Anthropology 2D/Linguistics 68: Language and Culture Assignment 2
Winter 2014
Professor Keith M. Murphy Due Wednesday, March 12
The goal of your second assignment is describe and analyze some ways in which language is used to stereotype certain “kinds” of people in feature-length animated films. In working on the assignment you should draw direct inspiration from Rosina Lippi-Green’s article on accents in Disney films, “Teaching Children How to Discriminate.”
You may be wondering, “Professor, what do you need to do?” Good question.
• Select an animated film from the list provided below.
You don’t need to choose a Disney film, but since they’re by far the largest producers of animated films for kids, you’ll probably end up with one anyway. If you want to choose one that’s not on the list, clear it with your TA first.
The only criteria you need to care about are:
1) that it’s feature-length (a movie, not a TV-episode),
2) that it was released in the US, and
3) that it was released in the last 6 years or so (we’re flexible with this).
NOTE: If you’re a non-native English speaker, talk to your TA about alternatives.
• Once you’ve chosen a film, watch it.
Take notes. Pay special attention to different accents used by different characters, especially how language helps to evoke particular stereotyped identities.
• After you’ve done that, spend the bulk of the paper drawing up a systematic description of the varieties of English (or other languages, if applicable) used in the film.
Do the main characters use standard American or British English? Are there lots of accents? What about other non-mainstream ways of speaking that aren’t tied to accent?
You should describe the relevant characters, including features like their gender, what they look like, how they dress, what their job is, who they hang around with, etc.), along with the type of English each uses.
Overall, use Lippi-Green’s article as a model. You don’t need to use numbers as much as she did (unless you want to!), but you do need to pay close attention to the ways language and characterizations are linked in the film.
??1
?The point is to show how the film portrays different stereotypical kinds of characters with particular ways of speaking.
These ways of speaking can include obvious “French” or “Asian” accents, or can include other things, like fast-talking, slow-talking, funny word-choices, etc.
If the movie’s characters are almost all animals, then which animals are associated with which kinds of accents?
• As part of the write-up, transcribe some quotes from the film (no need for fancy transcription conventions), and try to represent non-standard speech as accurately as possible.
If you’re particularly skilled, you can include images from the film in your paper.
• The conclusion of the paper should be a brief discussion of the overall impression this film can leave on children regarding how accents are associated with different kinds of work and different kinds of people.
The paper should be 750-1000 words long (~3-4 pages). If you need more space, please clear it with your TA first.
Despicable Me 2 2013 Frozen 2013 Monsters University 2013 The Croods 2013 Turbo 2013 Epic 2013 CloudywithaChanceofMeatballs2 2013 Planes 2013 The Wind Rises 2013 Escape From Planet Earth 2013 ParaNorman 2012 Madagascar 3 2012 Ice Age: Continental Drift 2012 Rise of The Guardians 2012 Hotel Transylvania 2012 The Lorax 2012 Brave 2012 Wreck-It Ralph 2012 Frankenweenie 2012 The Secret World of Arrietty 2012
?Rio
Cars 2
The Smurfs
2011
2011
2011
2
Kung Fu Panda 2 2011 Gnomeo and Juliet 2011 Puss in Boots 2011 Rango 2011 Mars Needs Moms 2011 Toy Story 3 2010 Tangled 2010 Up 2009 Tinkerbell and the Lost Treasure 2009 A Christmas Carol 2009 Princess and the Frog 2009 Little Mermaid III: Ariel’s Beginning 2008 Wall E 2008 Bolt 2008 Tinker Bell 2008 Cinderella III: A Twist in Time 2007
Ratatouille
2007
https://eee.uci.edu/14w/60080/homepage/Week8_LippiGreen1997.pdf
Use the order calculator below and get started! Contact our live support team for any assistance or inquiry.
[order_calculator]