capture the couple ' s inseparability ” ( Cave ). In an example of uni-name conflation of real life and cinema , the celebrity couple starred together in 2003 ’ s Gigli , and much like their relationship , it failed spectacularly under concentrated public scrutiny . Although Affleck and Lopez were not destined to be a dynamic duo for long , “ Bennifer ” ( and Gigli , for that matter ), still haunt Affleck ’ s professional reputation . Regardless , Robert Thompson , director of the Centre for the Study of Popular Television , has suggested , “ As silly as it sounds , this new tendency to make up single names for two people , like ‘ Bennifer ’ and ‘ TomKat ’ is an insightful idea ” (“ Brangelina ”). Thompson discusses the uni-name “ Bragelina ,” a reaction to the high- profile relationship of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie , and insists the nickname “ has more cultural equity than their two stars parts ” so that “ You get interested in this whether you want to or not . It ’ s by osmosis ” (“ Brangelina ”).
Without question , the uni-name can become a tool of derision when used as a public for criticism , for example “ Billary ,” which Cave suggests grew out of a perception that Hillary Clinton had become too powerful compared to her husband the President . Similarly , the relationship of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes , when reaching a publicity oversaturation point in the media , became known as “ TomKat ” as a “ shorthand joke for their outlandishly public relationship ” ( Cave ). In a Fox News article entitled , “ Blame Bennifer : Celeb Uni-Names Multiply ,” “ the phrase ‘ Bennifer ’ was coined , seemingly encapsulating everything the public felt towards the duo : awe , envy , over-familiarity , even disdain .” Fay Halberstam , a linguistics expert and Ph . D . candidate at New York ’ s City University , suggests , “ The sociolinguistic reason is that the people are trying to make a connection with the listeners with insider information . If you get the reference , you feel smart and
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