Date: Sat, 10 Sep 1994 15:12:53 -0700

From: THOMAS L CLARK tlc[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]NEVADA.EDU

Subject: Re: Language and Status



On Sat, 10 Sep 1994, Timothy C. Frazer wrote:



How about the movie "Working Girl" which was discussed here last week?

(I still haven't seen it!)



I ran out and rented it after someone on the list mentioned it. Melanie

Griffin does a pretty good pygmalion dragging herself up by her

bootstraps, but the message is not so clear as in the Leslie Howard

production. Melanie takes a speech class, which we never attend. She

practices pronouncing Sigourney Weaver's voice a bit. She gets rid of

the 'big hair' and dresses for success. She pulls off a business deal

and gets her man at the end. But Harrison Ford isn't that great a catch,

and the linguistic aspect of status is very minor in the production.

I'll stick with the 1939 production for a bit.

Cheers,

tlc