Cultural references to stuttering

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Cultural references to stuttering are featured in the media, popular culture and in society at large. Because of the unusual-sounding speech that is produced, as well as the behaviors and attitudes that accompany a stutter, stuttering has been a subject of scientific interest, curiosity, discrimination, and ridicule.

Stuttering was, and essentially still is, a riddle with a long history of interest and speculation into its causes and cures. Stutterers can be traced back centuries to the likes of Demosthenes,^[1] who tried to control his disfluency by speaking with pebbles in his mouth. The Talmud interprets Bible passages to indicate Moses was also a stutterer.^[1] Partly due to a perceived lack of intelligence because of his stutter, the man who became the Roman Emperor Claudius was initially shunned from the public eye and excluded from public office.^[1] His infirmity is also thought to have saved him from the fate of many other Roman nobles during the purges of Tiberius and Caligula.^{[citation needed]} Isaac Newton, the English scientist who developed the law of gravity, also had a stutter.^{[citation needed]} Other famous Englishmen who stammered were King George VI^{[citation needed]} and Prime Minister Winston Churchill,[1] who led the UK through World War II. Although George VI went through years of speech therapy for his stammer, Churchill thought that his own very mild stutter added an interesting element to his voice: "Sometimes a slight and not unpleasing stammer or impediment has been of some assistance in securing the attention of the audience…"^[2]

[edit] Variable expression

The disorder is variable, which means that in certain situations, such as talking on the telephone, the stuttering might be more severe or less, depending on the anxiety level connected with that activity.^{[citation needed]} In other situations, such as singing (as with country music star Mel Tillis or pop singer Gareth Gates) or speaking alone (or reading from a script, as with actor James Earl Jones and broadcast journalist John Stossel), fluency improves. (It is thought that speech production in these situations, as opposed to normal spontaneous speech, may involve a different neurological function.^{[citation needed]}) Some very mild stutterers, such as Bob Newhart, have used the disorder to their advantage,^{[citation needed]} although more severe stutterers very often face serious hurdles in their social and professional lives.

[edit] Literature

The well-known author of Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll hoped to become a priest but was not allowed to because of his stuttering.

The well-known author of Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll hoped to become a priest but was not allowed to because of his stuttering. In response, he wrote a poem which mentions stuttering:
Learn well your grammar / And never stammer / Write well and neatly / And sing soft sweetly / Drink tea, not coffee; Never eat toffy / Eat bread with butter / Once more don't stutter.
(Excerpt from Rules & Regulations) Carroll's well-known stuttering trait is subliminally referenced in Alice, which features a Dodo bird in one scene. As Martin Gardner pointed out in The Annotated Alice, the bird is drawn to vaguely resemble Carroll, and Carroll often tended to say his own real last name "Do-Do-Dodgson".

[edit] Film

In more recent times, movies such as A Fish Called Wanda (1988) and A Family Thing (1996) have dealt with contemporary reactions to and portrayals of stuttering. In A Fish Called Wanda, a lead character, played by Michael Palin, has a severe stutter and low self-esteem. His character—who is socially awkward, nervous, an animal lover, and reclusive—portrays a prevalent stereotypical image of stutterers. The three other characters in the movie generally make up the spectrum of reactions to stuttering: Jamie Lee Curtis's character is sympathetic and sees past it, John Cleese's character is polite but indifferent, and Kevin Kline's is malicious and sadistic. Upon release the film caused controversy among some stutterers who disliked the film for its portrayal of Palin's character as a pushover amid the bullying his character receives, and received favor from others who valued the film for showing the difficulties stutterers commonly face. Palin, whose father was a stutterer, stated that in playing the role he intended to show how difficult and painful stuttering can be. He also donated to various stuttering-related causes and later founded the Michael Palin Centre for Stammering Children in London.

