Dahling, I Finished The Internet

4 Replies to “Dahling, I Finished The Internet”

1. Mid-Atlantic vs lower class diction were superbly parodied in “Singin’ in the Rain”:
   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3OkXi5osfU

2. Yes … maybe … the accents derive from the East Coast “horsey-set”. Rich kids who take their favorite Jumper to boarding school (as did my filthy rich second cousin). However, their accents appear nearly indentical to what I hear every Saturday and Sunday morning watching the EPL games of the week. Erudite-sounding Announcers; Arlo White, Lee Dixon, Robby Earle, Rebecca Lowe … all drop their ‘r’s’ and soften every vowel sound … and they even have me pronouncing; Con-TRER-vassy instead of controVERsy

3. When you watch the older movies you notice immediately the way the actors speak to one another. Many actors from that era were trained on the stage where speaking clearly was a requisite.
   Sometime in the sixties or early seventies in order to be more earthier or realistic or something Hollywood adopted what I call ‘early caveman’. The speaking style now is all grunts and gesticulations with a few murmurs and grimaces thrown in for good measure.

4. And my pet peeve about actors today! Whisper-talking. Every tough guy actor WHISPERS every line. I guess it communicates “mysteriousness” or “quiet power”. … but EVERYONE effing WHISPERS !!! Clint Eastwood, Steven Segal (hey … his movies are funny!), Kiefer Sutherland … uggh … it’s getting annoying.