Ann writes to ask if it is fashionable to name brand names in contemporary writing. She notes that I do so and that a young friend she mentors also does. Comments, opinions and -- if you must -- facts will be gratefully entertained. Please.
As for myself, any one who gives a cursory reading to this blog knows that fashion and I are unacquainted to state it as neutrally as possible. I do name brands when I think it will increase the reader's appreciation for what I am saying. For instance a "White Mountain ice cream maker" is the classic statement of a particular design. It is as informative to the reader as saying "unlike the Beatles" in a music review. I don't think I name brands otherwise. (Pray correct me if I am wrong oh august reader.)
--ml
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Another friend of mine was just talking about this phenomenon, particularly as practiced by young writers. Since most of what I read is old (and in black and white, with monaural sound), I can't corroborate it.
ReplyDeleteI guess a writer can use any device to make his point, and in cheap writing brand names may be an easy and efficient way to communicate an image or environment, as the Sex & The City writers did when they slathered on mentions of Dolce & Gabbana etc.
But I can imagine better uses for brand names in writing -- they come up a lot in American Psycho for obvious satirical reasons. The question we should probably ask ourselves is: is there a better way to say this? If we are writing a column for the New York Observer, probably not.
The choice between "small white music-conveyance system with a recessed dial" and "iPod" is, like everything else, a matter of style.