Dan in Details magazine

[anne_t_squires]

?
> 
> Geoff:
> I think it may be a personal reaction to the article but I would not 
> have expected a piece written in that  form in a UK magazine.
> 
> I fond it strange that there was an emphasis on Daniel having to 
> learn to speak with a American accent for two reasons. Actors 
> often have to adopt different accents - I believe he had to use 
> an Australian accent in "December Boys". So, to an extent, there's 
> no big deal in practising an American accent. But it was the fact that 
> he was using bad language and that was repeated twice using 
> language which I doubt would be printed in full in a decent 
> UK magazine. 

Anne Squires:

Alla  and Geoff, I hope you don't mind if I jump in with my 2 cents.

Geoff, I saw Dan on The Ellen DeGeneres show recently.  It was a
summer rerun.  I forget what he was promoting, probably OotP.  At any
rate, he was asked to do an American accent.  I honestly can't
remember the exact context.  I believe that Ellen brought up the fact
that he had to do a different accent for "December Boys" and asked if
he could do any other accents.  I don't remember what he said in the
attempted American accent; but it certainly wasn't anything offensive.
 BTW, I didn't think he did a particularly good job.  My point is,
about the whole accent thing:

1.  Almost every single American I know is absolutely fascinated by
other accents, especially British and Aussie accents.  We think the
accent is "cool."  IMO, to many Americans, the  various British
accents sound better than our own.  It is almost always commented
upon.  In fact, now that I think about it, Jay Leno also talked to Dan
about his accent. 

In college I had a very good friend from New Zealand. I remember one
day bumping into him quite by accident.  We had a normal conversation
and as he was leaving he told me thanks for not talking about his
accent.  It seems that all day long he had been dealing with strangers
who would not shut up about his accent.  I remember that he was very
irritated about this.  I reminded him that I had known him for over
two years and that when we first met I had reacted similarly to his
accent. 

BTW, as an American southerner, I get a similar reaction when I travel
to the North.  Once I asked a policeman in New York how to get
somewhere.  He just smiled at me.  I repeated myself and I asked him
if he knew the answer.  He told me that he did know the answer and he
just wanted me to ask again so he could hear me talk.  Quite
frustrating, I assure you. 

The discussion of accents invariably and logically leads to--

2. Can you do an American accent? (Or in my case, Can you do a New
York accent? --No, I can't.)

When I read the article I had the impression that Dan was asked to try
an American accent for fun.  I did not get the impression that he was
doing it for the play.  I think perhaps you read that into the
article.  Just because Dan was asked to imitate an American does not
mean it was for any other reason than to see if he could.

About what he said.  About the language used.  I agree that I didn't
like it either;  but Dan is grown up enough to have told the reporter
that he would prefer to say something else in an American accent.  Dan
could have said whatever he pleased.  I am willing to bet that that
particular phrase was suggested by the reporter.  However, Dan
obviously went along with it.


Geoff again:
There is a personal angle here because I never 
> swear in public. I was famous for declaring my classroom a 
> non-swearing zone - and the kids accepted it. 

Anne:

Sorry, I could be misinterpreting here.  However,  this statement
implies that in other classrooms swearing was/is  allowed.  I teach at
a high school which  I believe is a rather typical American high
school.  Enrollment apx. 1350. Urban.    Swearing in all forms is
against the rules for the entire campus at all times.  Direct and
indirect swearing.  That means no one is allowed to swear. Not ever.
Period.  Anyone who does swear is suspended.  So, I ask you, is
swearing more or less tolerated in the US than in the UK?  What
happens in the "media" does not necessarily represent what happens
throughout society.  Does this aspect of the article(language) make it
more American?  I think it makes it more offensive; but I don't agree
that it makes it more American.  At least not main stream American.

Also, I don't swear either. Not ever. Not at work, obviously. Not even
when I'm away from work.  I don't like the way it sounds.  Further, I
think speech patterns can become a habit.  If you start saying a
certain word or phrase then it can easily become a habit and who knows
when you might slip without realizing it.

Geoff:
I'm not above 
> an occasional "bugger" if something goes wrong when I'm on 
> my own but the f-word and the derivative used in the article 
> absolutely infuriate me and I didn't see the relevance to Dan 
> using an American accent. Similarly, as I said before, why is he 
> practising when, in "Equus", he is an English youth in a play 
> set in England and written by a Brit?
> 
> HP hasn't been dubbed in American has it?

Anne:

Again, I don't think he's doing the accent for the play.  I think he's
doing the accent just to do the accent.  Maybe just because the
reporter asked him to. 

Geoff: 
> 
> There was also what I felt was a  intrusion on his privacy in the 
> comments about his 16th birthday which, to me, seemed to be 
> slanted to sound lewd.
> 
> I just felt that there was an underlying tone of wanting to get a 
> snigger from the readers. Hey, guys, DR drinks, swears and 
> has sex. So do a lot of people, but it doesn't define a person.

Anne:

I completely understand why the different drinking ages might be
mentioned.  To me it didn't say, "Hey, Dan drinks."  To me it said
that in the eyes of the UK Dan has had certain adult privileges which
he has had to forgo when he moved here.  To me the article said, "DR
has been living as a legal adult over there; yet over here he'll have
to deal with reverting to the status of minor."  One of the cultural
differences he'll encounter is that here one isn't a legal adult until
21. To me that was one of the points of the article.  DR is giving up
his adult status when he moves hear.  Very ironic.

Geoff:
Snip
> 
> If I have trodden on any toes, please allow me to apologise for 
> my big feet. I don't often get on my soapbox but I really wasn't 
> blown away by the article as some folk seem to have been.

Anne:

Likewise.  I hope I did not offend anyone. That certainly was not my
intention. 


>