Week 4 - Non Verbal Communications

Perhaps many of you may already know that a large part of our interaction with others takes place through non-verbal communication. And this is true for people of all ages, whether you are a toddler still learning to express yourself, or an insecure teenager desperately trying to seek attention, or even a mature adult who is articulate and well-mannered; We are all constantly expressing our feelings and opinions via different non-verbal signals, like a nonchalant shrug or a look of surprise. More often than not, these non-verbal cues reflect our emotions more accurately than carefully constructed words. Such non-verbal cues can be used to enhance our verbal speech or may let slip our disdain for someone veiled by polite words.

Many print advertisements convey their messages to their target audience through non-verbal cues of the spokesperson or model. Like in the above print advertisement, although there isn't any verbalized exchange of words, it is able to give light on the situation based on the usage of various types of non-verbal communication. From the body language(kinetics) of the woman on the bed, to the furious look on the man's face(oculesics), and also most importantly, the exposure of the man's feet from behind the curtains(physical appearance), it's probably safe to say that we can all give a fairly accurate guess on what is happening in the picture.

Below is another print advertisement of a fabric softener that emphasizes on the effectiveness of its product with a great sense of humour. For the uninitiated, the puppets are made of fabric. The displeasure on the female puppet is depicted clearly from her upset glare(oculesics) and crossing of her arms(body language), a usual indication of anger when coupled with an infuriated look. Similarly, the frustration of the male puppet is also shown by his facial expression and body language. The tension between the two puppets is exhibited in a more subtle way with the distance(proxemics) between them.

We are constantly being surrounded by a myriad of print advertisements, but the success of these advertisements depends largely on how well it conveys its message with the use of both explicit and subtle non-verbal cues and also its ability to relate to the masses.

Like this latest advertisement from L'Oreal, what exactly is it trying to portray then? Apart from the obvious, I believe it is open for our interpretation.

Week 3 - The Ugly Truth

Official Website: http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/theuglytruth/site/

Synopsis:

Abby Richter (Katherine Heigl) is a morning show TV producer in California. Coming home from a disastrous date one night, she happens to see a segment of a local television show, "The Ugly Truth", run by Mike Chadway (Gerard Butler), whose cynicism about relationships prompts Abby to call into the show to argue with him on-air. The next day, she discovers that the station is threatening to cancel her show because of its poor ratings, and the station owner has hired Mike to do a segment on her show to bring them back up.

At first, the two have a rocky relationship; Abby thinks Mike is crass and disgusting while Mike finds Abby to be a control freak. Nevertheless, when she meets the man of her dreams, a doctor named Colin (Eric Winter) living next to her, Mike persuades her to follow his lead. She agrees to his helpful advice and if he can get her the man she wants, proving his theories on relationships, she will work happily with him, but if Mike fails, he agrees to quit.

Our perception of others is usually influenced by a plethora of psychological and social factors. As seen in 'The Ugly Truth', Mike is deemed by Abby as uncouth and obnoxious, while he feels that she is a naive and uptight idealist. Their view of each other is built mostly upon first impression. Such tendencies are common in our perception of many things or people around us and are hard to be corrected or altered. Many of us are guilty of such behaviour as we only select and process information that we want to see, whether consciously or otherwise.

Based on cognitive schemata, Abby labels Mike as a 'Man whore', and such perception is based solely on his successful television programme, which involves Mike being constantly surrounded by scantily dressed woman and spewing ugly truths about men and women's relationships. However, judging one's character solely based on one's job is usually fairly inaccurate. Such stereotypes on social roles or professions are something we should avoid, as they often fail to give us truthful insight of one's character.

Colin, the man of Abby's dreams, is an excellent example of a prototype of the 'perfect guy', as deemed by our society. Tall, handsome, has a fantastic job and great personality, he is depicted as one with all the qualities most women seek in a man these days. In most romantic comedy, or at least those that manage to achieve box-office success, the presence of such a character is essential, as it allows the viewers and fans to indulge in their own little fantasy of being the character in the film. But who can blame them for that? Sometimes, a little indulgent does gives us all a little more optimism and hope in our own romantic department and lives.

Week 2 - Perspective

Web Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xri13KnD4Hs

Source:Youtube

Advertising Agency: NASCOM, Brussels, Belgium

Director/Copywriter: Frank Devos

This commercial advertisement for Sony VAIO W Series Notebook provides comical insight into the tormenting world of social media addicts. It brings forth the issue of popular Internet social media, such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter, taking control over the daily lives of many addicted users around the world.

Such drastic effects on the lives and behaviours of these obsessed individuals can be viewed from the cultural studies perspective of communication. As the use of social media becomes more widespread and varied, it very quickly transformed itself from a leisure activity to an important aspect of our lives. People start to communicate with their friends, or even strangers, online via these social media/networking websites more often; Sometimes, too often that real life face-to-face interaction is reduced or worse, deemed unnecessary.

The Sony VAIO advertisement not only highlights the negative impact of addicts being enslaved to these Internet applications, but also insinuates a more serious underlying problem they create in our society. A national study on college students by a psychology professor, Jean Twenge, from the San Diego State University shows that 92% of the students being interviewed use Facebook or MySpace regularly, while 84% log in to these websites several times a day. In the case of the social media addicts, these cyberspace tools have anchored themselves so deeply in their users' lives that their lives now revolves around these tools instead. The over reliance of social media is an increasingly widespread phenomenon, and contrary to common beliefs, it does not only affect teenage users but also many working adults.

With its astronomical rise in popularity, social media has also become a great platform for users to showcase their talent to a global target audience. A good example would be Taylor Swift and Colbie Caillat, whose wildly popular MySpace websites kick started their successful music careers and catapulted them into stardom. Many advertising and events companies have also started to make use of these social media websites to reach out to a larger target audience in the past few years. All in all, I believe that all these social media platforms should be utilized to benefit us as a more convenient way to communicate with one another or to express our opinions on issues that interest us instead of governing our lifestyle.