communication

communication is broadly defined as the process of exchange – exchange of

ideas, information, thoughts, views and opinions. communication is always

two-sided; never one-sided. the process of communication, traditionally

restricted to the means of conventional tools like teaching, reading and writing

have now been spread out to a number of other mediums. these mediums

include the liberal arts like television, theater, radio, motion pictures, etc.

the process of communication is most effective when the communicator can

get across his/her point in such a way that the audience understands exactly

what he/she is trying to say. however, that is not always the case. in any

communication at least some of the "meaning" lost in simple transmission of a

message from the sender to the receiver due to a number of distortions that

may be either psychological or emotional. in many situations a lot of the true

message is lost and the message that is heard is often far different than the one

intended.

what makes communication so difficult is the fact that in the process there is

major potential for errors. by the time a message gets from a sender to a

receiver there are four basic places where transmission errors can take place

and at each place, there are a multitude of potential sources of error. thus it is

no surprise that social psychologists estimate that there is usually a 40-60%

loss of meaning in the transmission of messages from sender to receiver.

there are a wide number of sources of noise or interference that can enter into

the communication process. this can occur when people now each other very

well and should understand the sources of error. the following suggests a

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number of sources of noise in the process of communication:

• the choice of words or language in which a sender encodes a message

will influence the quality of communication. because language is a

symbolic representation of a phenomenon, room for interpretation and

distortion of the meaning exists.

• the same words will be interpreted different by each different person.

meaning has to be given to words and many factors affect how an

individual will attribute meaning to particular words. it is important to

note that no two people will attribute the exact same meaning to the

same words.

• defensiveness, distorted perceptions, guilt, project, transference,

distortions from the past

• misreading of body language, tone and other non-verbal forms of

communication

• noisy transmission (unreliable messages, inconsistency)

• power struggles

• self-fulfilling assumptions

• language-different levels of meaning

• people attend to stimuli in the environment in very different ways. we

each have shortcuts that we use to organize data. invariably, these

shortcuts introduce some biases into communication. some of these

shortcuts include stereotyping, projection, and self-fulfilling

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prophecies. stereotyping is one of the most common. this is when we

assume that the other person has certain characteristics based on the

group to which they belong without validating that they in fact have

these characteristics.

• interpersonal relationships: how we perceive communication is affected

by the past experience with the individual. perception is also affected

by the organizational relationship two people have. for example,

communication from a superior may be perceived differently than that

from a subordinate or peer

• effective communication requires deciphering the basic values,

motives, aspirations, and assumptions that operate across geographical

lines. given some dramatic differences across cultures in approaches to

such areas as time, space, and privacy, the opportunities for

miscommunication while we are in cross-cultural situations are

plentiful.

studies suggest that near 90% of the meaning we derive from communication

is derived from the non-verbal cues that the other person gives. often a person

will say one thing but will then communicates something totally different

through vocal intonation and body language. these mixed signals force the

receiver to choose between the verbal and nonverbal parts of the message.

most often, the receiver chooses the nonverbal aspects. mixed messages create

tension and distrust because the receiver senses that the communicator is

hiding something or is being less than candid.

similarly, we use "accessories" to communicate. this can involve expensive

things, neat or messy things, photographs, plants, etc. we use clothing and

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other dimensions of physical appearance to communicate our values and

expectations this non-verbal communication - the use of gestures, movements,

material items etc - can clarify or confuse the meaning of verbal

communication.

movies

“movies can and do have tremendous influence in shaping young lives in the

realm of entertainment towards the ideals and objectives of normal

adulthood.”

~

walt disney

television programs and movies do so much more than merely entertain

people. they have become, whether we like it or not, sources for people to

imitate. films are produced by recording actual people and objects or by

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creating them using animation techniques and/or special effects. either ways,

the stories that they portray often have an element of ‘truth’ in them in the

sense that they are based in one way or another on some real life event or

happening.

film is considered by many to be an important art form; films entertain,

educate, enlighten and inspire audiences. the visual elements of cinema need

no translation, giving the motion picture a universal power of communication.

any film can become a worldwide attraction, especially with the addition of

dubbing or subtitles that translate the dialogue. films are also artifacts created

by specific cultures, which reflect those cultures, and, in turn, affect them.

