Bonding Over Grammar?
Were you taught that it’s wrong to start a sentence with the words “but” or “and”? To end a sentence with a preposition? To (God forbid) split an infinitive?
Several years ago, my friend, multi-lingual writer and grammar expert Ellen Jovin, decided to challenge those “grammar myths.” Setting up a folding table outside the 72nd Street subway station in Manhattan, armed solely with a pile of reference books and her lifetime passion for the subject, Ellen prepared to address any and all grammar questions passers-by might have. Which, somewhat surprisingly, turned out to be quite a lot.
Inspired by her initial success, Ellen decided to take her Grammar Table on the road. Her quest to cure Americans of their mis-taught or mis-remembered language instruction became the subject of her book, Rebel with a Clause, and now a documentary of the same name directed by Ellen’s husband, Brandt Johnson.
Some friends and I were happy to join 450 other “grammar aficionados” at the documentary’s New York premiere last week. As the New York Times reported, the film is a “breezy and lighthearted” celebration of “the improbable cross-country journey of a woman who gently imparts grammar rules to strangers.” But like all the best “feel good” movies, Rebel with a Clause conceals a deeper message beneath its stated topic and lighthearted tone. Ellen’s conversations occurred in the proverbial public square, with people she knew nothing about. And while on the surface they might have been discussing the difference between “affect” and “effect,” what they were really doing is connecting—bonding and often laughing about a shared interest or concern or curiosity or frustration. That feeling of connection with our fellow citizens is too often missing in modern life, so it was encouraging to see on screen.
In fact, two of the film’s most moving scenes don’t involve much grammar at all. In the first, an apparently homeless man stares at but doesn’t approach the Grammar Table until Ellen offers him one of her cards, then tears up in gratitude. In the second, a young man from Africa going to school in the United States is thrilled to discover that, rather than struggle with the technical rules of English, he can chat with Ellen and Brandt in French, his native language, which he’d been unable to speak with anyone since arriving here.
The documentary also challenges the unconscious biases we all have. Arguably, the only “stars” of the movie other than Ellen are two young men who the Times points out “may or may not have spent a few hours in a bar before sidling up to her grammar table.” In the post-screening discussion last week, Brandt revealed the two had spent an entire hour talking to Ellen, presumably the longest session in the 400 hours of footage that Brandt had to cull down into the approximately 90-minute film. At first glance, you would never think those two guys had any interest in grammar at all, let alone enough to sustain a full hour of debate. It’s a good reminder than none of us is exactly—or only—what we might seem on the outside.
Like the Grammar Table itself, the Rebel with a Clause documentary is going on tour around the country. Dates are already scheduled for Martha’s Vineyard, Washington, D.C., Ridgewood, New Jersey, and Bloomington, Indiana, among other places. So, if you’re ready for a break from all this talk of division and looking for a fun, educational, inspirational night out, bookmark this page and keep an eye out for a screening near where you live.