Running head: NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION 1 Nonverbal Communication in Movies Kara Roberts Regent University Ayee, Comm 426
NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION 2 Introduction The words we do not say hold just as many messages and meanings as the words we speak. In order to fully uncover what a person is saying, we have to observe how their actions and words relate. On their own, words can be direct, hurtful, or encouraging. Throughout the Bible, we are warned that the tongue is a dangerous and corrupting fire that can destroy the hearts of others, but used as God intended they can also build each other up (Ephesians 4:29, ESV). Gestures, facial expressions, and silence alone can also express the emotions and thoughts of an individual. By observing how individuals in a movie use nonverbal and verbal cues during an interaction we will discover how much of our understanding comes from nonverbal elements. In the heartwarming film P.S. I Love You, the audience is welcomed into the married life of Holly and Gerry Kennedy. Holly is a beautiful and smart woman married to the love of her life, a passionate, funny and handsome Irishman named Gerry who she meet met when touring Ireland (IMDB, 2013). It was love at first sight, but Holly s mother disapproved of the marriage thinking that a love so intense would never last. When Gerry unexpectedly fell ill and died of a brain tumor, Holly is left trying to learn to live without him. Weeks after grieving his loss, a tape recorded message from Gerry arrives followed by a series of letters instructing her to perform unusual requests so she can begin to move on (IMDB, 2013). Together they begin a year of wild adventures that help Holly learn to live and love again. For this assignment, I will be using a segment from the first ten minutes of the movie where Holly and Gerry are interacting. By observing their nonverbal and verbal communication I will determine the climate of the conversation and how vocal variation adds to my analysis of the segment. Comment [a1]: Good intro and good description of movie.
NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION 3 Nonverbal Behaviors In the opening scene of P.S. I Love You, Holly is walking quickly ahead of Gerry to their five floor walk up apartment apparently giving her husband Gerry the silent treatment as he fights to keep up with her. However, when they enter into their apartment the anger is released and the couple begins to argue and display their frustrations through their use of space, gestures, and touch. It is easy to see that the couple is in conflict originally because of the distance changes between the couple. Holly displays her dissatisfaction with Gerry by creating distance through little eye contact and silence (Hall, Horgan, & Knapp, 2014, p. 97 & 141). Then, when they are alone in an informal and private setting, they interact at a close face to face level where they can fully show there their full irritation with the other person (Hall, Horgan, & Knapp, 2014, p. 97). Another way Holly and Gerry exhibit a conflict is through speech related gestures that appear to tie directly to what is being said (Hall, Horgan, & Knapp, 2014, p. 211). Gerry s gestures show irritation as he takes hold of a shoe and attempts to strangle it, while Holly takes the less aggressive gesture by yelling and pointing at her butt as he leaves the room. Finally, Holly expresses her anger three times with negative touch as she throws shoes and pillows at Gerry. By the way that this couple behaved using nonverbal cues it was easy to see there was a conflict. Vocal Variations and Behavior Comment [a2]: Good description of nonverbal behaviors. After watching the video a second time with the sound on, the vocal behavior and nonverbal behavior truly coincided and worked together to create meaning. By hearing how the words were said in terms of volume it was easy to follow the direction of the conflicts outcome (Hall, Horgan, & Knapp, 2014, p. 13-14). By observing Holly respond in silence to Gerry s question of why she is mad at him and if she is going to wait to talk to him, we can see that the
NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION 4 meaning behind the silence was she did not want to fight in public. As the argument ensued in the apartment, the volume increased as the individuals challenged each other for dominance of the conversation (Hall, Horgan, & Knapp, 2014, p. 334). They took turns with the power in the beginning, but at the peak of their vocal ranges the argument ended with both members leaving the room. How we say and do not say things adds to the meaning behind our words and can escalate the situation. Analysis Comment [a3]: Good comparison between verbal and nonverbal behavior. Following the third watching of the movie excerpt, I could focus on what the couple was really saying to each other by listening to their word choices, how they said their words, and how their nonverbal behavior related to the words being said. In their word choices, they were very wise in using I language so that they focused on what they were upset about rather than pushing all the blame on the other person. Gerry also uses a lot of words like love, darling, and baby to try and help soften the mood and express love. Holly does use you language sometimes to move the conversation to sub-arguments and cover all the bases of her frustrations, but in the end resolving the conflict as a whole. The language showed that even though they were angry they deep down still loved each other; they just needed to get some problems talked out. How the individuals used their language resembled a lot of their individual personalities and cultural differences. Gerry used many sarcastic and sly remarks during the conflict which compliments his humorous, carefree, and charming personality. At the time, this caused Holly to throw things at him probably because she did not think he was taking her seriously. Holly s remarks unveiled her responsible and organized personality because she chose words that expressed her serious concerns about the direction of their lives together and how they needed a plan in order to have a pleasing marriage.
NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION 5 Holly s nonverbal behavior complemented her verbal messages of irritation at Gerry for the duration of the segment. For example, her choice of silence and creating distance showed her displeasure with what Gerry said at dinner with her mother. Her facial expressions and hand gestures exploded with big movements to accent the enormity of her emotions (Hall, Horgan, & Knapp, 2014, p. 19). The way she handled objects showed that though she was trying to change and get things organized she could hardly focus on what she was doing because the conversation was the most important thing on her mind. The tasks were just giving her somewhere to direct all her extra energy. Lastly, when she points at her butt rather than actually saying the swear word she is substituting a nonverbal action for a verbal response (Hall, Horgan, & Knapp, 2014, p. 21). Gerry s nonverbal behavior on the other hand is more contradicting because he uses so much sarcasm in his words that the nonverbal expressions and words do not always add up. One second he looks angry enough to hit someone the next he is smiling as if humored by Holly s outburst. Needless to say in order to truly understand the meaning and thoughts behind a conversation it takes careful study of verbal, nonverbal and context clues to reach the heart of the situation. Comment [a4]: Very good analysis Conclusion Being forced to watch a video without sound makes a person very dependent on nonverbal communication in order to understand the situation being played out before them. In all honesty, I never knew that behaviors alone could say so much. By only observing the actions of people, we can pick up on the relationship between the characters and a lot of how the individuals are feeling. I also learned how much we use nonverbal behavior in addition to the things that we say. We are very expressive creatures and it is interesting to see how we use every part of our bodies to communicate our feelings and thoughts. Comment [a5]: Good conclusion
NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION 6 References Hall, J., Horgan, T., & Knapp, M. (2014). Nonverbal communication in human interaction (8 th ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. Internet Movie Data Base, (n.d.). Retrieved from: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0431308/?ref_=sr_1 Aug. 24, 2013. LaGravenese, Richard (Director). (2007). P.S. I Love You [Motion picture]. United States: Warner Brothers Studios. Retrieved from: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0431308/?ref_=sr_1 Week 1: Nonverbal Communication in Movies Content Possible Pts. Actual Pts. Brief description of the movie 5 5 Description of the movie segment you focused on for this assignment 5 5 Description and analysis of nonverbal communication messages 20 20 Percentage of meaning that came from nonverbal elements 5 5 What you learned from this assignment 5 5 Presentation APA Formatting (running head, paper title, author's name, proper pagination, headings, text citations, reference page) 5 5 Organization/Structure/Spelling/Grammar 5 5 Comments: Good job, Kara! A well written and well thought out analysis of the nonverbal communication in the segment of P.S. I Love You that you watched. Dr. Ayee TOTAL: 50 50
NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION 7