motion pictures were purely visual art up to the late 19th century, but these

innovative silent films had gained a hold on the public imagination. around the

turn of the twentieth century, films began developing a narrative structure by

stringing scenes together to tell narratives. the scenes were later broken up into

multiple shots of varying sizes and angles. other techniques such as camera

movement were realized as effective ways to portray a story on film. rather

than leave the audience in silence, theater owners would hire a pianist or

organist or a full orchestra to play music fitting the mood of the film at any

given moment. by the early 1920s, most films came with a prepared list of

sheet music for this purpose, with complete film scores being composed for

major productions.

the rise of european cinema was interrupted by the breakout of world war i

while the film industry in united states flourished with the rise of hollywood. in

the 1920s, new technology allowed filmmakers to attach to each film a

soundtrack of speech, music and sound effects synchronized with the action on

the screen. these sound films were initially distinguished by calling them

"talking pictures", or talkies.

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the next major step in the development of cinema was the introduction of color.

while the addition of sound quickly eclipsed silent film and theater musicians,

color was adopted more gradually. the public was relatively indifferent to color

photography as opposed to black-and-white. but as color processes improved

and became as affordable as black-and-white film, more and more movies were

filmed in color after the end of world war ii, as the industry in america came to

view color an essential to attracting audiences in its competition with

television, which remained a black-and-white medium until the mid-1960s. by

the end of the 1960s, color had become the norm for film makers.

the making and showing of motion pictures became a source of profit almost as

soon as the process was invented. in the united states today, much of the film

industry is centered in hollywood. other regional centers exist in many parts of

the world, and the indian film industry (primarily centered around

"bollywood") annually produces the largest number of films in the world.

films have been around for more than a century; however this is not long when

one considers it in relation to other arts like painting and sculpture. there was a

perceived "threat" by television during the early 1950s. trade magazines were

publishing articles on the "death' of local theatres. nonetheless, many at present

believe that film will be a long enduring art form because motion pictures

appeal to diverse human emotions.

communication through movies

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“cinema is the most beautiful fraud in the world.”

~jean-luc

godard

it is generally assumed and recognized that television is the most dominant

form

of the mass media in contemporary society. the influence it exerts on the

humanity could hardly be overestimated, though we might argue whether this

is

for better or for worse

apart from societal norms and cultural changes, there are still close

resemblances between theatrical plays throughout the ages and films of today.

romantic motion pictures about a girl loving a boy but not being able to be

together for some reason, movies about a hero who fights against all odds and

more powerful fiendish enemy, comedies about everyday life, etc. all involve

plots with common threads that existed in books, plays and other venues. and

all these plots are such that they do affect the common masses in one way or

the other; either emotionally or psychologically.

it is important to consider the effect this communication by analyzing the

different ways in which it can be interpreted: is the whole message sensed and

fully digested, or is only its main and simpler features understood?

we all certainly do agree with the fact that the cinema industry itself is a great

source of

information and entertainment. the way that it presents certain events,

opinions, happening are far more interesting than simply providing an analysis

of it on the news or on a documentary.

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its attraction is also in the fact that it presents every fact and happenings

mainly in the form of a story with the elements of action, adventure, romance

etc thrown in for good measure. it sometimes reflects our lives and broadens

our horizons in many ways. it’s a form of entertainment that people prefer

because it’s easily available, and is preferred to be utilized in spare time.

movies communicate with us in a way that is arresting and captivating. the

public opinion formed these days is very much influenced very much

influenced by factors such as the communication through entertainment

industry.

though on one side cinema world happens to be all attractive, on the other side

they also happen to have some ugly aspects. like the fact that not every

cinema-industry present is so effective. we do have hollywood, which without

doubt is the leader in setting trends, examples and is definitely the leader in the

world. on the other hand we have industries like bollywood, which turn out a

fewer number of movies for inspiration and focus more on the commercial

aspect. then we also have lollywood, which basically focuses on nothing at all

in general, just presenting a sleaze fest instead of anything even remotely

meaningful in purpose.

we might say that when the public has to make complex decisions on topics

which they are not knowledgeable about, they unconsciously turn to these

knowledge supermarkets for quick access to abbreviated information. the

industry’s portrayals of different situations help people gather background

information so that they can make a pseudo-informed decision when the need

arises.

“the movies we love and admire are to some extent a function of who we are

when we see them.”

