"The Filthy American Twang": Elocution, the Advent of American "Talkies," and Australian Cultural Identity.

MOTION pictures & language; SOCIAL impact; AMERICAN films; 20TH century Australian history; CROSS-cultural studies; CROSS-cultural differences; TWENTIETH century; SOCIAL history

The article presents an examination of Australian history during the period between the two World Wars and the public critical response against the influence of American culture as experienced through films. Ostensibly, the critics were horrified by American pronunciations, especially as they compared to the preferred English upper classes whom many sought to emulate. The implied threat was that America's "low" vocalizations were actually the most obvious manifestation of the importation of "low" American culture.