Why are fantasy world accents British?

[Dilettante]

Originally Posted by Nerwen

It didn't help that, as I recall, his first line was something like "I need English courage now", which really did sound quite funny.

Of course, to echo narrforc's point, the "real" Robin Hood ( if there was such person) wouldn't have had anything like a modern British accent– or even have been speaking modern English. And yet, that kind of thing can indeed be jarring. Perhaps it's that *some* American accents already carry strong associations of their own for most viewers. I mean, if someone looks medieval but sounds like a cowboy, that pretty much does it for suspension of disbelief...

Similar to what I was about to say. British accents (especially RP) tend to be softer and less jarring to the ears. They usually just sound better.

Also, American actors tend to not smooth over their accents unless they are specifically told to. American English really has no special "broadcast" accent (the US equivalent of BBC English) that is used across the board for actors. There used to be one, but it has rather fallen into disuse.

Someone who looks medieval or like something that just stepped out of a fairytale but then sound like they are from Brooklyn/Mississippi/LA is just disconcerting.

[Lalwendë]

Originally Posted by Dilettante

Similar to what I was about to say. British accents (especially RP) tend to be softer and less jarring to the ears. They usually just sound better.

Also, American actors tend to not smooth over their accents unless they are specifically told to. American English really has no special "broadcast" accent (the US equivalent of BBC English) that is used across the board for actors. There used to be one, but it has rather fallen into disuse.

British actors rarely, if ever, drop their natural accents these days unless the role demands it. Sean Bean is not an exception, our TV and film productions feature people with a full range of British accents (of which there are many). This is possibly as a lot of British people find RP incredibly jarring and difficult (I can barely understand what Tolkien says), possibly as there's simply no need for an actor to lose his/her accent.

It's true you'll not always hear anyone letting fly with a full-on Barnsley, Liverpool or Dundee accent on screen, complete with the local dialect, especially in things with an international audience, but even if gentled in some way accents are still there.

Evene when actors do try to drop the edge off their accent, it never entirely goes. One thing I enjoy about the films of LotR is how I can still tell Bean is from Sheffield and McKellen is from Wigan. I suppose that's just because I am used to hearing British voices though - if you had to get me to tell the difference between say American and Canadian or Aussie and New Zealand, I have to admit I'd be a bit lost.

[Galadriel55]

Originally Posted by Lalwendë

if you had to get me to tell the difference between say American and Canadian

Good luck with that. Considering that both countries have tonns of immigrants from all over the place, I doubt you can have a clear-cut American or Canadian accent. And both are pretty big, so different areas have different accents. Even Bethberry and I have different accents, though you wouldn't say that we talk with an accent!

[Lalwendë]

Originally Posted by Galadriel55

Good luck with that. Considering that both countries have tonns of immigrants from all over the place, I doubt you can have a clear-cut American or Canadian accent. And both are pretty big, so different areas have different accents. Even Bethberry and I have different accents, though you wouldn't say that we talk with an accent!

I feel, at least, a bit less ashamed about my dad asking a woman we said hello to wandering on her own in a Lancashire churchyard last summer: "What are you doing such a long way from America?" She was a bit indignant and said "I am a Canadian!"

I think many British people can't tell the difference between a Lancashire and a Yorkshire accent though, looking at inconsistencies on the regional soaps Coronation Street and Emmerdale. Whereas I can often tell which village someone from Lancashire is from.

That's perhaps why I found it a bit jarring that the Hobbits' accents weren't consistent in LotR - a mishmash of 'posh', Scots and generic 'yokel'.

[Galadriel55]

I'm completely accent-deaf. I could tell that it's not how I speak, but for my life I wouldn't be able to tell you what accent is it. I've been known to mix Irish and Aussie and Brit and perhaps something else, possibly the "types" of American/Canadian. I recall one time when my family met a couple - he was from New Zealand and she was from Ireland; but before they told us that I thought they were both Brits. Well, you know, I haven't had a Higgins train me!

You have a real talent, Lal, and all others who have the fine ear to hear inconsistencies in LOTR.

As to me, well, I haven't heard them, I probably wouldn't even have noticed if Frodo spoke like your average Torontonian (unless I knew otherwise, which I do), and I think that Brittish accents are more round and are softer on the ear.

[Dilettante]

I'm not entirely accent-deaf. While I may notice the odd difference, I can't really tell you where someone is from (region-wise that is, although I can usually get the country right).

I've lived so many different place I don't really have an accent, although I say certain words in ways that I have picked up here and there.

Canadians do have an accent, even compared to Americans, but it's very subtle, you have to know what you are listening for.

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by Dilettante

Canadians do have an accent, even compared to Americans, but it's very subtle, you have to know what you are listening for.

Eh?

In what is probably my favorite "fantasy" film, this one, the main actors have British accents because that happens to be where most appear to have come from.

Is there really a conscious effort to "Anglicize" the fantasy genre, or is that just a perception? Do filmmakers actively seek out British actors for certain types of movies? Somehow, it doesn't seem like a worthwhile pursuit for such a nebulous goal as adding "loftiness" to a production. Maybe it's more luck of the draw.