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~mary

schmich

tools of communication

the tools of communication used by the entertainment industries are numerous.

but the most basic ones and their analysis are provided as follows

1. high budgets:

one of the most interesting aspects of the entertainment industry is the

fact that it procures investments running normally in six-figure sums

and even higher. these high budgets ensure that the movie makers can

procure what they consider is best for the movie, which may include

technical support like graphics etc, costumes made for the film

especially by the leading designers, make-up artists, big and realistic

appearing sets, exotic and beautiful locations, and other staff required

to handle. the main and important costs include fees for the producers,

director, cast, production costs, visual effects, music, etc

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these high budgets and lavish spending ensures the producers an end-

product which helps them put across their point in an effective manner.

they also need the budget to advertise their movie and that also for the

purpose of attracting in a crowd.

an actual example of a movie with a whopping budget actually being

successful can be that of ‘spiderman 2’, whose details are provided as

follows.

• story rights: $20 million • screenplay: $10 million • producers: $15 million • director (sam raimi): $10

million • cast: $30 million • tobey maguire: $17 million • kirsten dunst: $7 million

• alfred molina: $3 million • rest of cast: $3 million • production costs: $45

million • visual effects: $65 million • music: $5 million • composer (danny elfman):

$2 million. • total: $200 million

it went on to be a blockbuster, and recovered its budgets more than

three times over its initial cost actually reflecting the smart use of

money on behalf of the producers.

2. star power:

in the days of early silent films the names of the actors and actresses

appearing in movies were not publicized or credited as they are now.

some of these performers had to help build the sets, do clean up and

other chores around the film studio. but as the movie-going public

became more interested in the performers who attracted their attention,

the curiosity to know more about them made the movie studios and

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producers rethink their policy.

as the demand increased, they began publicizing the names of their

leading women and men, and bill them in the credits of their movies.

movie studios employed performers under long-term contracts. they

developed a star system as a means of promoting and selling their

movies. "star vehicles" were filmed to display the particular talents and

appeal of the most popular movie stars of the studio.

the concept "star power" captures the extent to which an artist's

involvement with an entertainment product contributes to the success of

that product. that can work in a variety of ways. for example, in the

case of films, powerful actors and actresses can help guarantee

financing and push a movie through the development process; they can

aid in generating interest from theaters across the globe seeking to

show the film; and they can help to attract audiences to the film. their

power may find its origins in superior acting skills, a loyal fan base, a

knack for picking the most promising projects, a strong relationship

with other creative talent, a solid box-office record, or a combination of

such factors.

star power, of course, is only one of many factors that determine a

film's market performance. film characteristics such as story line,

genre, and the use of special effects also affect demand. the role of

directors and other creative talent could play a role. in addition,

decisions regarding the release strategy for a film, such as whether to

open a movie in a large number of theaters, whether to use television

advertising to promote the film, and whether to avoid a competitive,

high-season opening weekend may impact its market success as well.

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however, most of these key factors are in some way linked to star

power. for example, movie studios are probably more confident that a

tom cruise movie will emerge as the winner of a competitive july 4

opening weekend than a movie with an unknown actor, and will adjust

their release strategy accordingly.

the indian film industry has its own set of rules in this aspect and there

are often "superstars" in this region, who often command premium pay

commensurate with their box office appeal. movie stars in india often

have huge and hysterical followings. among them, amitabh bachchan,

shahrukh khan, sunilkumar sarangi, and aishwarya rai are arguably the

most popular movie stars in southern asia. in south india, a number of

matinee idols often enter politics and even reach the post of chief

minister of their respective indian states.

3. accolades:

the accolades of a movie are the appreciation that the critics shower on

the movie in the form of awards. the most popular ones include the

oscars, golden globes, emmy’s, filmfare, etc…

these accolades help the public in judging whether the movie is

worthwhile or not; and the criteria of the judgment. but these can be

misleading in some case. for example, bollywood mostly hands out its

award to the movies which are a commercial success rather than a

critically acclaimed movie. on the other hand, people actually do trust

generally the judgments of oscars.

the accolades that a movie receives present the movie in a different

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manner than a film which was not even nominated for an award. let us

take for example the 1959 version of ‘ben hur’. the film won an

unprecedented 11 oscar’s – a feat achieved by only two other movies,

‘titanic’ and ‘the return of the king’ - and it was not because of its

commercial success. the excellent performance by charles heston, the

story of a man who was wrongfully accused of a crime he had not

committed and how he struggles in life afterwards, the cinematography,

the music direction etc. all pull the movie together to deliver a powerful

message to the audience.

