Film analysis

1

Film Analysis Worksheet

How to use this worksheet -This worksheet presents information and communication theories in

Chapter 1 through Chapter 4. Each topic is followed by questions to help you critically analyze the film of

your choice. The questions to help you analyze your film are designated in the following manner.

• A bullet point in italics.

The questions are intended to help you determine the main points of your paper. Not every question

will be pertinent to the film you have chosen. You must decide which questions apply to the movie you

have chosen.

Communication is a process that uses messages to convey meaning. The communication process can be

described by one of three models.

The linear communication model depicts communication as an activity where information flows in one

direction, from a starting point to an end point.

➢ There must be a message.

➢ A channel is the sensory dimension (or dimensions) along which the message is sent

➢ The sender (or senders) of the message is the individual (or individuals) who generate the

information to be communicated, package it into a message, and choose the channel (or

channels) for sending it.

➢ Noise is any factor in the environment that impedes messages from reaching their destination.

➢ The receiver (or receivers) is the person for whom the message is intended and to whom the

message is delivered.

The interactive communication model views communication as a process involving senders and

receivers. In this model, communication is influenced by two additional factors: feedback and fields of

experience.

➢ Feedback comprises verbal and nonverbal messages that receivers provide to indicate their

reaction to communication.

➢ Fields of experience represent the beliefs, attitudes, values, and experiences that each

participant brings to a communication event.

The transactional communication model depicts a multidirectional process, where each person

involved in a communication event equally influences the communication behavior of the other parties

involved.

➢ Messages are constantly exchanged between all parties involved in the encounter, which

collaboratively creates meaning.

The transactional model explains the majority of encounters that intuitively seem “interpersonal.”

• Does one of the communication models impact the develop of the character or relationship?

• How does the communication/communication model impact thoughts, emotions, behaviors

and/or relationships?

2

Interpersonal communication creates impact, changing the participants’ thoughts, emotions,

behavior, and relationships. Interpersonal communication conveys both content and relationship

information. Content information is the actual meaning of the words you exchange. Relationship

information consists of signals indicating how each party views a shared bond in terms of status and

intimacy. Content information is conveyed primarily verbally, and relationship information is

communicated mainly through nonverbal cues such as vocal tone, facial expression, and eye

contact. Relationship information strongly influences how people interpret content information.

Interpersonal communication can be interpreted in two forms, I-Thou and I-It.

➢ I-Thou communication refers to ways of relating that deepen bonds and affirm individual

uniqueness; the parties involved regard each other as equals.

➢ I-It communication refers to ways of relating that amplify the view of the other as an object,

leading to impersonal and even disrespectful communication; one party might imply a

perception of superiority over the other.

• Does the use of I-Thou or I-It communication impact the relationship between characters?

• Does the use of I-Thou or I-It communication impact self-concept or self-esteem of a character?

Interpersonal communication enables us to meet fundamental human needs and supports the

achievement of important personal and professional goals.

We seek to fulfill a hierarchy of needs in our daily lives.

➢ Maslow’s Hierarchy

o Physical needs are requirements for air, food, water, sleep, and shelter.

o Safety needs include job security and protection from violence.

o Social needs of love, friendship, and belonging are met by satisfying and healthy

relationships.

o Self-esteem needs are met by gaining others’ respect and admiration.

o Self-actualization needs are met through autonomy and achievement.

➢ Interpersonal communication also helps us to fulfill three types of goals.

o Self-presentation goals are desires to present ourselves in a particular way.

o Instrumental goals are practical goals we want to achieve.

o Relationship goals include building, maintaining, and ending bonds with others.

• How does the character communicate to meet personal or professional goals?

Interpersonal communication competence can be achieved by communicating with others in ways that

are appropriate (it follows accepted norms), effective (it enables you to achieve your goals), and ethical

(it treats people fairly).

➢ Appropriateness is the degree to which your communication matches situational, relational,

and cultural expectations regarding how people should communicate.

o Self-monitoring: the process of observing our own communication and the norms of the

situation in order to make appropriate communication choices.

