DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLYDirected by Julian Schnabel. Opens today in NY & LA.”…a movie about deprivation becomes a celebration of the richness of experience, and a remarkably rich experience in its own right.”Review by A.O. Scott, The New York Times.PROTAGONISTDirected by Jessica Yu. Opens today..
PROTAGONIST Directed by Jessica Yu. Opens today in NY.
“The four men who relate their life stories in “Protagonist,” Jessica Yu’s enthralling documentary exploration of people with obsessive needs for control and self-mastery, are all disillusioned (and extremely articulate) true believers. When they were younger, they were certain they had found the Answer. One embraced terrorism, another crime, a third martial arts and the fourth missionary Christianity as ways of transcending painful, oppressive childhoods that left them with feelings of inadequacy and shame.”
Americans have this strange love of British accents—so much so that even when someone is speaking absolute gibberish, we find ourselves transfixed and absurdly trusting them.
Tawny Platis, a professional voice actor and content creator, expertly captured the phenomenon in her YouTube video, “Why Americans Love This Accent.” In the video, she analyzes why Americans find Billy Butcher’s voice so compelling despite the character’s violent and morally chaotic behavior on the TV show The Boys.
Americans trust and love rough, working-class British masculinity
“So Karl Urban is a New Zealander doing a Cockney, working-class, East End London accent,” Platis explained. Regardless of how well the actor nails the accent for his character, Butcher, Americans buy right into it anyway. “That’s because working-class English masculinity is coded in American media as authenticity,” she added.
She goes on to give examples to help substantiate her point: “Every Guy Ritchie movie, British gangster film, and working-class antihero from Michael Caine to Tom Hardy has trained American audiences to hear that voice as unfiltered and honest.”
A 2024 study published in SAGE Journals found that listeners unconsciously form social biases based on accents. People rapidly make assumptions about personality and identity.
A young businessman speaks into a microphone. Photo credit: Canva
Make ordinary information sound important
The accent becomes a shortcut the brain uses to make immediate decisions about intelligence, honesty, confidence, warmth, and even competence. When it comes to characters like Butcher, the key detail isn’t so much the “Britishness” itself—it’s the association.
“Butcher is using the working-class Brit voice to showcase honesty,” Platis said. “Butcher is a liar who manipulates Hughie, hides things from his team, and is willing to take out children. But the audience keeps forgiving him because his voice sounds like a man who’s earned the right to do all that, when he very much hasn’t.”
Psychologists believe part of this effect comes from something called “processing fluency.” A 2023 study published in Scientific Reports found that increased exposure to certain accents reduced listeners’ cognitive effort. As a result, people made more positive social judgments about the speaker.
Accents that feel familiar after years of movies, television, and media unconsciously influence people. Audiences automatically attach credibility and trustworthiness to them. Simply put, people mistake familiarity for truth.
A 2024 study found that Americans rate the standard British accent most positively, strongly associating it with traits like intelligence, status, and competence. The Northern English accent is viewed slightly less favorably. Scottish accents are considered strong and friendly. Meanwhile, the Welsh accent falls somewhere in the middle, depending on how well the listener recognizes it.
Blocks spell out the words “fact” and “fake.” Photo credit: Canva
Accent bias sways people’s opinions
The same instinct that makes one accent sound “trustworthy” can also make another sound “unreliable.” In real-world interactions, working-class accents can be perceived as less intelligent or less educated. This can affect hiring decisions and even workplace promotions.
A 2024 study focusing on “Americanness” found that accented speakers were perceived as “less American.” In simulated hiring scenarios, they were less likely to be hired, demonstrating that an accent can override other judgments.
When a person speaks, people instantly begin building a story about who they are. Many decide whether a voice sounds trustworthy long before consciously realizing it. Platis points out that a lifetime of exposure to social media, movies, and television has shaped that perspective.
