The RP accent plays a significant role in popular films and TV series such as Harry Potter, James Bond, Mary Poppins, Notting Hill, Four Weddings and a Funeral. You will notice that there are variations depending on the characters from the more traditional forms to the more modern forms. For example, Professor McGonagall in Harry Potter speaks with a more traditional RP accent, which conveys her desire to speak with authority, while Harry Potter himself 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 and rhythm. This is why it is important to observe the use of the RP accent in film and media to get a better understanding of the variations of the accent.
Similarly, in the popular British television series Downton Abbey, accents play a significant role in conveying the social and class dynamics of the time period. 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. Overall, the use of accents in "Downton Abbey" serves to enrich the storytelling and help to create a rich and complex representation of early 20th-century England.