For this week’s assignment, we had to choose a show that we do not watch. We had to first watch it on mute, then watch it again with the sound on. The show I chose was Mike & Molly.
First watch:
I know the two main characters and my prior knowledge tells
me that they are in a relationship.
After watching for a bit, I can tell that they are married. The other relationships were difficult to
define without sound or prior knowledge.
Some of the characters appeared in Mike & Molly’s home, as well as
in other settings. The actor who played
Mike was also somewhat easy to follow.
His most telling cues were his eyes and his hands. The actor that plays Molly, Melissa McCarthy,
is very animated, so it was very easy to tell how she was feeling based on her
non-verbal communication. Everything
from her eyes, to her hands, to her body language was telling of her mood.
She began the episode frustrated. Her brow was furrowed, she was drinking, and
she tore up a large stack of papers. She
later looked distressed and possibly ill.
By the end of the episode, she seemed happier. She was in the same setting as the beginning
of the episode, but was typing on her computer with a smile on her face.
Second Watch:
Many of my assumptions about the characters emotions and
feelings were accurate. As far as the
plot goes, I was less than accurate. It
is very possible that if I was familiar with the show, I could have made more
accurate assumptions.
Melissa McCarthy is funny. What makes her funny? After this exercise, I realized that her animation, or non-verbal communication, is what makes her funny-ness so effective. She could tell all the jokes, and make all the comments and sounds, but without her actions, it would not be funny.
This exercise showed me not only the importance of
non-verbal communication, but also
reinforced the importance of verbal communication. While verbal communication is necessary for
relaying information, non-verbal communication is needed to convey opinions and
feelings.
Rene,
ReplyDeleteYou bring up an interesting point about funny people in particular. Although the non-verbal communications such as Melissa's gestures etc. make her funny, what she is saying has to line up with what she is doing. When the verbal and non-verbal communications do not line up, it can be confusing.
To add to Cheryl's comment, verbal communication has more impact in my opinion if it is corroborated and accentuated by nonverbal communication. If a voice is raised and hands are moving fast, we understand better how mad someone is. If someone is crying and curled up on the couch, we see how sad they are. It seems that humans have the same way to express feelings using body language associated with words.
ReplyDeleteHi Rene,
ReplyDeleteI am amazed with the amount of non-verbal communication we use mixed with in our verbal communication. I have some knowledge of the importance of body language however from this exercise I realize that there is so much more that I need to learn about body language and how to read and understand body language. I am fascinated with what we say when we don't even know that we are saying it. I am going to enjoy learning about body language and how to understand what is being said through body language. I found your observations to be intriguing regarding the importance of facial expressions in body language.
Hi Rene,
ReplyDeleteI would like to state that this is a great post! I have never watched this show so I was interested in what you found out. I know that I use a lot of non verbal communication, but I reflected after I read the statement that the it was her non verbal communication that made her funny. I often wondered why I had a good re-pore with my children and families and I think it is because I too am animated and am a strong communicator. Thanks for the post!
Rene,
ReplyDeleteFirst I would like to say I love Melissa McCarthy I probably would of been laughing now even know what was going on just because her facial expressions and nonverbal communication is funny. I agree is it difficult to determine the plot of a show without knowing its background. Even trying to determine how someone is feeling based on non verbal communication could be difficult because you may misread what is being presented.
Thank you for sharing
Lauren
Rene,
ReplyDeleteYou make a good point. Many actors rely on physical comedy to be funny. Nonverbal communication is more telling and reliable than verbal communication. With verbal communication we have time to internalize our feelings and formulate fhe response we believe is appropriate even if it is not the one we are actually feeling.