Like, Literally, Dude: Arguing for the Good in Bad English

 I'll admit it - I'm a grammarian. Certain bits of "bad English" make me cringe (people who use the irregular past for the irregular past participle, I'm looking at you). But I also realize that written and spoken language are different (and did so before my Trial Advocacy teacher pointed that out to us), and besides my strong Philadelphia accent, I use split infinitives and other common oral constructions.

Like, Literally, Dude explains how some of our "bad" English is a return to old roots and how many of our "proper" constructions are relatively new and were unloved upon arrival. Valerie Friedland also points out how new constructions often come from women (who transmit those constructions to their children, putting them into the mainstream) and disfavored subcultures. She also explains how language versions used by women are viewed more contemptuously than those used by men and uses vocal fry as a result. Vocal fry appears when the speaker uses their lower register, leading to a bit of creakiness. When first discussed, it was the domain of men trying to look upper class but for the past decade or so, it's been a way to show that women's speech is "wrong." Friedland points out that the shift from noticing male to noticing female vocal fry came with the advance of women in the professions and the "problem" didn't occur until there were many women broadcasters. Women with high pitched voices aren't considered "serious" so in professional settings we use our lower registers (I know that my voice is higher and my accent stronger when I'm with friends than when I'm in a work setting). That leads to vocal fry, so the more women in those situations, the more we hear women using it. 

Like, Literally, Dude covered several other issues ("um" and "ah" point out that something important is coming, "literally" isn't the only word to change meaning when it becomes a modifier, the gender differences in the use of "like" and "dude," and the roots of "they" as a non-gender-specific singular). Overall interesting, but academician Friedland didn't quite (a word which has different significance to American and British speakers) straddle the line between popular and academic writing.

Burn It Down: Power, Complicity, and a Call for Change in Hollywood

 I've been interested in both movies and the process of moviemaking since I was a tween and my parents bought a then-rare VCR. I was familiar with the concept of the bullying auteur (and when the Weinstein case broke thought that the culture of fear abetted his crimes), but Burn It Down tells me it's even worse than I imagined. Entertainment reporter and TV critic Maureen Ryan shows us "how the sausage is made" leaving behind broken people and driving many out of the business. Through interviews with current and former writers, directors, actors, and assistants (some who remain anonymous but others of whom spoke on the record) tell tales of harassment by imperial show runners and producers, sometimes resulting in great shows but just as often bringing down popular critical darlings as abuse drives away writers and stars and ego and prejudice tamper with plot lines. In an odd way, the Weinstein case which should have led to a reckoning is often used to semi-justify verbal and psychological abuse. As long as there's no physical contact...well, the perpetrator's behavior isn't as bad as Weinstein's so we can deal with it.

As well as being a critic, Ryan is a fan and she gives credit to those who treat their staffs well and gives examples and advice for how to produce a good TV show (which involves a lot of hard work from scores of talented people in a whole array of jobs) without, well, being a bastard. She convincingly argues that a communicative show runner who has a vision but listens to and considers feedback and who keeps the necessary 10-11 hours days predictable and doesn't allow them to turn into 16-18 hour days while actually produce a better show due to less turnover and fresher actors and crew. Burn It Down will make you look at some of your favorite shows differently, and perhaps show how they could have been even better.