It's strange. Even Willie says Kankakee wrong, and Willie has been everywhere over & over again.

 

Is Hollywood Doing Fine With Oklahoma?

The Matt Damon film “Stillwater” is one of the rare times that the state gets some degree of a movie spotlight.

Matt Damon as an Oklahoman abroad in “Stillwater.”Credit...Jessica Forde/Focus Features

By Mekado Murphy

Aug. 4, 2021, 2:16 p.m. ET

There’s a moment early in the new Matt Damon drama “Stillwater” that made me both proud and a little disappointed.

Damon’s character, Bill, is an unemployed Oklahoma oil-rig worker interviewing for a new job when he mentions my little-known hometown, Shawnee. Exciting! But then he mispronounces it.

It’s a subtle difference that perhaps only an Oklahoman would take issue with. He puts the emphasis on the first syllable (SHAW-nee), but we put the emphasis on both syllables. It’s a whole thing how various towns in the state are pronounced in ways you might not expect: Miami, Okla., sounds like the Florida city until you get to the last syllable, which isn’t “mee” but “muh.” The town of Prague rhymes with Craig.