[HPFGU-Movie] regional accents (was Confusion reigns re: Pettigrew and Lupin

[ArtsyLynda at aol.com]

> In the US, we (=non-Southerners <g>) think 
> Southern accents sound dumb, even when they emerge from patently 
> intelligent people.  And we think upper-class English accents sound 
> intelligent, even when they emerge from evident idiots.
> 
Whereas we Southerners may hear the clipped accents of Bostonians, for 
instance, and think "snob" or a Queens, Brooklyn or Bronx (parts of New York 
City) accent and think "brusk and annoying" (and various other things), LOL!  
I think it's probably the same with some British accents, although I'm no 
expert on them and can't say where many of them are from.  Some sound snobby, 
some sound corny ("country"), some sound ignorant -- amazing how those sounds 
can influence people's perception of us.  I know better than to believe 
someone from Boston is a snob, someone from Queens is necessarily obnoxious, 
or someone from Alabama or Texas is "slow" -- and I truly love to hear a wide 
variety of accents.  I think the Scots accent is my favorite - I could listen 
to "Oliver Wood" talk all day!  (His accent IS Scots, isn't it??)  I'm very 
appreciative of actors who can keep their accents (or use the right one at 
the right time) and still be *understandable*!  Some actors have such thick 
accents that it's hard to understand the dialog.  I'm glad all those in the 
Potter films so far have all had quite understandable accents -- and I 
delight in the diversity of the accents, whereever they're from.

As for the Pettigrew casting -- eek!  That guy really doesn't look like a 
scrawny rat!  What was the casting director thinking?  Thanks, all, for the 
links to the pictures!  I wouldn't know a lot of these character actors 
without them.

Lynda 
* * *
"Don't let  the Muggles get you down." Ron Weasley PoA


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