“Butcher’s accent is the most effective because it’s the only one many viewers don’t even recognize as a performance,” Platis said. Which basically means somewhere out there right now, a confident British accent is talking nonsense that feels totally believable.
Most people think they come across as helpful, engaged, and supportive in conversations. But according to one therapist, these talking habits may be sending a very different message than intended.
Jeffery, a licensed therapist on TikTok, breaks down five common conversational mistakes people make that can come across as annoying. In the post, viewers didn’t just agree with the list. They began recognizing the same behaviors in friends, family, and even themselves.
People can mistake sharing personal experiences for the perfect way to show empathy and compassion. It begins innocently enough when someone opens up about something personal. Unfortunately, the listener responds with a story of their own. Both people are trying to connect, but the focus has now completely shifted.
“When someone constantly redirects conversations back to themselves, people start feeling unimportant,” Jeffery explains. “When every story somehow becomes about you, people stop feeling listened to and start feeling dismissed.”
A 2023 experiment suggested that reciprocal disclosure increases interpersonal trust. However, an imbalance in the conversation can create feelings of one-sidedness. This “stealing of the spotlight” reduces connection.
An unhappy couple gets defensive. Photo credit: Canva
Getting super defensive
Few things shut down a conversation faster than defensiveness. Even simple misunderstandings can turn tense when people instinctively try to correct rather than understand.
“If every single piece of feedback turns into an excuse or an argument, people eventually stop being honest with you,” Jeffery points out. “Constructive feedback and even some criticism is not always an attack. Sometimes people are simply trying to improve the relationship or communicate something important to you.”
Psychologists describe this behavior as “psychological defensiveness.” Interestingly, a 2024 study found that defensiveness can be reduced if people are warned beforehand in the right way. Conversation works best when it is framed as a collaborative effort rather than an educational or teaching moment.
A woman receives a polygraph test. Photo credit: Canva
Drilling people after they apologize
There is a delicate balance between asking for clarity after an apology and turning the conversation into an interrogation.
“If someone apologizes and you accept it, but then you keep hammering them over the mistake afterward, it will become exhausting and very annoying,” Jeffery adds. “If people feel like apologizing never actually ends the conflict, they actually become less likely to take accountability in the future.”
People often mistake feedback for a personal attack on their own truth. There’s a popular statement often attributed to Marcus Aurelius claiming that much of what we perceive is shaped by interpretation rather than fact. People can share their opinions. We don’t have to defend ourselves against all of them.
Stop constantly complaining
Everyone deserves an opportunity to vent. But when every conversation circles back to frustration without change, it can become emotionally exhausting for the listener. Over time, even the most supportive friends can start to pull back.
“Talking about problems is normal,” says Jeffery. “But if almost every interaction revolves around negativity, people start associating you with emotional exhaustion. Nobody wants to leave conversations feeling drained every single time.”
This pattern of constant, dissatisfied venting has even found its way into pop culture. Maybe you remember the infamous George Costanza from the award-winning show Seinfeld. His nonstop stream of complaints was a running joke about negativity. It’s fun to watch and laugh at, but far less enjoyable to encounter in real life.
A conversation turns to comparison. Photo credit: Canva
One-upping people’s negative emotions
Sometimes, someone takes a risk and shares a particularly challenging experience. In an attempt to show empathy, saying “I get it” might land more like “that’s not a big deal.” It’s important to offer emotional validation rather than comparison.
“If someone opens up about something painful and your immediate reaction is to explain how you had it worse, it can make the other person feel completely invalidated,” Jeffery says. “They just want to feel heard and emotionally supported in that moment.”
A 2023 study revealed that someone trying to relate can sometimes redirect attention away from the original speaker. People feel more supported when their emotions are directly acknowledged instead of reframed or one-upped.
Many people said Jeffrey’s list felt immediately familiar, whether in conversations with friends or in their own behavior. These annoying habits became surprisingly relatable once someone pointed them out. Here are some of those thoughts:
“silently reposting this for one of my friends to find”
“The first one has ended relationships for me, not because I do it, but because they did it. It’s absolutely exhausting.”