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movie genres

1. science-fiction:

most of the best selling films of all times have been in the genres of science

fiction, fantasy and horror. many of the movie serials of the 1940’s and

1950’s were science fiction and following the tremendous success of star

wars in 1977, there was an explosion of new science-fiction films.

science fiction films also explore more serious topics and some aim for

high artistic standards, especially after stanley kubrick’s influential ‘2001:

a space odyssey’ in 1968 and ‘a clockwork orange’ in 1971. the story of

‘2001’ is based on various short stories by arthur c. clarke and since its

premiere, it has been analyzed and interpreted by multitudes of people

ranging from professional movie critics to amateur writers and science

fiction fans.

as a matter of fact, kubrick encouraged people to explore their own

interpretations of the film and refused to offer an explanation of ‘what

really happened’ in the movie, preferring instead to let audiences embrace

their own ideas and theories. in an interview, kubrick stated,

“you are free to speculate as you wish about the philosophical and

allegorical meaning of the film – and such speculation is one

indication that it has succeeded in gripping the audience at a deep

level – but i don’t want to spell out a verbal map for ‘2001’ that every

viewer will feel obligated to pursue or else fear he’s missed the point”

2. romance:

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romantic movies do have an influence on people who are used to watching

entertainment movies that are soft and uncluttered. they do affect them is

such a way that they do take influence from the happenings and adopt them

in their relationships. for example, the movie may depict a person doing a

lot for his beloved, like spending time with her or taking her out.

this does influence a lot of people to act the same way. similarly people

also do get affected by the treatment of a person negatively in the movie,

and they may adopt the same procedure. for example, the depiction of a

person committing suicide for his/her beloved affects some people in the

worst way and unconsciously makes them act the same way. so the movie

makers have to be careful about how they depict romantic situations in the

movie.

one point to be noticed about romantic movies is the fact that they almost

always have a happy ending. the hero will save the heroine and they will

always end up together in the end. this portrayal tends to send wrong

signals to the audience because this display of relationships is distorted and

untrue. it is not always the case that the hero will get the girl in the end.

there are very few movies which give a more true to life representation of

relationships, as ‘city of angels’ managed to.

examples of some popular movies include ‘sweet home alabama’,

‘runaway bride’, ‘notting hill’, ‘kuch kuch hota hei’ (indian), ‘hum apke

hein kaun’ (indian), etc…

3. comedy:

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“i don't take the movies seriously, and anyone who does is in for a

headache.”

~bette davis

comedy is one of the most effective genres in the movie industry. since

they depict light-hearted acts and situations, they are the ones which are

appreciated the most. they provide a humorous touch in our life and help us

take things lightly. sometimes they use their power to address some more

serious issues, and actually in an uncomplicated manner. for example, the

movie ‘liar liar’ starring jim carrey dealt with the issue of a lawyer father

falling in the trap of lying a lot, and it had the simplest of morals for

people, telling them to abstain it. the whole movie presented this concept in

such a light manner that was appreciated by everyone

then there are comedies which deal with more serious issues like the

movie, ‘bruce almighty’, which focused on the issue that many of us face

today; dissatisfaction with current situations of life, feelings that everything

is unfair, thinking that everything is easy for god and he is just punishing

you by all this. it showed the adventure of a man who confronts god and is

bestowed with his powers for a limited period of time. the journey was

shown in such a light-hearted way and addressed the core serious issue in a

very friendly way, which actually made the movie a critical and

commercial success.

4. real life:

“you can map your life through your favorite movies and no two people's

maps

will be the same.”

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~mary schmich

the real-life genre is the one which may be the most effective, or even the

most controversial. this is the genre which can really stir up the emotions

of the audience. they actually depict real-life happenings in an interesting

manner so that people are educated about the particular event, person,

etc…

examples include popular movies like ‘finding neverland’ (a movie about

j.m barrie finding his inspiration to write the timeless classic ‘peter pan’),

‘ray’( the movie depicting the story of the famous blind singer ray charles),

‘bobby’( depicting the story of different people on the day robert f.

kennedy was assassinated) etc. some examples of movies depicting real-

life events are ‘the constant gardener’, ‘patch adams’, ‘hotel rwanda’,

‘boys don’t cry’ etc. these helped in spreading public awareness about

certain events and helped them provide with a perspective where they can

judge for themselves the outcome of these events.

real-life movies are inspirational in many cases and they help people relate

themselves to various situations in the life of many famous people, and

draw courage. an excellent example for this is the movie ‘walk the line’

which is about the life history of the singer johnny cash. another movie

which stirred up controversy and mass hysteria, both positive and negative,

was ‘the passion of the christ’.

