"Billy Ray and Miley drop their g's and ape country dialect when it suits them, playing up the disparity between their hick sensibilities and their upscale surroundings."
I found it contradictory that this article encourages children to conform to the homogenized accent of news anchors yet not conform to the commodity fetishism created by Disney's merchandising department. My niece loves Hannah Montana.
She is a 7-year-old growing up in a small appalachia town. The same town where the matriarchal line of my family has lived for generations. My kind is derived from a primate subspecies called "homo sapiens". Yes, the apes are distant relatives but we can't really understand each other.
For my niece the "ape country dialect" is what she hears everyday. She must enjoy watching a show where people don't always talk funny.
I've never seen a full episode of Hannah Montana. I hope that despite the shows commercial values it instills a tolerance on urban children who are fans. A tolerance that apparently skipped my generation.