This book reveals how marginalized communities and women are underrepresented on our screens and, too often, depicted in stereotypical ways. This is doubly true for marginalized speakersthose who speak traditionally nonstandard dialects. Lindsey Clouse examines the origins of linguistic prejudice and how our public schools perpetuate the myth of bad English. By dissecting the 500 top-grossing films of the last 20 years, Clouse exposes how speakers of Black English, Southern U.S. English, Spanish-influenced English, and gendered speech patterns are represented, underrepresented, misrepresented, and mocked. Clouse analyzes hundreds of films and characters to reveal how filmmakers and audiences work together to reinforce negative beliefs about stigmatized dialects and the people who speak them and reveals how those beliefs stack up against decades of linguistic research. She concludes by showing that these portrayals translate to real-life linguistic discrimination and discusses the ways in which we can combat this often-hidden prejudice. Scholars of introductory sociolinguistics, american dialect studies, and media studies, will find this book of particular interest.
This book analyzes the 500 top-grossing films of the last 20 years to show how speakers of traditionally stigmatized dialects are represented, underrepresented, misrepresented, and mocked. Ultimately, the author demonstrates how Hollywood reinforces long-standing negative beliefs about the languages of marginalized communities.
Recenzijas
"Clouse's cross-genre look at pop culture representations of dialect and accent as encoded proxies for tightly held cultural beliefs and stereotypes about race and identity goes beyond the superficial questions we ask ourselves as filmgoers and media-consumers Why do the heros have mainstream accents? Why does the racist character have a southern accent in Chicago? With a thorough synthesis of data and a stark reveal of the jaundiced and mis-representational linguistic and lexical crutches of Hollywood's entertainment-makers, Clouse makes a compelling case that even shows praised for their authenticity reveal motives for entertainment at the cost of linguistic accuracies." -- Grant Barrett, Vice President for Communications and Technology, American Dialect Society
Contents
List of Table
About the Author
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1: Introduction: You know something, youre smart, if you would just
deign to speak English"
Chapter 2: She pretty. And she talk good too: Black English and Its
Speakers
Chapter 3: You aint from around here, are you?: White Southern U.S.
English
Chapter 4: You need to work on that accent, Pablo: Spanish,
Spanish-Accented English, and Spanish-Influenced English
Chapter 5: Its like whatever: Gendered Speech Patterns and Mock White
Girl
Chapter 6: We aint come this far: Conclusions
Bibliography
Appendix A: List of Films by Estimated Number of Tickets Sold
Appendix B: Suggestions for Further Reading
Lindsey Clouse is instructor of English at Western Dakota Technical College and Black Hills State University in Rapid City, South Dakota.