3

▪ High self-monitors are people who are highly sensitive to appropriateness and

adapt their communication

▪ Low self-monitors are not sensitive to appropriateness, believing that people

should communicate the same way regardless of the situation.

➢ Effectiveness is the ability to use communication to accomplish three types of interpersonal

goals discussed earlier: self-presentational, instrumental, and relational.

➢ Ethics is the set of moral principles that guide our behavior toward others.

o We are, at a minimum, obligated to avoid intentionally hurting others.

o Treating others with respect is another ethical consideration.

• Is the character’s communication appropriate, effective and ethical?

• Is the character a high-self monitor or a low-self monitor?

The self is an evolving composite of self-awareness, self-concept, and self-esteem.

The first component of self is self-awareness—the ability to reflect on your thoughts, feelings, and

behaviors.

A greater sense of self develops as we consider our behavior relative to the behavior of others, a process

known as social comparison.

• How does the character reveal their self-awareness?

• What is the character thinking and feeling?

• Why is the character thinking or feeling that way?

• How are they communicating that?

• How are the characters thoughts and feelings affecting their communication?

• How can the character improve their thoughts, feelings, and communication?

The second component of self is your self-concept, your overall perception of who you are. Your self-

concept is based on the beliefs, attitudes, and values you have about yourself.

• What are the characters beliefs, attitudes and values?

One of the biggest influences on your self-concept is how you think others see you. Cooley (1902)

referred to this phenomenon as the looking-glass self.

• How do others see the character?

• How does this impact the character?

Our self-concept may lead us to make self-fulfilling prophecies, predictions about future outcomes that

cause us to behave in ways that ensure the interaction unfolds as we predicted.

• Does the character predict a certain outcome and then experience that?

The third component of self is self-esteem, the overall value we assign to ourselves. This evaluation can

be positive or negative.

• Does the character have high self-esteem or low self-esteem?

• How does the character’s self-esteem affect their behavior and relationships?

4

Self-discrepancy theory suggests that your self-esteem is determined by how you think about yourself

along the lines of two mental standards. The first is your ideal self, comprising the characteristics you

want to possess. The second is your ought self, the person others (i.e., family, friends, society) wish and

expect you to be.

• What are the discrepancies between the characters ideal and ought selves?

• How are the discrepancies reduced?

Self-concept beliefs help shape two dimensions of our thoughts, feelings, and behavior: attachment

anxiety and attachment avoidance.

➢ Attachment anxiety is the degree to which a person fears rejection by relationship partners.

➢ Attachment avoidance is the degree to which someone desires close interpersonal ties.

o Four attachment styles derive from these two dimensions.

▪ Secure attachment people have low anxiety and avoidance regarding

relationships with others, seek closeness, and have confidence in their abilities

to handle problems.

▪ Preoccupied attachment people are high in anxiety and low in avoidance. They

desire closeness but are plagued with fear of rejection. They may use sexual

contact to satisfy their need to feel loved.

▪ Dismissive attachment people have low anxiety but high avoidance. They view

close relationships as unimportant.

▪ Fearful attachment people are high in both attachment anxiety and avoidance.

They avoid relationships because they fear closeness will only result in pain.

They may develop a relationship only if there is a guarantee that their partners

must rely on them, but will still harbor doubts.

• Does the character display attachment anxiety and/or avoidance?

o Which attachment style best represents the character?

Whenever we communicate with others, we present our self to them. Sometimes we present a public

self that mirrors our private self, and sometimes we do not.

➢ Your public self—your face—is how you want others to see and know you.

➢ A mask is a public self, designed to hide one’s private self

• Did the character create a face/mask that contradicts with their “real” self?

Developing strong relationships is dependent upon making our selves known to others. This isn’t easy.

Exposing yourself to others can make us feel vulnerable, provoking uneasiness between how much to

reveal versus how much to veil.

Social penetration theory explains how we reveal our self in layers.

➢ Peripheral layers of self are demographic characteristics such as birthplace, age, gender, and

ethnicity.

➢ Intermediate layers reside attitudes and opinions.

5

➢ Central layers, which include core characteristics such as self-awareness; self-concept; self-

esteem; and personal values, traits, and fears.

