MovieChat Forums > Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. (2023) Discussion > The punctuation in the title is wrong.

The punctuation in the title is wrong.

posted 2 years ago by samoanjoes (58526)
20 replies | jump to latest

There needs to be a comma after "there" and before "God" because a name is being addressed. How do you spend millions of dollars on a film and mess up something so easy?

[–] [deleted] 2 years ago

It's based on a book and that is how the book title was done. So blame the original book, not the film.

[–] samoanjoes (58526) 2 years ago

I blame both.

[–] [deleted] 2 years ago

When in doubt, blame Kowalski.

[–] Justagirl90 (22) 2 years ago

😂😂😂

[–] [deleted] 2 years ago

It's especially frustrating because they do include the comma in the second half of the title.

[–] samoanjoes (58526) 2 years ago

I thought so too, but according to this site, you can.
https://grammarist.com/punctuation/using-commas-with-names-and-titles/

When Does a Comma Go Before a Name or Title?
If a comma is placed only before a name or title, it is due to the name or title being placed at the end of a sentence.

For example:

I was excited to finally meet my best friend’s new puppy, Sebastian. He’s supposed to be a Blue Heeler and Border Collie mix.

[–] Quasimodo (16388) 2 years ago

Perhaps it wasn't just the punctuation they got wrong, maybe they messed up the spelling as well ! For instance maybe it was supposed to be:

Are You Their God ? Is it Me Margaret ?

Completely different film !

[–] samoanjoes (58526) 2 years ago

Or they could just shorten it as: "Hey God, it's Margaret."

[–] Where (1595) 2 years ago

It’s also how the young character wrote it in her diary. Kids mess up punctuation, especially in a diary.

[–] samoanjoes (58526) 2 years ago

Looks bad for a title though.

[–] Where (1595) 2 years ago

Yet no one complained about “Inglourious Basterds” (sic)

[–] [deleted] 2 years ago

That was deliberate by Tarantino, to make his movie distinct from the original title.

[–] VonFisch (354) 2 years ago

It's because Margaret wrote it out as two sentences.

[–] liscarkat (19393) 2 years ago

Even if it was only the first sentence, all by itself, there should still have been a comma before "God". The second sentence doesn't alter that.

[–] VonFisch (354) 2 years ago

You're correct but it goes back to Judy Blume.

[–] Keelai (36078) 2 years ago

Doesn't the comma also represent a pause? There's no pause in the first sentence, but there's one in the second.

[–] samoanjoes (58526) 2 years ago

You're supposed to put comma before the name if you are saying it to someone.

No comma: "I don't like Frank"
Comma: "I don't like you, Frank."

[–] Keelai (36078) 2 years ago

"While this is incorrect in following the commonly accepted rules of written English, Blume intended this so there was no separation in the story between Margaret and God."

[–] samoanjoes (58526) 2 years ago

Fair.

[–] CoriSCapnSkip (2746) a year ago

For what it's worth I saw that right off.