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Author: AgProv

Jul 27th 2012 at 9:02:33 AM

Winston Smith was the central character in George Orwell's ''1984''. (Orwell was an Old Etonian, ironically).

Also, another reason why BBC English plays best in the USA is the problem the Yanks have got with British regional accents.  Look at the way "real" British regional accents have been softened for American ears, to a point where they frankly sound ridiculous to us - Dick van Dyke cockney, Scotty in Star Trek "Scottish", and Daphne Moon's peculiar Mancunian in "Frasier".  Keeping it Standard English throughout is simply a better bet for Americans - it's the British English they're most used to.

The second reason - you see this more in homegrown British drama, and in films/novels from the earlier part of the 20th century up till about, perhaps, the   seventies.

Standard Engish = upper classes = officers, gentlemen and leaders.

regional accents = lower classes = sergeants' mess at best = followers.

Class-conscious snobbery.  There's also a notion that the lower the social class and the coarser the accent, the more likely the speaker is to be a caricature - either a salt of the earth rough diamond working class person, or an untrustworthy member of the criminal classes with no in between or nuances. Either way, lack of education or intelligence are presumed - these are people who need to be led and steered by a firm yet kindly hand.

Examples:

Comic books: Digby (lower class, other ranks) to Dan Dare (plummy officer, Space Pilot of the Future)

Radio:  Paul Temple - upper-class crimefighter. His manservant - isn't.

Red Dwarf: Rimmer (upper middle class dork?)  lister (Scouse and streetwise).

Blakes' Seven: just about everyone went to RADA.