TO PLEASE THE CRITICS, GET THE RIGHT JAMAICAN ACCENT IN THE MOVIES!

Observer senior reporter—

NETFLIX ‘s second season of Marvel Comics’ Luke Cage was chock full of Jamaican references. From local history and folklore to the ever-present popular culture of our indigenous reggae music and general way of life. In addition, a significant portion of episode 11 — The Creator, was shot locally.

This season of the superhero series was met with mixed reactions. A prevailing critique was what is seen as the poor attempts at the Jamaican accent.

This criticism is not new. Jamaicans have, over the years, shown their displeasure with the way the local accent and dialect are portrayed by non-Jamaicans in Hollywood productions.

Twenty years ago, it was American actor Taye Diggs who was the subject of criticism for his handling of patois in How Stella Got Her Groove Back. Diggs’ character, Winston Shakespeare, was the young Jamaican who swept the much older Stella off her feet.

However, Hollywood actor Leon — known to many from his role in Disney’s Cool Runnings — cautions against coming down too hard on the actors for their handling of the Jamaican accent. He told the Jamaica Observer that sometimes what comes out on screen is based on direction.

“When I was filming Cool Runnings, we kept on getting a lot of production notes from Disney and one of the things was that my accent was too thick and it needed to be toned down. They kept on saying they wanted my character to be the Jamaican Aladdin… speak standard English with just some Jamaican undertones. However, for Malik Yoba’s character, they wanted more of a ‘yaad’ tone. So although an actor might come in with an interpretation of the accent, there are times when the director, producer of studio may have a totally different sound for the character,” the American actor explained to the Sunday Observer.

Leon also noted that the end product also results from persons not being educated as to what the particular accents should sound like.

“There are a lot of studio heads, producers and directors who don’t know better and think what the actor is doing is the best thing. I always advise that you surround yourself with native speakers to make sure what you are doing is authentic or as close as possible,” said Leon.

Over the years, other actors and productions which have been criticised include Academy Award winner Whoopi Goldberg for her portrayal of a Jamaican in Clara’s Heart. Goldberg’s attempt at a Jamaican accent was limited to dropping a word ending and a few subtle intonations. It was however, more of the cultural references which the producers got wrong. The traditional coconut cake known as toto was described as coconut raisin cookies. There was also the scene where Goldberg orders breakfast for her guest.

“This is Clara Mayfield in Bungalow B. Could you send me up a traditional platter with a side of cho cho? Yes I’ve got a lady here who grew up in Jamaica and longing for the taste,” Goldberg’s lines read.

Two-time Oscar winner Denzel Washington was also chastised for his handling of the accent in the 1989 thriller The Mighty Quinn. Actors portraying dreadlocked Jamaicans in Marked for Death, the 1990 film which starred action hero Steven Seagal, were also criticized for the use of language.

Ten years ago, Hollywood heartthrob Brad Pitt earned the respect of Jamaicans for his handling of the accent in the romantic fantasy Meet Joe Black. Pitt shared scenes with veteran Jamaica actress Lois Kelly Miller, who is said to have coached him on getting the nuances of the Jamaican accent correct.