The 1983 movie The Right Stuff referenced the real-life stuttering problem of John Glenn's wife Annie, and how it rendered her fearful and unwilling to do a news conference during his initial space flight. As he reported in his autobiography, John Glenn: A Memoir, and as shown on-screen in The Right Stuff, her stuttering was never a problem between the two of them, he "just thought of it as something Annie did". But she grew frustrated with it, and some years later put herself through intense speech therapy and was largely successful in masking the outward symptoms of stuttering. A proud moment for the both of them was the first public speech she gave on her experiences as a stutterer.

The novel (and film) One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest has a major character named Billy Bibbit who suffers from a pronounced stutter. Through the story it is revealed that it has very negatively impacted his self-esteem (even leading to a suicide attempt when he stuttered through a marriage proposal and the woman laughed at him). The stutter abruptly disappears after he has sex with a prostitute that another patient smuggles on the ward.

In the film Rocket Science, the main character Hal Hefner suffers from stuttering.

In M. Night Shyamalan's 2006 film Lady in the Water, Paul Giamatti's character has a pronounced stutter that selectively disappears when he interacts with Bryce Dallas Howard's character.

In Stephen Kings "IT" the character William 'Stuttering Bill' Denbrough had a stuttering problem which "Got worse since his kid brother died." Throughout the movie he stutters profusely usually when he gets scared or nervous. In the second half of the film he overcame his speech impediment which was brought back seconds after Mike Hanlen tells the news of Pennywise's return.

[edit] Television

One of the most famous stuttering fictional characters is the animated cartoon character "Porky Pig" from the Looney Tunes theatrical cartoon series.

One of the most famous stuttering fictional characters is the animated cartoon character "Porky Pig" from the Looney Tunes theatrical cartoon series. The creators of Porky wanted a character with a "timid" voice. Originally, an actual stutterer voiced the pig, but could not control his stutter. Mel Blanc, who had no speech impediments, took over the role and affected the stutter. In 1991, the National Stuttering Project picketed Warner Bros. demanding that they stop "belittling" stutterers and instead use Porky Pig as an advocate for child stutterers. The studio eventually agreed to grant $12,000 to the Stuttering Foundation of America and release a series of public service announcement posters speaking out against bullying.

An episode of the hit TV Show M*A*S*H involved a stuttering soldier who was convinced he was unintelligent and constantly harassed by his fellow soldiers. The usually pompous Maj. Winchester (David Ogden Stiers) takes it upon himself to prove the soldier is just as intelligent (if not more, since Winchester discovers the young man has a very high IQ) as the rest of his unit, even giving him a treasured copy of Moby-Dick to read. At the end of the episode, Winchester retires to his tent and listens happily to a tape-recorded letter from his sister, who is revealed to have a pronounced stutter. Also, Ronnie Barker's character in Open All Hours has a stutter, which sometimes gets him into trouble. His nephew mocks him for it. Another example is actor Nicholas Brendon, who played Xander Harris on Buffy the Vampire Slayer for seven consecutive seasons. Nicholas overcame his stuttering problem and is now a spokesperson for the Stuttering Foundation of America. Plus, on South Park a physically disabled character named Jimmy Vulmer suffers an albeit severe stutter that seems to play a comical role on the show.

[edit] Music

"K-K-K-Katy" was published in 1918 by Geoffrey O'Hara and became a huge hit in wartime America, referred to as "The Sensational Stammering Song Success Sung by the Soldiers and Sailors". Anyone who had either a stutter or a lisp was covered. The song uses stuttered lyrics in every line of the chorus, and refers to the stuttering of a stereotypically bashful suitor.

Alvin Lucier's 1969 experimental piece I Am Sitting in a Room prominently features his stuttering, as well as making reference to it in the spoken lyrics: "I regard this activity ... as a way to smooth out any irregularities my speech might have."

A stylized form of stuttering has frequently appeared in popular music over the past few decades. Buddy Holly was a notable user of this technique in many of his songs, as well as supplementing the stutters with other verbal 'tics' and 'hiccups'. In some songs from the 1960s and 1970s the vocalist would rapidly repeat the first syllable of a word. An early example is The Who's 1965 song "My Generation", in which Roger Daltrey sings the line "Just talkin' 'bout my G-g-g-generation". In that particular case, the song's stuttering style provides a framework leading up to the sly lyric, "Why don't you just ff-ff-fffffffffade away!". The Rasmus used a similar technique in their song F-F-F-Falling.

