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 speakers—those 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.
By:
Lindsey Clouse
Imprint: Lexington Books
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions:
Height: 229mm,
Width: 152mm,
ISBN: 9781793647436
ISBN 10: 1793647437
Pages: 214
Publication Date: 15 June 2024
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming
"Contents List of Table About the Author Acknowledgements Chapter 1: Introduction: “You know something, you’re 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 ain’t 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: “It’s like whatever”: Gendered Speech Patterns and Mock White Girl Chapter 6: “We ain’t 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.
Reviews for Stigmatized on Screen: How Hollywood Portrays Nonstandard Dialects
"""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."""
