Stigmatized on Screen: How Hollywood Portrays Nonstandard Dialects

This book explores how marginalized communities and women are underrepresented and stereotyped on screens, particularly in relation to their dialects. It reveals how public schools perpetuate the myth of "bad" English and how filmmakers and audiences reinforce negative beliefs about stigmatized dialects. Clouse analyzes 500 top-grossing films to show how these portrayals translate to real-life linguistic discrimination and offers ways to combat this prejudice.

Format: Hardback
Length: 214 pages
Publication date: 15 August 2022
Publisher: Lexington Books

This book explores the underrepresentation and stereotypical portrayal of marginalized communities and women in media, particularly those who speak nonstandard dialects. It examines the origins of linguistic prejudice and how public schools perpetuate the myth of "bad" English. By analyzing the top-grossing films of the last 20 years, the author reveals 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 show how filmmakers and audiences work together to reinforce negative beliefs about stigmatized dialects and the people who speak them. She concludes by discussing the ways in which these portrayals translate to real-life linguistic discrimination and offers suggestions for combating this often-hidden prejudice. This book will be of particular interest to scholars of introductory sociolinguistics, American dialect studies, and media studies.

Weight: 494g
Dimension: 229 x 158 x 22 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781793647412