Another example was the affected stuttering by Canada's Bachman-Turner Overdrive in their 1974 hit song "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet". The stutter was not intended to be part of the final release, it was originally done as a joke about Randy Bachman's brother George, who stuttered.

By the early 1980s producers were creating the same effect synthetically using tape editing and sampling of lyrics. Paul Hardcastle's 1985 song "19" features it throughout in both the spoken word and vocal segments. Remixes of songs very frequently employed the effect. Starting in the 1990s stuttering effects fell out of popular use in music.

In 1995, stutterer Scatman John turned his problem into his asset and wrote the hit song "Scatman". Stuttering assisted him to scat sing and create incredible sounds. The lyrics are inspirational and directed at stutterers:

Everybody stutters one way or the other so check out my message to you

As a matter of fact, don't let nothin' hold you back

If the Scatman can do it, so can you.

In 2001, "Stutter" by American R&B singer Joe featuring Mystikal, held the number-one spot for four weeks on the Billboard Hot 100.

Placebo used a stammering man's voice on their song "Swallow" featured on their 1996 debut album, Placebo.

The song For You I Will (Confidence) by American pop singer Teddy Geiger features the line "forgive me if i st-- stutter from all of the clutter in my head"

The lead singer of indie band Bloc Party, Kele Okereke, has a very pronounced stutter when speaking, but it is not identifiable whilst singing.

[edit] "Stuttering John"

Though a stutterer might seem to be an unlikely radio star, Howard Stern hired a mild stutterer sight unseen ("He stutters? Hire him.") to conduct celebrity interviews. Known on the Stern show as Stuttering John, John Melendez worked for Stern for 15 years before taking a position as the announcer on The Tonight Show. Howard Stern also has a collection of frequent guests, many of whom have speech impediments of some type; while their afflictions are exploited for comedic purposes, members of The Wack Pack are well-loved by Howard Stern and his fans.

[edit] Discrimination and awareness

One of the most famous stuttering fictional characters is the animated cartoon character "Porky Pig" from the Looney Tunes theatrical cartoon series.

In addition to personal feelings of shame or anxiety, discrimination is a significant problem for stutterers. The majority of stutterers experience or have experienced bullying, harassment, or ridicule to some degree during their school years from both peers and teachers who do not understand the condition.^[3] It can be especially difficult for stutterers to form friendships or romantic relationships,^{[citation needed]} both because stutterers may avoid social exposure and because non-stutterers may find the disorder unattractive. The stigma of stuttering carries over into the workplace, often resulting in severe employment discrimination against stutterers.^{[citation needed]} Consequently, stuttering has been legally classified as a disability in many parts of the world, affording stutterers the same protection from wrongful discrimination as for people with other disabilities. The UK Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 both expressly protect stutterers from wrongful dismissal or discrimination.^[4][5]

The U.S. Congress passed a resolution in May 1988 designating the second week of May as Stuttering Awareness Week, while International Stuttering Awareness Day (ISAD), is held internationally on October 22. In September 2005, ISAD was recognised and supported by over 30 Members of the European Parliament (MEPS) at a reception given by the European League of Stuttering Associations.

Even though public awareness of stuttering has improved markedly over the years,^{[citation needed]} misconceptions are still common, usually reinforced by inaccurate media portrayals of stuttering and through popular misconception. A 2002 study focusing on college-age students conducted by the University of Minnesota Duluth found that a large majority viewed the cause of stuttering as either nervousness or low self-confidence, and many recommended simply "slowing down" as the best course of action for recovery.^[6] While these misconceptions are damaging and may actually worsen the symptoms of stuttering, groups and organizations are making significant progress towards a greater public awareness.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] References