You develop closer relationships by revealing more personal aspects of yourself to others.

➢ Breadth is the number of different aspects of self each partner reveals.

➢ Depth involves how deeply into one another’s self the partners have penetrated.

According to the interpersonal process model of intimacy, the closeness we feel toward others in our

relationships is created through two things; self-disclosure and responsiveness of listeners.

• How has the character revealed themselves and what was the impact?

o What are the layers, breadth and depth of the disclosure?

• Was the character’s level of self-disclosure appropriate and/or competent?

• What was the response to the disclosure?

Johari Window. Some aspects of our selves are open to self-reflection and sharing with other people,

while others remain hidden—both to ourselves and to others.

➢ Public Area – Aspects of your self that you and others are aware of.

➢ Blind Area – Facets of your self that are readily apparent to other through communication that

you’re not aware of.

➢ Hidden Area – Parts of your self that you’re aware of but that you hide from most others. This

may be the same as a mask.

➢ Unknown Area – Aspects of your self that you and others aren’t aware of, such as unconscious

motives and impulses.

• What is the character’s Blind Area and how is it revealed through other characters?

• What is the character’s Hidden Area and how is that shown in the film?

Perception is a process of selecting, organizing, and interpreting information from our senses. It is the

process by which we make sense of our contact with others. Perception guides our communication and

relationship decisions and is often the source of conflict.

Perception Process

Step 1. Selection is the first step of perception, in which we focus attention on certain sights, sounds,

tastes, touches, or smells in our environment.

➢ Salience is the degree to which particular people or aspects of their communication attract our

attention Communication is salient when

o a person behaves in a visually and audibly stimulating manner.

o if our goals or expectations lead us to view the communication exchange as important.

o is salient when the exchange deviates from our expectations.

Step 2. Organization is the second step of perceiving, consisting of structuring the information that you

have selected into a coherent pattern in your mind.

6

➢ Punctuation involves structuring the information you’ve selected into a chronological sequence

that matches how you experienced the order of events.

o Differences in punctuation can be a source of conflict.

o A way of avoiding perceptual misunderstandings is to try to understand how your

organization and punctuation of information differ from those of other people.

Step 3. Interpretation, is the act of assigning meaning to information we’ve selected.

➢ Our sense-making relies on schemata, mental structures containing information that defines

concepts’ characteristics as well as those characteristics’ interrelationships. (Frame of

Reference/Field of Experience)

• How did the process of perception lead the characters to interpret the information differently?

• Were aspects of an interaction or event more salient to one character than another?

• Did the characters punctuate the events differently?

Attribution theory is the process of creating explanations for others’ comments or behaviors. There are

two types of attribution: internal and external.

➢ Internal attributions presume that a person’s communication or behavior can be explained by

considering internal causes, such as character or personality.

➢ External attributions hold that a person’s communication is caused by situational factors rather

than character or personality.

o Fundamental attribution error is the tendency to attribute others’ behaviors to their

personalities, rather than to social or environmental forces that affect them. People

tend to attribute external factors to explain their own behavior (actor-observer effect).

▪ The tendency to take credit for our success by making an internal attribution is

known as the self-serving bias and is driven by ego protection, the process of

making ourselves happier by crediting ourselves for our life successes.

• Did the character attribute their success or failure to internal or external causes?

• Did the character make a fundamental attribution error?

According to the Uncertainty Reduction Theory, a primary concern during initial interactions is reducing

uncertainty about our conversational partners. Uncertainty can be reduced in several ways. We might

use:

➢ Passive strategies - gathering information about others by watching them without their

knowledge.

➢ Active strategies – questioning a third-person questioning, seeking information online.

➢ Interactive strategies - direct interaction between you and the person in whom we’re

interested.

• Did the character use passive, active, interactive or a combination of strategies to reduce

uncertainty?

7

Gender, family experiences, and cultural factors are three outside sources that also shape our sense of

self.

Gender is a factor affecting perception. People are socialized to believe that men and women

communicate differently. Researchers have found that gender influences about 1 percent of people’s

communication. We can improve accuracy of perception by asking whether someone is communicating

differently because of gender or whether the interpretation is affected by your beliefs about their

gender.