5. adventure/violence/horror:

this genre is for the more stout hearted people, who love excitement and

the rush of adrenaline. these movies have a slightly different make-up from

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the normal ones, with heavy investment in high-tech gadgets and fight

sequences. we can say that these are the movies which are mostly criticized

for the negative impression they have especially on the youth of today.

example may include the ‘saw’ or ‘nightmare on elm street’ series. they

always are the one which stir up controversy one way or the other. these

include movies made on warfare, weapons, violence and abuse, etc.

horror movies are controversial because they usually have a negative effect

on youngsters and then there are concerned parents all over the media

trying to get them to ban these movies. examples include the ‘chucky’

series, ‘jaws’ etc. horror movies often portray zombies and ghosts going

around killing people and the american horror movies are often violent and

there is no apparent plot involved.

6. animated movies:

one can observe by watching an animated movie that they have simple yet

very strong messages that they want to convey to the audience. the movies

tell stories about hope, perseverance, courage and love in a variety of ways

in either stories that have been handed down from generations or in new

original movies.

generation old movies whose messages are as strong today as they were the

day they were released include ‘cinderella’, ‘beauty & the beast’, ‘the little

mermaid’, ‘aladdin’ etc which some of the new original movies include

‘lion king’, ‘finding nemo’, ‘toy story’, ‘shrek’, ‘spirit’ etc.

a timeless story like ‘cinderella’ tells the story of a kind-hearted girl who is

forced into looking after her evil step mother and step sisters. but with a

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little bit of magic and luck, she ends up with her happy ending. while the

very idea of getting everything from having nothing seems very unrealistic

and many argue that this depiction is very unrealistic, they are forgetting

that that is not the message of the movie. the message is to dream, to hope,

to aspire to the highest levels.

one major critic that many people have of movies, especially disney

animated features, is the concept of ‘love at first sight’. with the only

possibly exception of ‘beauty and the beast’, most of the disney heroines

fall in love with the hero at first sight and then we find the hero

overcoming all odds to rescue ‘his true love’ or ‘the love of this life’ etc.

for all the talk regarding the positive and/or negative influence of movies on

the common masses, the fact remains that keeping these considerations aside,

what we perceive in the end that really does matter more than the actual

message conveyed. we can say that the influence of communication depends

on a few main aspects. the age of the viewer, their maturity level and to some

extent, their gender.

a movie may be perfectly acceptable for a certain teen or adult, but not so for a

pre-teen. examples include ‘cinderella’ and once again, the ‘chucky’ series.

the maturity level decides their perception of the movie. many grown-ups still

do like cartoon movies, although their peers may consider that ‘weird’ (e.g.

‘shrek’, ‘the grinch’). likewise, youngsters may like watching movies with

bloodshed and gore (‘jaws’, ‘blade’). other elders may like watching serious

and mature movies like ‘babel’, ‘syriana’, ‘crash’ etc…

the gender of the viewer also influences the opinion formed, for example,

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‘chick-flicks’ are perfectly acceptable for females but many men would rather

not ‘watch cheesy movies about girls falling in love’. some examples would be

‘legally blonde’, ‘mean girls’, ‘america’s sweetheart’ etc.

on the other hand, adventure flicks or science-fiction movies attract a large

male following and, in comparison, a small female fan following. we have the

example of the ‘star wars’ saga, ‘minority report’, the ‘terminator’ series and

many many more.

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conclusion

keeping in mind the above analysis, the important thing to be kept in mind is

that aside from all the negative and/or positive influences of movies, how

much influence the movie has is a relative thing. one thing that is good for one

person may not be so for the other person. so it’s important to keep an open

mind and not to consider these things as a word of law to create a hue and cry

over minor issues.

every positive has negatives along with it, and movies are no exception. there

is nothing wrong with them as long as one understands that they are just

movies. that is why it is important not to give up on media. because if one film

can make a positive impact on the lives of so many people by communicating

positively, just think of the good that can be done with other movies which

make people think of how they can actually make a difference.

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online references:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/film_budgeting

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/film_budgeting

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/movies

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/science_fiction

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/science_fiction

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/subliminal_messages

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/movies

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/communication

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