I am not sure if it was good or bad, but I told my husband to pick a television show on Netflix I had never seen before so I could evaluate it for this assignment. He chose a British television show from the 90s called Keeping Up Appearances. I had never heard of it, so it worked. I was weary of any cultural differences that may affect my interpretation of nonverbal communciation, but decided to go with it anyways. As I began to watch I was able to determine the main character was not liked very much based on other's facial cues, but also they way they walked away from her when talking and looked down when she spoke to them. She seemed very judgmental based on her facial cues. Other individuals seemed more carefree until she was in the room, and the tension seemed to rise. For example, when she is on her way to someone's house they are relaxing and then when she arrives they begin frantically trying to tidy up.
When I watched the episode with the sound on I realized that I was correct in my assumption that everyone did not particularly enjoy this woman's company, but not to the degree I thought. With the sound off I thought she was in control of others based on her judgments and facial cues. With the sound on I realized she was often the annoyance or joke based on her judgements.
I had two Aha! moments while doing this assignment. The first was that this show overtly stereotyped and tried to set -up non verbal opinions of the characters. They showed a house with a junky car in the driveway, the man of the house wearing a dirty tank top, drinking beer, with a tattoo, sitting on a chair that looked like a hamburger. This has interested me to determine if all shows do this and I have been too focused on the words to notice or if this show was just like that. Also, I realized I may be an awfulizer. I felt the tone of the television show was far more unpleasant based on the non verbal communication than really it was intended to be. This can send mixed signals for me when communicating as the verbal and non verbal commincation based on tone don't necessarily match.
I think if I had watched a show I am familiar with the assignment would have been completely different. I would already have a general idea of the characters, those disposition, tone, and personality to judge from. I would also know more of the history of the characters, therefore be biased in my decision making.
Hi Mandy
ReplyDeleteThank you for your insights. I know exactly what you mean about wondering about messages sent through television shows and the media. I have become more aware of stereotypes. It is interesting to watch films or shows with a goal in mind, as O'Hair suggests in the separate reading on Listening Skills, Chapter 4, p. 105. He advises one to set goals in all kinds of listening and not to be mindless. I agree that one is influenced by one's schemas and that this can be helpful, but can also cloud one's judgment. Therefore it is important to know one's strengths and weaknesses as a communicator and listener and work towards being balanced.
Mandy, I have to say I enjoyed reading your post! Some parts of it reminded me of how the staff at the ageny I work at feel about some of the admin staff. Special how they all got tense when they walk into a room.
ReplyDeleteHello Mandy,
ReplyDeleteMedia influence has a massive effect on people’s life, and sometimes these effects can be quite negative. Generally speaking, the presence of stereotypes can cause people to make inaccurate assumptions based on their insights of what a certain type of individual is or does. We should avoid stereotypes and get to know people for who they really are.