Gender affects emotional management and communication. Gender differences in emotion derive in

part from differences in how men and women view their roles in interpersonal relationships. Women

report experiencing more sadness, fear, shame, and guilt, while men report more anger and hostile

emotions. However, when men and women experience the same emotion, there is no gender difference

in the intensity of the emotion experienced.

• How has the character’s identity as masculine or feminine affected their self-concept or self-

esteem?

• Did gender beliefs affect the way a character interprets an event or emotions?

• How are gender beliefs portrayed in the movie?

The culture in which you grew up influences your perception of others during interpersonal

communication. You interpret others’ communication in part by drawing on information from your

schemata that are filled with the beliefs, attitudes, values, and practices you learned in your own

culture. Culture also affects whether you perceive others as similar to or different from yourself.

➢ Ingroupers those people whom we perceive as being fundamentally similar to ourselves with

respect to certain cultural beliefs, attitudes, and values.

➢ Outgroupers those people we perceive as fundamentally dissimilar to ourselves.

o In general, we like people who are “like” us and consequently, we are more likely to give

valued resources such as money, time, and effort to those who are perceived as

ingroupers versus those who are outgroupers.

• How have family experiences or cultural factors affected the characters self-concept or self-

esteem?

• Does the movie present ingroupers or outgroupers?

• Did cultural, historical, relational, and/or situational norms govern how characters experience

and express our emotions?

Personality, our own characteristic way of thinking, feeling, and acting, is a factor influencing how we

perceive reality. Five basic dimensions of personality. A simple way to remember them is the acronym

OCEAN:

➢ Openness,

➢ Conscientiousness,

➢ Extraversion,

➢ Agreeableness,

➢ Neuroticism.

8

Our perception of others is affected by the personality traits we see in ourselves, and how we

evaluate these traits. We evaluate people positively or negatively in accordance with how we

feel about our own traits. We typically like in others the same traits we like in ourselves, and we

dislike in others the traits that we dislike in ourselves. We also make generalizations by

presuming that because a person is high or low on a certain trait, he or she must be high or low

on other traits that we consider related to the trait we observed. These generalizations are

known as implicit personality theories, and they are based upon our personal beliefs about how

traits cluster.

• Describe the character’s personality in terms of the Color Code or OCEAN

• Provide behavioral examples to support your claim

• What significance does their personality play in their interactions/relationships?

Gestalt, a general and global impression of a person that is either positive or negative. Gestalts form

rapidly. This is one reason why people consider “first impressions” so consequential. Gestalts require

little mental or communicative effort. Gestalts are useful in encounters where we must make quick

judgments about others with only limited information. Gestalts are more likely to be positive than

negative, an effect known as the positivity bias. This can manifest as Pollyanna effects, a predisposition

toward perceiving life optimistically. We also place emphasis on the negative information we learn

about others, a pattern known as the negativity effect; since negativity is considered a deviation from

the norm, we register negative data as revelatory and salient. The nature of our Gestalt can have an

effect on how we interpret subsequent information about a person.

➢ Halo effect – a tendency to positively interpret nearly anything someone says or does because

we have a positive Gestalt of them.

➢ Horn effect - a tendency to negatively interpret the communication and behavior of people

about whom we have negative Gestalts.

Algebraic impressions are formed by carefully evaluating each new thing we learn about a person.

Algebraic impressions involve comparing and assessing the positive and negative things we learn about a

person in order to calculate an overall impression, and then modifying this impression as we learn new

information. Algebraic impressions are more flexible and accurate than Gestalts.

• Did the character form Gestalt or Algebraic impressions of another person? If so how or why was

this impactful to the relationship or story?

• Did the character exhibit the halo or horn effect?

• Did the character exhibit a Pollyanna effect or negativity effect?

Stereotypes are a way we form impressions by perceptually categorizing people into a social group and

then evaluating them based on information we have in our mental schemata related to the group.

Stereotyping streamlines the perception process, and it is virtually impossible to avoid. People

frequently have a high degree of confidence in the legitimacy of their stereotypical impressions, despite

the fact that such impressions are frequently flawed.

