Commentary on "Mechanical properties of monodomain side chain nematic elastomers" by P. Martinoty et al.

We discuss the rheology experiments on nematic elastomers by Martinoty et al. in the light of theoretical models for the long-wavelength low-frequency dynamics of these materials. We review these theories and discuss how they can be modified to provide a phenomenological description of the non-hydrodynamic frequency regime probed in the experiments. Moreover, we review the concepts of soft and semi-soft elasticity and comment on their implications for the experiments.