The film will serve as a vehicle for learning about interpersonal communication and relationships. You will analyze what the film has shown about the ways people relate to one another.
You are expected to write a short, three to four page analysis of the film. DO NOT go under two and a half or over four and a half pages. Your analysis should focus on issues of communication, incorporating material from the readings, your online assignments and lecture. You will need an introduction and a conclusion in this paper as well as identify three or four points (concepts) that you found most enlightening, controversial, or even possibly incorrect. You will be expected to discuss what individuals did, what happened, and why. Relevant communication theory and text material should be introduced foe each example. You should write this paper as if you were going to demonstrate your expertise and knowledge to an individual that has little or no knowledge of communication theory. That “pretend reader” should learn a lot from reading your paper.
The paper should be 3-4 pages (typed), 1 in margins, double-spaced, 12pt Times New Roman font, with no cover page required. You must cite the course textbook using MLA formatting. When saving your document, include your last name and the assignment, and save as either a Microsoft Word file (.doc or .docx) or a Rich Text File (.rtf).
You can write about anything that you like, but be sure to relate it to interpersonal communication. The great news is that interpersonal communication can be tied into many chapters that we have already discussed in the course this semester.
Some topics you might choose to discuss:
Perception
Self-Concept
Non-Verbal Communications
Verbal Communications
This list is just a starting point. Please feel free to go beyond and think outside of the box. As you watch the film, you may want to use this worksheet in order to help you take notes for your paper.
You may select any film for this project. You do not need prior approval. Remember the focus is on Interpersonal Communication so your film should include a relationship between 2 people. Please select only films produced in English. No foreign films.
Here is a sample of how you would write up one of the (3-4) examples for the body of your paper:
“There are many examples of non-verbal communication when watching the characters in the film The Break Up. According to the course text, there are many functions of nonverbal communication. One of the functions is substituting. Substituting is when one uses a nonverbal instead of using words. “A sigh, smile, or frown may substitute for a verbal answer…” (Alberts, Nakayama, and Martin 143). A great example of substituting in the film is when Brooke is talking on the phone with her friend Addie while Addie is at a restaurant with her family. Addie tells Brooke that “men are like children” and her husband gives her a very disappointed look. This non-verbal from her husband was a substitution for words and Addie knew that she needed to make things right with him. Addie then told her husband that she wasn’t talking about him and acknowledged his non-verbal cue.”
