The television show that I chose to watch without sound was The Big Bang Theory (Episode 13, Season
7). I have never watched this show
before, but several girls at work are addicted to it, so I thought I’d give it
a try.
What did I think the characters’ relationships are based on
the way in which they are non-verbally communicating? What are they feeling based on the nonverbal
behavior I observed?
The show opened with a blond girl (I later learned was named
Penny) and a man with glasses (Lenard) talking and the girl got down on one
knee and said something that looked like, “Will you marry me?” I assumed they were dating and she was
proposing to him. He looked a little
shocked and pulled her over to the couch and they talked. After the discussion, they hugged. He did not indicate that he said yes to her
proposal (by nodding), but the girl did smile so she didn’t seem upset.
The next scene showed Lenard with another man
(Shelton). They look like they are
arguing back and forth. Shelton is
following him and Lenard shakes his head and points for Shelton to stay (like
signaling a dog). Shelton sits down on
the stairs and hangs his head (like he is sad).
A later scene shows goes back to Shelton sitting on the stairs and the
blond lady (Penny) walks past him with a box of something in her hands. She turns and says something to Shelton, then
leaves again. She stops, goes back to
Shelton and says something again, and he looks happy. She then pats her leg several times and
speaks to him again (like someone calling a dog to come). Shelton looks up, smiles, and leaves with her
(skipping). He seems excited. A later scene shows Penny and Shelton in a
car together talking back and forth, and then a final scene in Penny’s
apartment where Lenard walks in on them doing Yoga. He looks confused and then starts to talk to
Penny. They look like they are arguing
back and forth (eyebrows stern, folding arms, gesturing, close proximity). After talking for while, they both relax and
then hug.
Another scene in the program showed a man who is standing
behind the register counter at a comic book store (Stewart). A female, who I guess is a customer, walks in
and shows him a comic book. She is
frowning and is shaking her head at something Stewart says. He dumps out a bunch of pill bottles in front
of her. Is he trading medication for the
comic book? A later scene shows the
comic book man, Stewart, and this blond lady in another comic book store. They talk to another guy (who is acting like
the owner – going behind the register).
He is smiling and nodding, bringing out a comic book to show the
lady. She looks mad and yells at him,
then walks away. Stewart follows her. I am guessing that Stewart did not have the
comic book the customer wanted so he took her to the other place and that owner
wanted way too much money.
Another scene shows a science lab with 4 people talking (3
men and a dark-haired woman). The tall,
bushy bearded man (Bert) gives the woman something. She raises her eyebrows and looks
shocked. Bert leaves and the other two
men say something to her. She glares at
them and shakes her head. I’m guessing
Bert likes this woman and they are telling her this. Another scene shows the dark-haired woman
talking to the bushy beard man on the phone.
She smiles, hangs up, and then looks confused. A later scene shows the three science guys in
a car together. The Bushy beard guy
looks happy and excited – possibly singing and banging his hand on the dash
board. The two other men are slouched
down and frowning. They look either annoyed
or bored.
After watching the program with the sound turned on, I found
out that Penny and Lenard were dating, but Penny was unhappy with the direction
her life was going. She proposed to
Lenard because she needed a change, but ended up quitting her job at the
Cheesecake factory so she could pursue her acting career. Lenard was nervous about her making such a
huge life change, but wanted to be supportive.
Shelton was sulking because his HR person forced him to take
some vacation days off and he was bored.
He was trying to go to work with Lenard, who told him to stay! Penny offered to let him run errands with
her, and he was happy to do something.
He did Yoga with Penny because he thought she asked him if he wanted to
do Yoda. J.
The blond customer did come into Stewart’s store to purchase
a new comic book to replace her boyfriend’s comic book that she had ruined with
a curling iron. He said he didn’t have
it. She said she was a pharmaceutical
rep and could get him drugs. He asked if
she had any of the ones he already had. Stewart
did not have it, so he took her to another store. I assumed the other store owner was friendly
because he was smiling, but he was actually making snide and rude comments
about Stewart, so when he showed the comic book to the customer, she told him
that she wouldn’t buy it because he was being a bully. (She later went back and bought it when
Stewart wasn’t around).
The bushy haired science guy did like the girl, and he asked
her out to the rock and mineral show. She
didn’t understand that he was flirting with her, so she called to tell him that
she had a boyfriend. The two other guys
ended up being tricked into going to the rock show with Bert. They did not enjoy it.
Many of my assumptions were correct from reading the body
language of the actors, however, they would have been more correct if it had
been a show I watched more often.
Comedies are usually a lot more animated in body language, and I think
it would be much harder to determine the plot of a drama (more real life
situations) because there seems to be a lot more details that are verbally
communicated. The blond customer and
Stewart acted like they knew each other well, because she stood up for him in
front of the other comic book store owner, but I don’t know how they knew each
other. It is probably a lot funnier for
someone who knows the backstory to all the relationships. It is apparent that all these people are
interconnected somehow. This assignment shows
how important both verbal and non-verbal communication are to getting the full message. I know when I have tried to just listen to a
television program before, the programs that are more informational (such as
news), I am able to follow, but comedies require you to watch the non-verbal in
order to get the full punch-line (like when the actors signaled to Shelton like
a dog).
Collett,
ReplyDeleteIt does sound like you would have to watch that show a few times so that you could understand the web of relationships better. From this assignment, I can see how verbal communication really enhances communication, and without it, one is only guessing by the nonverbal cues. Thanks!
Collett,
ReplyDeleteI agree that shows are a lot more animated through body language. I did a comedy as well, and there was a lot of body language that helped me assume what was going on, only to find out I was correct when I watched it with noise. I feel that most shows you must watch and listen to in order to get the full effect.
Hi Collett, I also did a comedy like you. I must say it was kind of hard watching it with the sound off. I couldn't really figure what the relationship was with the two people that I observed. As I turned the sound back on, I then discovered that the two teachers that were in the show were actually in a relationship. I totally agree with you too when you say that this assignment required both verbal and nonverbal communication.
ReplyDeleteHi Collett,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post. I found it interesting the without sound it seemed like the second comic book guy was being friendly because of non verbal cues such as smiling but he was actually being rude. I have seen this happen before where if a person knows they are being watched but also know that they cannot be heard they will pretend to look happy while saying something rude, it reminds of scenes I've seen in movies where people speak to each other through clenched teeth so they look happy but are actually not at all.
Hi Collett, I did not do a comedy show I did a reality show and I think that you did a good job with this assignment. I don't think I would have been able to interpret as much as you did with a show like this. I've watched this show maybe once or twice and I think it was a pretty good show. I enjoyed reading your blog and look forward to reading more. Good job.
ReplyDelete