Sunday, August 30, 2009

What's in a name? A 1980s Tom Hanks movie, perhaps?


There are certain movie trailers that make me wonder, "how did that happen?" The one I choose to single out this week is Post-Grad.


For starters, the premise looks a lot like my current life situation.

I am (fingers crossed) a post-graduate of a four year college.
I am (fingers covered in cheese powder) unemployed.
I am (fingers as guilt and age-inappropriately angst-ridden as every other inch of my body) living at home with my parents.

Does this make me want to see the movie? Haiiilll no.  My life is boring, and kind of depressing. Additionally, Alexis Bledel is a lot cuter than I am (this is not meant to elicit "shaddup u r a hottE" comments, I'm just telling it like it is.) If I convince myself that she and I are one and the same, I'll leave the theater with the mistaken impression that I can just pursue an acting/modeling gig to solve my workless woes.

Also, I have to pick on the name Ryden Malby. "Malby," as you'll see in the diagram below, is less common than "Malchiodi" as well as (although it's not displayed below) the surname "Gaa."

"Ryden" is not even listed in the top 1,000 census baby names for any year, let alone 1987.

Fine. She's a uniquely named girl. I guess I'm just being cranky. The name just strikes me as a little too perfectly quirky, and too modern for a character my age.

Maybe I'm just jealous because my Google-images collage of the most famous Margarets that I could find looks something like this:


(Top Left: Margaret Atwood, Bottom Right: Margaret Thatcher, Background: Margaret Mitchell's Grave)

This talk of names brings me to a little digression I'd like to call
"The Madison Rant."

(Before I start, I would like to clarify that I think Madison is a great name, and it fits my pretty, funny, and intelligent younger cousin beautifully.)

Having said that, I now draw your attention to the 1984 movie Splash. When Daryl Hannah, the Mermagonist, names herself "Madison" after the famous New York Avenue, Tom Hanks's first reply is that "Madison" is not a real name.

Perhaps dear Tom was being a bit rash, but my point is that in order for that dialogue to work, "Madison" could not have been a popular girl's name.

Nowadaisies, "Madison" has climbed to #4 most popular girl baby name.









Now, I know Tom Hanks is persuasive, but was Splash really capable of making such waves in American nomenclature?



5 comments:

  1. excuse me whilst I have a moment, but Maureen isn't even in the top 1000 names for a baby in the past 9 years. Margaret is number 180 this year. you can lick my balls, captain I-have-an-unwanted-name. LICK THEM

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  2. Oh. You.

    Oh, you...
    a) You and your fellow Maureenian cronies had your day. You peaked in 1948 at #88 rank. Not too shabby. Dry those tears.

    b) Meanwhile, me and the rest of the bridge club dominated once upon a time. From 1903 to 1911 we secured the #3 ranking spot. THIRD. That's BRONZE in olympic talk. (I use that comparison because I know how you used to play the basketball and stuff.)

    c) That last parenthetical note is the only mention of ball(s) that I shall be making in my response, ya heard? Please keep the comments coming and the smut in the 'Cuse. Honestly. Nasty mouth on you. Say "hi" to Onfron for me. Honestly.

    d) I miss you.
    e) I love you
    f) I'm thinking of you
    1903-1911...My word, why am I not 98 years old?

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  3. my mother just wanted me to inform that movie titles are UNDERLINED not put in quotes. just letting you know -- this is in reference to "Splash"

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  4. noted and shall soon be edited. word (and even more love) to your mother.

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  5. ah, I can't underline so I italicized instead.

    ReplyDelete