Hollywood's 'fake' mid-Atlantic myth

TL:DL

[quote]TL:DL

The whole myth came about because people wanted to have a simplified version, hence all the short-form YouTube videos perpetuating the myth shown in this guy's video.

The Northeast has always been a bunch of elitist Anglophiles. 😂

I remember I used to believe the myth that everyone in old Hollywood spoke like that until I began watching films from the Golden Age (1930s-1950s).

Henry Fonda, Judy Garland, Ginger Rogers, Carole Lombard, James Stewart, Clark Gable, to list a few, all sounded like your typical American.

I think they're all from the Midwest, come to think of it.

Just watched this - it makes a lot of sense. Makes me angry that people just hear something and repeat it over and over for views.

His research makes sense. There WAS a mid-Atlantic accent and it was not instilled among all actors.

Refreshing to see this.

The archetypal exemplar: William Powell, who certainly didn't sound like he came from Pittsburgh (where he was born) or Kansas City (where he was raised).

R6 - if you watched the video - people had different accents depending on the role.

The point is - the whole Mid-Atlantic accent was taught and didn't exist - is a perpetuated myth.

It was an actual accent at that time and became confused with British actors and others who used accents for their specific roles.

Not this again. One of the most-repeated, and now least interesting, topics on DL.

Look up the dozens of prior threads covering this. Yawn.