Ron Woodroof in Dallas Buyers Club (2013).
How to describe Ron Woodroof, the leading character of the film? Who is he? He is a man from Texas. What is he? He is a cowboy, an electrician, an alcoholic, a drug addict, and a womanizer. What is he like? He is disrespectful, arrogant, homophobic, somewhat aggressive. However, he is also charming, smart, and somewhat compassionate. And the language he uses shows us all his features.
The first thing about his language is he has got a Texas accent. It is a regional feature, as well as a personal feature of the character. Dallas Buyers Club is adapted from a true story, developing a certain accent can build the character closer to the original figure. Plus, an accent can give the character a background, makes him authentic.
Woodroof’s Texas language pattern is not only built on the accent, but also his choices of words; the analogies he uses are especially Texas cowboy references. For example, when Woodroof desperately tries to prove that he is not homosexual hence there is no chance he gets HIV, he says ‘Look at me. What’d you see, huh? A goddamn rodeo’s what you see!’ Maybe Woodroof chooses ‘rodeo’ to clarify himself only because that is his avocation. However, he has also made statement to Dr. Eve Saks (Jennifer Garner) such as ‘you are telling me I’m as good as a horse being held for dog food, huh?’ and ‘I prefer to die with my boots on’. Why choosing the word ‘boots’ but not ‘shoes’? And why a horse analogy? Woodroof was born and raised in Texas, and these choices of words are part of the environment and culture he grew up in. These language choices help add another layer to the character over his Texas accent, hence builds his ‘Texas cowboy’ identity.
Outside his Texas identity, what is particular about his language pattern is how disrespectful he is to people. ‘Fuck’ or ‘fucking’ is a word he constantly uses, along with ‘ass’ ‘shit’, ‘goddamn’ and ‘motherfucker’. At first, it is difficult to distinguish whether he uses these words intentionally to insult people or they are just part of his daily expressions. However, when he prays to god he also says, ‘just show me a fucking sign.’ The use of these swearing words seem to be his way of expressing emotions, whether the emotion is desperation or anger or simply teasing somebody.
Of course, there are insulting languages he uses, towards homosexuals, and these language choices represent how he perceives the homosexual world. ‘Faggot’ is a words he often uses to describe homosexual people initially in the film, ‘daisy puller’ is another one. Plus, he refers to AIDS as ‘cock sucking Hudson bullshit’. Through these language choices the audience can identify Woodroof’s homophobic characterization. Nonetheless one of the central ideas of this film is how Woodroof’s perception of homosexual people changes as he is further in touch with them. Half way through the film, the audience can sense a obivious shift in Woodroof’s language choices. Although he still keeps words like ‘fucking’, ‘shit’ ‘goddamn’ as part of his linguistic habit, words like ‘faggot’ are no longer used by him. He starts to treat homosexual group with dignity as he knows them better. In a way, It proves that swearing words are only his way of expressions.
Dallas Buyers Club. 2013. [film] Directed by J. Vallée. New Orleans, Louisiana, USA: Truth Entertainment.