The Poltergeist remake...

[aus pbm]

If any of us Baby Name community members were making the upcoming Poltergeist remake, would any have saddled the young daughter character - a key part of the movie - with the character name "Madison".

Madison is a surname (think James Madison the one-time U.S. president) and it means "son of..."

It is not a legitimate girls' name and completely lacks traditional femininity, which you'd think would be important to the filmmakers given they are also going for the traditional innocence symbolism of a little girl.

Thoughts on the whole situation?

Comments

[jeweledvixen.livejournal.com]

Madison, as a name for girls, came from the movie Splash when Tom Hanks' character asked the mermaid what her name was. They were in New York City and she looked around for inspiration. She saw the street sign for Madison Avenue and that's what she told him, Madison. So, it came from a movie, why not use it in another one? Hollywood isn't very creative anymore. The movie is a remake of the classic one, Poltergeist. A lot of movies these days are remakes or "reboots" of old movies. Very uninspiring.

[redfield79.livejournal.com]

So carol Ann Will now be Madison??? Horrible. Simply because that family screaming for their baby girl "carol ann" is classic!!!!!

[redfield79.livejournal.com]

I will also never see this remake so i may be biased. The original is quite perfect and it's hard to say that about movies in that time period. The special effects are even amazing.

[so-there.livejournal.com]

well, it's a remake. it they make it classic and timeless they won't be able to remake it again in 20 years. they probably went with trendy/crappy to make it as dated as possible to open the way for future remakes.

[holidaylights.livejournal.com]

I've never seen the movie, so no opinion on how it fits the character, but I've always found the distinction of "legitimate" names a little silly, especially when it comes to male or female names -- language evolves. So do names. Madison is an incredibly popular name right now, so it makes sense that a movie set in present times would use it for a young girl (and honestly, as overexposed as it is, I like it!)

[piperwest12.livejournal.com]

Considering that you can find the name Madison on all baby name lists and in all baby name books, I can safely say it's a legitimate name. However, if they are remaking the movie, which is stupid I like the original just fine, they should keep the original names.

[liminaltime]

The name became extremely trendy in the late 90s and early 2000s. I think it would be more realistic for a little girl in a modern-day movie than in the original.

[ghost-light.livejournal.com]

There is also a tradition of the horror movie heroine having a unisex name.

[redfield79.livejournal.com]

She's not the heroine though

[madeyemads.livejournal.com]

As someone called Madeleine, I hate the name Madison and absolutely hate it when people think my name is Madison. It's not a real name, and it's a shit name!

[roseofjuly.livejournal.com]

Madison is a real name - you may not like it, but as said above language evolves and there are thousands of girls and young women named Madison.

[elephantus45.livejournal.com]

I think lots of people don't consider those types of things. My naming quandary is female names derived from male names- ex Charlene and Charles, and the meaning you can get from that.

[laminy.livejournal.com]

I think they went with what is currently a very popular girl name that would fit a modern setting better than Carol Anne.

[cremepuff.livejournal.com]

My dislike of the remake trend notwithstanding, if they're setting the movie in present times, then Madison is a better choice, in my opinion. I dislike the name, but it's pretty common on the younger set now, whereas Carol Ann makes me think of my 65 year old stepmother.

[ohhvelocitygirl.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure a a legitimate girl name is whatever name you give a girl.