“I know one of my friends are gonna tag me in this later”
“I’ve noticed over the years that my annoying personality will surface when I’m trying to protect myself..”
“I have such a hard time with #1 and I am so aware of it sometimes but I find it so difficult to not do when talking to someone.”
“I do all of these maybe I should go back to therapy”
What might be surprising is that many of these habits are things people slip into without realizing it. Jeffrey’s list doesn’t suggest people are intentionally difficult. He points out that annoying conversations can arise from good intentions, too. Allowing a person to be heard can matter more than offering advice that might fix the problem.
Whether it’s a forest recovering from a wildfire or our own backyards, nature can use some help. Spreading seeds to ensure grass or wildflower growth can be a time-intensive process. However, there is one way that can be fun, quick, and help your dog get some exercise: strapping a backpack full of seeds onto them.
The practice has been popularized internationally by sisters Francisca and Constanza Torres with their three dogs. Many forested areas of their native Chile were devastated by wildfires. The sisters came up with a plan to help reseed and regrow what had been burned down. The two would strap backpacks filled with grass and wildflowers seeds onto their border collies. The backpack had a small opening that would allow the seeds to fall out and spread as their dogs ran, jumped, and played throughout the area.
This helped the forests regrow while also providing the dogs exercise. The dogs were also able to walk into nooks and crannies human planters normally can’t access.
An idea goes international
The idea spread past countries and coastlines as a nature reserve in Lewes, East Sussex, England offered dog walkers backpacks with seeds. The walkers would strap the packs onto their furry friends as they went on nature walks to help rewild the area.
“We’re really interested in rewilding processes, but they often involve reintroducing big herbivores like bison or wild horses,” said the project’s manager Dylan Walker to The Guardian in 2024. “In a smaller urban nature reserve it’s really hard to do those things. So, to replicate the effect that those animals have on the ecosystem we aimed to utilize the vast number of dog walkers that are visiting the nature reserve daily.”
The concept itself was taken from nature. For centuries, wolves would have seeds caught in their fur. Over time, movement, and grooming, the seeds would be spread throughout other areas of the forest. The wolves acted as natural carriers for seeds much like bees are for pollen.
Reseed your garden with Rover
This technique doesn’t have to be reserved for wildfire recovery or regrowing public gardens. Your yard could benefit from it, too. While you could find a pack for your pup and fill it with seeds, there’s another way. Gardener Patrick Vernuccio suggests just filling a tea strainer with seeds and clipping it onto your dog’s collar. It should perform the same effect.
How your Dog can rewild a garden by sowing seeds for Pollinators 🌸🐾🐝 My dog loves to hang out in the garden and now she can also spread out & sow seeds that are beneficial for biodiversity 😍 I use a tea strainer and wildflower seeds for pollinators. 💚 Simply place the seeds inside the tea strainer and close it. 💚 With movement, the seeds will fall off the tea strainer. 💚 Attach it to your dog’s collar and enjoy together some nice time in the garden. And while exploring the garden, your dog will spread out seeds which will give birth to wildflowers, feeding the bees and pollinators. Perfect to rewild the garden and do this before a rainy day to ensure germination or water your garden at sunset. You can easily adapt this technique by using other strainers for bigger seeds. Dogs are definitely man’s best friend and soon, bee’s best friend too 💚 Thank you Bonnie! Green love to you and to your dog! #bee#wildflowers#gardeninglife#dogsoftiktok#rewilding
If you have your dog help seed your yard, be sure that the plants you hope to grow are dog-friendly. Use non-toxic seeds for dogs such as roses, marigolds, and pansies among others. The ASPCA has a full list of plants that are unsafe for dogs to refer to when you’re unsure.
Man’s best friend can also be man’s best gardening buddy.
