I was looking forward to this assignment, as I never seem to have time to watch TV. I was ready to be entertained by Two and a Half Men. I watched this show one other time over two years ago when Charlie Sheen was part of the cast.
Viewing the show without sound was unusual, but provocative. I paid close attention to the body language, facial expressions, and lip formation of words more so than I would have with sound. Without words I had to assume many things since I have not been following the storyline.
I assumed a strained relationship between the two adult men was taking place caused by a women and her child. I concluded it was Ashton Kutcher who played the character of Walden. I made this conclusion because the child had drawn a picture of a man and labeled him Walden. I presumed that Jon Cryer’s character had been asked to move out of the house which was causing him to experience emotional stress which led to a heart attack.
At the hospital, Jon Cryer was visited by a ghost. I assumed the ghost was the former character of Charlie Sheen (Charlie) because of the attire. The ghost was played by Cathy Bates.
All of my guesses about the story were based on facial expressions (especially the eyes), expressions with hands, body movements, attire worn by the cast, and background settings. I can see how non-verbal cues are taken for granted as we communicate with words. Although non-verbal cues, and surrounding environments are often overlooked they are important to guiding our assessments or outcomes as we engage in communication.
With sound I found out that I was pretty close to the storyline. I have to admit that because there was much in the news about the show due to Charlie Sheen, I may have picked up on some themes of the show. Additional features with sound allowed me to know the names of the characters, and to have an understanding of the elusive innuendos of each character. This was evidenced by learning about Alan’s insecurities and inability to live on his own.
I found the following quote quite applicable:
”The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn't said.”
--Peter F. Drucker
1 comment:
Sally,
It really is interesting to see how much we can understand about communication just by nonverbal cues. I watched the Real Housewives of NJ, and the show was so tense and aggressive that I could tell right away without the sound that there was a lot of anger in the show. Body language, facial expressions and gestures can tell us so much.
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