by Molly Rosen Marriner
It鈥檚 another installment of Last Month in Pop Language, a column where the most popular (statistically) song, book, and film of the month will have their words analyzed in hopes of drawing a conclusion about language鈥檚 current usage鈥攁nd future. At the end of each monthly column, we鈥檒l draw a conclusion: Was last month鈥檚 pop language聽masterly,听malevolent, or merely聽meh?
贵颈濒尘:听
Ant-Man and the Wasp聽tells the story of two generations of superheroes and scientists鈥擯aul Rudd’s Scott Lang, the Ant-Man in question, his main lady, the Wasp, and the Wasp’s particle scientist parents. The film’s predictable, especially when compared to the ending of the new聽聽film. It’s also filled with the bland banter and only-sorta-funny one-liners that are such a requirement for modern superhero movies that they don’t even register as jokes.
The film has five screenwriters鈥攁lways a good sign, right? Especially when they’re all men, with credits in experimental film ranging from聽Dr. Ken聽to … “actor/producer, no previous writers’ credit.” Yeah … unsurprisingly,听this聽screenplay is standard modern Marvel fare, not shaking up the universe in any way鈥攜ou can check out聽this column’s May installment聽for more like it.
So, let’s check out some literary devices from this new Marvel wonder:
- pun: “Yes! I’m gonna call you ANT-onio Banderas!”
- overstatement: “Nothing can prepare you for what’s coming.”
- sarcasm: Hope van Dyne: “So cranky.” Dr. Hank Pym: “You want a juice box and some string cheese?” Scott Lang: “Do you really have that?”
- :听础苍迟-惭补苍
Song: 聽by Cardi B
Though not technically number one at the time this column was written (that honor would go to Drake’s ““), we’re spotlighting the number two, “I Like It” because it’s a classic summer anthem (and we’ve written about Drake enough). It’s the sort of catchy ear worm that immediately and simultaneously evokes pleasant humidity and air conditioning; it would fit in equally well at a Brooklyn block party or Panhandle shrimp boil. Plus, there hasn’t been a chart-topping song by a female recording artist while this column’s been up鈥攕o we’ll take this close call and write about it, #thankyouverymuch.
“I Like It” includes Cardi’s raps as bookends, the chorus鈥攁 sample of聽Pete Rodriguez鈥檚 1967 song聽鈥淚 Like It Like That鈥濃�攁nd Bad Bunny and J Balvin’s verses, sung in Spanish. Bad Bunny and J Balvin are Puerto Rican and Columbian, respectively, so the song’s filled with allusions and shoutouts from these men and the Dominican Cardi B. Overall, it’s not bad.
Here are some literary devices from the multilingual lyrics:
- allusion:
Cabr贸n, a ti no te conocen ni en Plaza (no)…
Que retumbe el bajo, Bobby Valent铆n, yeh (隆boo!)
Aqu铆 es prohibido amar, diles, Charyt铆n
Que pa’l picor les tengo Clarit铆n - rhetorical question:聽Where’s my pen? Bitch I’m signin
- feminine rhyme:聽They call me Cardi Bardi, banging body, spicy mami, hot tamale
- repetition:聽Yo soy el que se la vive y tambi茅n el que la goza (goza, goza)
叠辞辞办:听聽by聽Daniel Silva
For the second consecutive month,听a spy novel is number one. It edged out three other books with similar themes鈥攍ast month’s “winner,” by Bill Clinton and James Patterson, Brad Thor’s聽 about espionage and preventing terrorism, and John Grishman’s聽 about taking down an exploitative New York finance guy.
The people are into talking about political shadiness. Who would’ve guessed?
WATCH: President Trump Drives Searches For 鈥淭app,鈥� 鈥淐ouncil,鈥� And Other Spelling Blunders
The Other Woman, which barely beat out The President is Missing at the very end of July, is the 18th installment in Silva’s series, about Israeli national intelligence and covert ops. Proving the old adage that with a mass-market spy paperback series’ age comes wisdom, Allon is a seasoned art restorer and鈥攇asp!鈥攕ecret spy who is the Israeli government’s secret weapon. If you’d believe it, The Other Woman focuses on Allon and a “mysterious Frenchwoman” taking down a Russian spy. I’ll let the back cover spell it out for you: “Gabriel has battled the dark forces of the new Russia before, at great personal cost. Now he and the Russians will engage in a final epic showdown, with the fate of the postwar global order hanging in the balance.”
And, once you get past the back cover and look inside, there are literary devices like these gems:
- foreshadowing:聽鈥淪miling, he spoke a single word in Russian. It would be many years before the child understood what the word meant.”
- alliteration: “covert communications”
- metaphor:聽“In the end, he would prove to be yet another feather in Gabriel’s cap.”
- cliche:聽“In the light of day, her remarkable beauty was plain to see.”
Verdict:聽Same Old, Same Old Meh
Russian-spy airplane reads. Marvel-franchise installments. Melodious hip hop with heavy sampling. Is this month’s lineup familiar or what?
In a time of impending global warfare and fascism, Americans are holding onto very familiar tastes like a comfort blanket. Most of the books and films on the top ten list represent very similar themes and genres: (male) heroes saving the world from destruction. This month’s music shows a similar move toward the monoculture. In July, Drake takes up about a third of Billboard’s Top Ten list; in July 1998, it was a mix of R+B, country, rap, techno, and Lillith Fair.聽Ah, for the simpler days of cultural diversity, when both Sarah McLachlan’s “Angel” and Next’s “Too Close” dominated the charts …
Molly Rosen Marriner is a writer, editor, and basset hound aficionado who lives in Oakland, CA.
