The RP accent plays a significant role in popular films and TV series such as Harry Potter, James Bond, Mary Poppins, Notting Hill, Downton Abbey, The Crown, Four Weddings and a Funeral, etc. You will notice that there are variations depending on the characters from the more traditional forms to the more modern forms.
In the television series, The Crown, we can observe a more traditional form of the RP accent. On the other hand, Harry Potter speaks with a more modern form. In James Bond movies, the character speaks with a more neutral RP accent, which reflects the suave and sophisticated nature of the character. The RP accent goes beyond just pronunciation. There are other aspects such as pitch, intonation and rhythm.
Similarly, in the popular British television series Downton Abbey, accents play a significant role in conveying the social and class dynamics of the time. The show features a range of accents, from the upper-class Received Pronunciation (RP) of the wealthy Crawley family to the regional dialects of their servants and staff. The use of these different accents helps to highlight the divide between the upstairs and downstairs characters, as well as the cultural and social differences between them. Additionally, the RP accent of the Crawley family serves as a symbol of their status and cultural capital, while the regional dialects of the servants and staff reflect their working-class backgrounds and roots.
Observing the use of the RP accent in film and media can give us a better understanding of the variations and the subtle nuances of the accent.