tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16876687.post484284198729343122..comments2024-02-27T16:59:54.089-05:00Comments on (The New) Theatre Ideas: Roy Blount On South (and North)Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16876687.post-39832466781945079982007-08-03T11:45:00.000-04:002007-08-03T11:45:00.000-04:00Having lived in the south for much of my life, mos...Having lived in the south for much of my life, mostly in the triad regions of NC, I lived under the impression that I had somehow escaped the southern accent of my mother and other relatives. To my mind, such accents were reserved for those who lived in the extreme eastern and western regions of the state. Such accents were synonymous with ignorance or, at least, that's how I feared others might view it--that they might see me as unsophisticated or uncultured.<BR/><BR/>It was quite a shock when I went to visit a friend in NYC many years ago. I have never had so many comments about an accent that I didn't know existed (nothing mean spirited, just an acknowledgment). Living in Washington, DC now, I still get that quite a bit as well (since most people in DC originate from someplace other than that area). My accent used to be something that I tried to downplay as much as possible because telling someone I was from NC frequently lead to a remark like "oh, that's where Jesse Helms is from, right?" Now if confronted with such a remark I say something like, "yes, but its also where Andy Griffith, James Taylor, and John Coltrane are from"--or something to that effect.<BR/><BR/>I would like to make one other point:<BR/><BR/>Despite negative caricatures of southerners that might pop up, there are also many wonderful examples of uniquely southern artists and southern works that have flourished with mainstream audiences in recent history.<BR/><BR/>Film:<BR/><BR/>Billy Bob Thornton directed the films Slingblade and All the Pretty Horses, Robert Duvall directed the brilliant film The Apostle, Tim Burton directed Big Fish (an adaptation by NC author Daniel Wallace), Maggie Greenwald directed the film Songcatcher, and NC based director David Gordon Green won a top prize at the Cannes Film Festival for his film George Washington, which was set outside of WInston-Salem, NC. In addition, Green went on to direct two other films set in rural areas: All The Real Girls and Undertow.<BR/><BR/>Literature:<BR/><BR/>In terms of literature, Kaye Gibbons (whose books have been chosen for Oprah's book club), Lee Smith, and Daniel Wallace are all authors from NC who continue to write southern stories and southern characters. They have also managed to build a strong literary following. In addition, the NC based publisher Algonquin Books has been highly successful and published many bestsellers in recent years.<BR/><BR/> I don't watch that much television, so I can't speak intelligently about southern representations on it (or the current lack thereof). I also can't think of many recent southern plays, but then again, I don't claim to be an authority on contemporary theatre.<BR/><BR/>I'm sure many negative stereotypes exist, but I would only suggest that there are many southern artists who are currently prospering, producing works that counter such negative images.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com