The negative effects of stereotyping can be overcome by:

➢ critically assessing your beliefs about various groups.

9

➢ educating yourself about these groups to find similarities and differences between people

affiliated with these groups and yourself.

➢ keeping in mind that just because someone belongs to a certain group doesn’t necessarily mean

that all of the defining characteristics of that group apply to him or her.

• Did the character stereotype a person or group of persons?

Emotion is an intense reaction to an event that involves interpreting the meaning of the event,

becoming physiologically aroused, labeling the experience as emotional, attempting to manage the

reaction, and communicating this reaction in the form of emotional displays and disclosures.

Emotions have five key features:

1. Emotions are reactive, triggered by outside events.

2. Emotions involve physiological arousal, in the form of increased heart rate, blood pressure, and

adrenaline release.

3. Emotional experience requires awareness of our interpretation and arousal as “an emotion” and

consciously labeling it as such.

4. Historical, cultural, relational, and situational norms govern how we experience and express our

emotions.

5. Emotional management is reflected in our verbal and nonverbal displays, in the form of word

choice, exclamations or expletives, facial expressions, body posture, and gestures.

Emotions are fundamental to interpersonal communication and meaning. Emotion-sharing is how we

talk about our emotional experiences with our relationship partners. Sometimes emotion-sharing leads

to emotional contagion, when the experience of the same emotion rapidly spreads from one person to

others.

Primary emotions involve unique and consistent behavior displays across cultures. Six primary

emotions are surprise, joy, disgust, anger, fear, and sadness. Some events may trigger two or more

primary emotions simultaneously, resulting in an experience known as a blended emotion. Emotions

involve unique and consistent behavioral displays across cultures. For example, shame is a primary

emotion in traditional Chinese culture.

Feelings and moods are distinct from emotions. Feelings are short-term emotional reactions to events

that generate only limited arousal; they typically do not trigger attempts to manage their experience or

expression. Moods are low-intensity states—such as boredom, contentment, or grouchiness— that are

not caused by particular events and typically last longer than feelings or emotions. Moods can have a

profound impact on perception and communication with others, thus, it is important to have means for

improving bad moods. Effective strategies combine relaxation, stress management, mental focus and

energy, and exercise. The most effective strategy of all appears to be rigorous physical exercise.

Personality exerts a pronounced impact on our emotions. Personality traits of extraversion, neuroticism,

and agreeableness strongly influence how we experience and communicate positive and negative

emotions. Part of becoming a skilled emotional communicator is learning how your personality traits

affect your emotional experience and expression.

10

• How did the character display or communicate their emotions? (include a description of the

triggering event)

• Did cultural, historical, relational, and situational norms govern how the character experienced

and/or expressed their emotions? (Think of emotional management is reflected in our verbal and

nonverbal displays, in the form of word choice, exclamations or expletives, facial expressions,

body posture, and gestures)

• Did personality traits influence how the character experienced and/or communicated emotions?

• Were the characters affected by an emotional contagion?

Empathy, the ability to “feel into” others’ thoughts and emotions, is a valuable tool for communicating

competently with others. Empathy consists of two separate facets:

1. Perspective-taking is the ability to see things from someone else’s vantage point without

necessarily experiencing that person’s emotions.

2. Empathic concern is considering the emotional side of another’s perspective.

Lack of empathy when dealing with emotions is particularly challenging. Two factors often impact

empathy. First, the invisibility and/or distance from the consequences of our messages increases the

likelihood for a lack of empathy. The ability to perceive feedback is neurologically tied to empathy;

therefore, the lack of feedback inhibits our empathy and ability to communicate appropriately. Second,

asynchronous communication predisposes us to openly express emotions that we might otherwise

conceal if we knew the response would be immediate. (asynchronicity means the interactions are not in

real time)

• Did the character communicate their efforts to see things from another person’s vantage point

and to consider that person’s emotional experience?

• Did distance, invisibility or asynchronous communication impact the characters ability to

experience empathy?

