Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
They make comedy movies about them and horror movies, like Devil's Rejects (which is a good movie, I must admit), but they won't put them as TV news host, a great majority of them are not from the South. Even when Laura Bush gave speeches with her Southern accent, the crowd laughed at her and then she became embarrassed. I've seen several movie scenes of one of them sitting on a rocking chair on his front porch, staring into the sky even after a person approaches him and asks him a question, it takes a long time for him to respond and when he does, it's like he has a bird stare look with crossed eyes that gives you the impression that he is confused, lost, unaware of his surroundings. Yeah, it might be true that some of them are like that, but maybe they should try to change their characters a little more to make them seem more normal.
I used to be a radio personality, and being around the business I can tell you it's not that Southern people are not TV news hosts, because there are plenty out there, you just don't realize it. You are trained to get rid of regional accents to appeal to the masses. When is the last time you heard a news reporter with a New Jersey accent?
The media dramatizes people and events in order to sell a product, and if people are gullible enough to believe everything they see in the movies then tell me who the stupid ones are.
I have a strong accent that anyone living in the Memphis mid-south will pickup after 40 years. I've had people from the west coast in particular laugh at my "twang" quite a bit. Its just a difference in people from different regions. I like a southern accent a lot more than most I've heard. I really enjoy listening to those from GA, NC, SC, and VA. That "Old South" sound is great.
I do concur with the OP's statement that you don't hear a lot of southern accents of TV, except Shepard Smith on Fox (from my home state of Mississippi). His accent is strong for a TV personality, but it is controlled a great deal compared to the casual southern person on the street.
I love the way Laura Bush speaks, she seems a lot more cordial, open, and trustworty than her husband! (That opinion is coming from a conservative too)
So laughing at a different accent is supposed to be educated? I think that is just rude and I hope no one in the South ever does that. So laugh on, it just shows your ignorance.
I don't think Laura Bush would feel anything bad about her accent. She has a very endearing way of speaking. You probably mistook her shock at the rudeness of the people laughing in the wrong way.
I talked to people with many ways of speaking while working in the library. One thing I noticed is a persons manner. People who feel inferior to others are forever making fun of others. It is a matter of trying to bring another person down so you can feel better about yourself. People who feel good about themselves don't seem to feel the need to do that.
As for how the media pokes fun at Southerners, I think a person who acts dumb is probably better than someone who goes around shouting, pushing, shoving, acting like animals the way it shows the Northern states. I know everybody up there could not act like that because I have Northern friends who are very nice.
Stereotypes exist for ALL regions of the U.S., and accents that perpetuate the stereotypes are not limited to only the South.
Deep South "twangs" are usually seen as belonging to uneducated/intolerant people. Northeastern "Rocky" style accents are usually seen as as belonging to illiterate bully types. West Coast "Dude" accents are usually pegged to the blond surfer airhead stereotype. etc etc .. the list goes on. And it's not just limited to regional accents either - there are stereotyped ethnic, gay, actions/accents as well.
All of these stereotypes along with the accents that go with them, have been and continue to be represented in movies and tv shows. Likewise, it's not uncommon for TV and radio personalities to purposely tone down or try to eliminate their accents completely due to how the public will view them if they don't (of if they'll even be hired if they don't). It's not as harsh as it was a few years ago, but in the 80s it was well known that personalities would even go to special speech classes designed to completely eliminate accents.
The point: Every group gets poked fun of at some point in the media, reports, or entertainment shows/movies. Living in the South, I think sometimes Southerners are more prone to being offended by it than some others, but it does happen to everyone.
Stereotypes exist for ALL regions of the U.S., and accents that perpetuate the stereotypes are not limited to only the South.
Deep South "twangs" are usually seen as belonging to uneducated/intolerant people. Northeastern "Rocky" style accents are usually seen as as belonging to illiterate bully types. West Coast "Dude" accents are usually pegged to the blond surfer airhead stereotype. etc etc .. the list goes on. And it's not just limited to regional accents either - there are stereotyped ethnic, gay, actions/accents as well.
All of these stereotypes along with the accents that go with them, have been and continue to be represented in movies and tv shows. Likewise, it's not uncommon for TV and radio personalities to purposely tone down or try to eliminate their accents completely due to how the public will view them if they don't (of if they'll even be hired if they don't). It's not as harsh as it was a few years ago, but in the 80s it was well known that personalities would even go to special speech classes designed to completely eliminate accents.
The point: Every group gets poked fun of at some point in the media, reports, or entertainment shows/movies. Living in the South, I think sometimes Southerners are more prone to being offended by it than some others, but it does happen to everyone.
I agree with you, but it goes to another level with the South. Why do you think there are new threads on City Data almost weekly asking if it's safe for African American people to visit the South?
It's because of the media portrayal of the South, and some people don't know better.
Sure, surfer dudes are poked fun at, but they aren't portrayed as violent, intolerant rednecks who spit tobacco and string up black people. Don't say it's because of history either, because black people were hanged in 37 states between the years of 1882 and 1962.
I agree with you, but it goes to another level with the South. Why do you think there are new threads on City Data almost weekly asking if it's safe for African American people to visit the South?
It's because of the media portrayal of the South, and some people don't know better.
Sure, surfer dudes are poked fun at, but they aren't portrayed as violent, intolerant rednecks who spit tobacco and string up black people. Don't say it's because of history either, because black people were hanged in 37 states between the years of 1882 and 1962.
Agree'd, everything from "Deliverance" to "Mississippi Burning" has shown the south as the racist netherworld of lynchings and beatings, it has gotten so firmly rooted into some American's way of thinking that they don't know any better.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
