[Ads-l] actualism

[Jonathan Lighter]

So true.

 JL


On Tue, Jul 7, 2020 at 1:42 PM Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at yale.edu> wrote:

> > On Jul 7, 2020, at 1:11 PM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> wrote:
> >
> > Nonce?  'Extreme authenticity in a docudrama enhanced by the casting of
> > participants in the actual event and meticulous attention to documentary
> > detail.'
> >
> > Rod Lurie, director of  _The Outpost_ (2020)
> >
> https://www.sarahsbackstagepass.com/interview-with-rod-lurie-director-the-outpost/
> > :
> >
> > Yes, Daniel Rodriguez, a Specialist at the time of the battle, was in the
> > mortar pit during the fighting in 2009 and played himself in the movie.
> > Through his experience, we were able to recreate everything that he did
> on
> > that day, including his best friend’s death. It was a really, really
> tough
> > [thing] for him to do, but it added a brilliant authenticity. I’d like to
> > say that our film doesn’t have naturalism, it has actualism, and that’s
> > really what we were going for.
> >
> > Not to be confused with established kinds of "actualism.”
> >
> Although this is an instance of syntagmatic priming; I suspect “actualism”
> wouldn’t have popped up here (or elsewhere with the same meaning) if it
> weren’t in immediate local contrast with the preceding “naturalism”.  That
> seems to be a feature of much nonce innovation, e.g. innovative -ee words
> primed by an earlier occurrence of an -er form, a new un-verb (or un-noun)
> primed by an earlier use of the same base, etc.  Examples:
>
> “My double position of fucker and fuckee soon drove me almost mad with
> delight.   —first cite (1888) for “fuckee”, J. Sheidlower, _The F Book_
>
> "You’ve been cursed. And without getting too technical, I’m here to
> uncurse you.”  —“Monk”, 9.23.09
>
> “They eat and then they uneat”.   —Monk on drawbacks of owning dogs,
> 9.30.09
>
> The English noses in their shapes and unshapes.   —Carlyle, 1848, via OED
> cite
>
> Granted, “actualism” isn’t quite a jocular as some of the others, but
> that’s not a crucial factor.
>
> LH
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>


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------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org