Emotional intelligence (EI) is the broader ability to interpret your own and others’ emotions accurately

and to use this information to manage emotions, communicate them constructively, and solve

relationship problems. People with high degrees of emotional intelligence typically possess four skills:

1. An acute understanding of their own emotion.

2. The ability to empathize.

3. An aptitude for constructively managing their own emotions.

4. The capacity for applying their emotional states in ways that create competent decision-making,

communication, and relationship problem solving.

People with high EI are more likely to garner trust, inspire followers, and be perceived as having

integrity. High EI individuals are less likely to bully people, or use violence to get what they want, and

they find it easier to forgive relational partners who have wronged them. Emotion management is an

important part of emotional intelligence, because it directly influences how we experience and express

emotion. Emotion management involves attempts to influence which emotions you have, when you

have them, and your experience and expression of them.

• How does the character display high or low emotional intelligence?

11

Managing Emotions

Strategies for managing emotions include ways to try to modify or control them after you become

aware of them. The two most common ways to manage emotion are suppression and venting.

1. Suppression involves inhibiting thoughts, arousal, and outward displays of emotion.

2. Venting is allowing emotions to dominate our thoughts and explosively expressing emotions.

An alternative to managing emotions after they occur is preventing them. There are four commonplace

strategies for preventing emotions:

1. Encounter avoidance involves staying away from people, places, or activities that you know will

provoke emotions you don’t want to experience.

2. Encounter structuring is intentionally avoiding specific topics that you know will provoke

unwanted emotion during encounters with others.

3. Attention focus involves devoting your attention only to aspects of an event or encounter that

you know will not provoke an undesired emotion.

4. Deactivation means systematically desensitizing yourself to an emotional experience.

Deactivation is dangerous because it can trigger deep depression.

Reappraisal consists of actively changing how you think about the meaning of emotion-eliciting

situations, so their emotional impact is changed. Reappraisal is effective because you employ it before a

full-blown emotional reaction. When you reappraise, you:

➢ Call to mind the positive aspects of the encounter.

➢ Think about how you can constructively communicate even during unpleasant encounters.

➢ Consider the short- and long-term consequences of your actions.

➢ Think about how you might communicate positively in the here-and-now to shape positive

consequences.

• Does the character employ any strategies to manage emotions? If not, which strategy may have

been appropriate?

Anger is our most intense and potentially destructive emotion. Anger is a negative primary emotion that

occurs when you are blocked or interrupted from attaining an important goal by what you see as the

improper action of an external agent. Anger is driven largely by the perception that the interruption was

improper or unfair.

To effectively manage your anger, it’s best to use strategies such as encounter avoidance, encounter

structuring, and reappraisal. Suppression and venting are two common responses to managing anger.

Consistent suppression of anger can lead to chronic hostility, a near-constant state of arousal and

negative thinking. People believe venting is a helpful and healthy path toward catharsis, a satisfying

resolution of emotions through open expression. However, venting may actually increase anger.

The Jefferson strategy is an effective anger management strategy: When a person says or does

something that makes you angry, count slowly to ten before you speak or act. If you are very angry,

count slowly to 100, then speak or act. The strategy creates a delay between the event that triggered

your anger, the accompanying arousal and awareness, and your communication response.

12

Passion is a blended emotion, a combination of surprise and joy coupled with positive feelings such as

excitement, amazement, and sexual attraction. Because passion stems in large part from surprise, the

longer and better you know someone, the less passion you will experience toward that person on a daily

basis. Partners who have known each other intimately for years may be familiar with almost all of the

communication behaviors in each other’s repertoires. When it comes to passion, the best you can hope

for in a long-term romantic relationship is a warm afterglow.

Greif is the intense sadness that follows a substantial loss. Talking about your grief with others is the

most effective method for managing the emotion.

➢ Effective support messages convey explicit emotional support, sincere expressions of sympathy

and condolence, concern for the other person, or encouragement to express emotions.

➢ Ineffective support messages discount or minimize the person’s feelings.

Seven suggestions for improving your supportive communication:

1. Make sure the person is ready to talk

2. Find the right place and time

3. Ask good questions

4. Legitimize, don’t minimize

5. Listen actively

6. Offer advice cautiously

7. Show concern and give praise.

• How does the character express and/or manage their grief?

• How does the character express support or receive support?