal = Atlanta Legal?? Youd never see that!

Atlanta is mentioned fairly often in music, even outside of hiphop/R&B - and I'm not sure why that "doesn't count" anyway. The B-52s, Indigo Girls, Stone Temple Pilots, John Mayer, Nelly(not from here) and several others have mentioned Atlanta in songs. Lots of country musicians have songs that mention Atlanta too...Allison Krause, Travis Tritt, and Alabama to name a couple.


Lots of movies set in Atlanta have already been mentioned. There haven't been A LOT of t.v. shows set in Atlanta, but think about it - most t.v. shows are set in NYC, L.A., or Chicago. Atlanta is pretty well represented with Designing Women (7 seasons)...and lots of t.v. shows mention Atlanta.

Just for future reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Categor...ia_(U.S._state)


I don't understand what the issue really is...it seems like to me that Atlanta gets enough attention - pop culture references included.

[DeaconJ]

Originally Posted by TakeAhike

'Dallas'/JR/80's TV series

Cheers=Boston
Seattle=Frasier
Full House/Olsen Twins=San Francisco
70's series 'Streets of San Francisco'

The early sitcoms seemed to take place in 'fly over country'--no one knew or really cared.

I wouldn't mind seeing familiar landmarks in a film or TV series but loathe the faux Southern accents. I forgive Dixie Carter and the Designing Women but once was enough. I think FOB/Clinton.

I don't think the Designing Women accents were "faux"...Delta Burke, Dixie Carter, and Annie Potts are from the South and speak they way they spoke on D.W.

[LovinDecatur]

Originally Posted by DeaconJ

I don't think the Designing Women accents were "faux"...Delta Burke, Dixie Carter, and Annie Potts are from the South and speak they way they spoke on D.W.

Yep. Jean Smart (a Seattle native) was the only non-Southerner in the ensemble.

[DeaconJ]

Originally Posted by LovinDecatur

Yep. Jean Smart (a Seattle native) was the only non-Southerner in the ensemble.

Yep...and she spoke the same way as a character on Frasier as she did on D.W.

[TakeAhike]

Originally Posted by DeaconJ

I don't think the Designing Women accents were "faux"...Delta Burke, Dixie Carter, and Annie Potts are from the South and speak they way they spoke on D.W.

'The South'--I could count on one hand the people that I have ever heard speaking with that accent. Who knows why. My father grew up in Savannah--he didn't have a Southern accent. My mother's family has some of the North Georgia accent. I grew up in 'generic' Atlanta and have 'that kind' of an accent.

I knew one person from Alabama that had a trace and another from Mississippi. And someone from Columbia, SC.

So, I suppose they did a 'real' Southern accent and perhaps the Designing Women had moved to Atlanta from 'more Southern' areas. I thought Dixie Carter was/is from TN in RL.

Julia Roberts manner of speaking is possibly closer to what I know as Southern. 'Softer'--not as clipped as other regions.

Nicole Kidman, Aussie, managed fairly well in 'Cold Mountain'. Rene Zellweger, Texan, portrayed her Southern character well enough to win an award. FWIW.

[DeaconJ]

Originally Posted by TakeAhike

'The South'--I could count on one hand the people that I have ever heard speaking with that accent. Who knows why. My father grew up in Savannah--he didn't have a Southern accent. My mother's family has some of the North Georgia accent. I grew up in 'generic' Atlanta and have 'that kind' of an accent.

I knew one person from Alabama that had a trace and another from Mississippi. And someone from Columbia, SC.

So, I suppose they did a 'real' Southern accent and perhaps the Designing Women had moved to Atlanta from 'more Southern' areas. I thought Dixie Carter was/is from TN in RL.

Julia Roberts manner of speaking is possibly closer to what I know as Southern. 'Softer'--not as clipped as other regions.

It's not a matter of someone being from a "more southern" area - I'm not even sure what that means. A person's accent is an individual characteristic, and can depend on a lot of different factors.

I really didn't notice any of those actresses having a very heavy accent. They all sounded fairly normal to me.

[TakeAhike]

Originally Posted by DeaconJ

It's not a matter of someone being from a "more southern" area - I'm not even sure what that means. A person's accent is an individual characteristic, and can depend on a lot of different factors.

I really didn't notice any of those actresses having a very heavy accent. They all sounded fairly normal to me.

When I watched the show--from Atlanta, GA, the setting of the show I wrote it off to 'Southern stereotype'. At the time 'women's issues' were a hot topic and all that. 3/4 different women dealing with life--unmarried women.

There are really not many 'Southern Belles' around--I didn't watch it that much. I had already seen 'MTM'/Rhoda and too many others. Mary Richards, Mary Tyler Moore, was more entertaining. That's all I know.

[LovinDecatur]

Originally Posted by TakeAhike

'The South'--I could count on one hand the people that I have ever heard speaking with that accent. Who knows why. My father grew up in Savannah--he didn't have a Southern accent. My mother's family has some of the North Georgia accent. I grew up in 'generic' Atlanta and have 'that kind' of an accent.

I knew one person from Alabama that had a trace and another from Mississippi. And someone from Columbia, SC.

So, I suppose they did a 'real' Southern accent and perhaps the Designing Women had moved to Atlanta from 'more Southern' areas. I thought Dixie Carter was/is from TN in RL.

Julia Roberts manner of speaking is possibly closer to what I know as Southern. 'Softer'--not as clipped as other regions.

Nicole Kidman, Aussie, managed fairly well in 'Cold Mountain'. Rene Zellweger, Texan, portrayed her Southern character well enough to win an award. FWIW.

TAH and I share the same alma mater and grew up in the same neighborhoods of Atlanta at about the same time...I absolutely agree with her that the true native Atlanta accent is barely if at all discernible. When I moved North, I would occasionally get someone asking me if I was Southern (cab drivers would sometimes ask if I was from Virginia, never any other state in the South)...but more often than not, I heard "You're from Atlanta? Why don't you have an accent?"
The transplant influx in Atlanta is not a recent development...it's been going on since its' early 19th century inception. I think this has something to do with the accent here. If you encounter someone here with a Southern accent, it's likely that they came from somewhere else in the South.

[LovinDecatur]

Originally Posted by TakeAhike

When I watched the show--from Atlanta, GA, the setting of the show I wrote it off to 'Southern stereotype'. At the time 'women's issues' were a hot topic and all that. 3/4 different women dealing with life--unmarried women.

There are really not many 'Southern Belles' around--I didn't watch it that much. I had already seen 'MTM'/Rhoda and too many others. Mary Richards, Mary Tyler Moore, was more entertaining. That's all I know.

Not any more...but you should have met my mother's bridge club. My sisters and I called them "The Dixie Dragons". Just imagine if the cast of the Sopranos were all Southern women. They terrified me.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by LovinDecatur

TAH and I share the same alma mater and grew up in the same neighborhoods of Atlanta at about the same time...I absolutely agree with her that the true native Atlanta accent is barely if at all discernible. When I moved North, I would occasionally get someone asking me if I was Southern (cab drivers would sometimes ask if I was from Virginia, never any other state in the South)...but more often than not, I heard "You're from Atlanta? Why don't you have an accent?"
The transplant influx in Atlanta is not a recent development...it's been going on since its' early 19th century inception. I think this has something to do with the accent here. If you encounter someone here with a Southern accent, it's likely that they came from somewhere else in the South.

Good post and commentary about the Atlanta accent. Atlanta has its own Southern history...and its own unique characteristics.

New Orleans is another unique, original Southern example. A Southern port city, with a firm immigrant history...and an accent that sounds a lot like the New York accent!