Application of Communication Theories: Film Analysis Essay Example

This essay explores the application of communication theories in a conversation between two friends, John and Peter, discussing the film 'Avengers: Infinity War' on a train. The analysis focuses on three key communication theories: Non-Verbal Communication, Kinesics (emblems and illustrators), and Facial Communication. The essay examines how John and Peter use verbal and non-verbal cues, including body gestures and facial expressions, to enhance their discussion and convey deeper meanings. It compares and contrasts the effectiveness of these theories in understanding the dynamics of their interaction, highlighting how kinesics and facial expressions enrich their communication beyond spoken words. The study concludes that a combination of verbal and non-verbal communication, particularly the application of Kinesics and Facial Communication theories, significantly contributes to a more engaging and comprehensive exchange of ideas and personal views on the film.

COMMUNICATION THEORIES

Table of contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Theories Applied.............................................................................................................................3
Non-Verbal Communication........................................................................................................3
Kinesics (emblems and illustrators).............................................................................................3
Facial Communication.................................................................................................................3
Connection with Theories................................................................................................................4
Analysis of the Observed Communication Event............................................................................4
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................5
Reference list...................................................................................................................................6
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Introduction
Effective communication is able to increase the knowledge of people as well as it assists to
develop productivity in venture. In this study, through an event of discussion related to film
between two friends named John and Peter, effectiveness of proper communication has been
analysed. The communication patterns with reference to the various communication theories like
non-verbal theory, facial communication theory and Kinesics are studied and explained. The
thesis statement of study is to analyse the effectiveness of communication theory based on a
specific event like conversation between two friends over a film on a train journey.
Theories Applied
Non-Verbal Communication
Conversation between two close individuals is not always verbal. In most of the cases along with
the spoken words there lies a huge amount of subtle expressions which enrich the meaning of the
discussion (Stacks & Salwen, 2014). It assists to provide a clear sense on the discussed topic.
Kinesics (emblems and illustrators)
As per the view of Ruben & Gigliotti (2016:472), the Kinesics Theory is applied in case of some
acts or body gestures that are shown during the explanation of an event. This is a very common
habit among the people while having a conversation and is regarded as an important
communication theory. The Kinesics Theory is applied when people communicate among
themselves with the help of body gestures to describe a situation and in this way they are able to
make people understand about the depth of the situation.
Facial Communication
Regarded as one of the most complicated types of communications, facial expression is a very
natural type of communication skill present among people (Jack & Schyns, 2015:R628). As per
the Theory of facial expression, these are certain minute changes in the facial movement which
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explains the meaning of a conversation in more variety. With the help of facial expression the
conversation turns out to be more interesting between the people involved in the conversation.
Connection with Theories
John and Peter are travelling in a train and it is observed that they are discussing about the
recently released film in Australia that they have both seen. The movie is a new release of the
Marvel Cinematic Universe directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo, by the name of
Avengers: Infinity War (imdb.com, 2018). The movie stars over a dozen of actors from all over
the world and has been considered as a huge hit in the international box office in terms of
revenue collected and the reviews provided by the critics.
While the discussion of their personal views on the train about the film, both John and Peter
started using both verbal and non verbal communication. The discussions were interrupted by
acting from the film being imitated by either John or Peter. These show the application of the
Kinesics Theory. Both the friends were getting emotional and giving appropriate facial reactions
like squinting both the eyes during the discussion of a fight scene, getting excited and standing
up during the conversation of a scene when the hero enters for a fight sequence and shedding
tears when discussing a death scene. These non-verbal facial reactions explain the Facial
Communication Theory. All these add up to the usage of the Non-Verbal Communication
Theory being applied in the conversation between John and Peter.
Analysis of the Observed Communication Event
During the conversation between Peter and John, it was observed that both of them were not just
limiting their conversation to verbal communication rather they were including non-verbal
communication along with it. It is observed that both the friends are describing the scenes of the
film with help of vocal descriptions, body gestures, acting out the movie scenes, and with facial
communication skills like laughing, shouting and weeping.
The Non-Verbal Communication Theory has been applied by them whenever they discussed
some parts of the film which according to their views could not be described in words. As per the
view of Yılmaz & Róka (2017:42), expressions or body languages sometimes provide with a
better understanding of a situation rather than words. In this case both John and Peter were using
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signs and drawings with which they were able to understand and participate in the conversation
in a much better way. Both the conversant were deeply involved in the explanation process of
their personal views on certain sections of the movie and did not realise the way in which they
were having the conversation. It was a mixture of both verbal and non-verbal communication
and both John and Peter were easily able to understand what each other had to say even if they
were not exchanging words but exchanging blank looks.
On the other hand, Kinesics Theory has been a major part of their conversation throughout the
journey. In comparison to the Facial Communication Theory the Kinesics Theory was applied
much more number of times (Burgoon et al., 2015:19-20). In most of the cases while describing
a scene, both John and Peter used gestures and body movements that were an absolute copy of
the expressions used by the actors on the screen of the film.
In the case of Facial Expression Theory, it is seen that facial expressions have been frequently
used by both John and Peter at lots of instances during their conversation. Facial Expressions
have been an integral part of their discussion about the film and they laughed, shouted and wept
while describing certain scenes of the film. They also winked and squinted their eyes while
explaining some romantic or fight sequences from the movie. The facial expressions came very
naturally and disappeared quickly or changed rapidly into other expressions that made them look
like different words being expressed to make up a proper sentence.
Conclusion
The study deals with an analysis of the application of Communication Theories in a conversation
between two friends on a train. John and Peter meet each other on a train and they have a
conversation about a film which both of them has recently seen. The communication theories and
their use in their conversation have also been analysed. A comparative assessment of the
application of the theories in their conversation has also been done.
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Reference list
Books
Stacks, D. W., & Salwen, M. B. (Eds.). 2014. An integrated approach to communication theory
and research. Abingdon: Routledge.
Journal
Burgoon, J. K., Schuetzler, R., & Wilson, D. W. 2015. Kinesic patterning in deceptive and
truthful interactions. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 39(1), 1-24.
Jack, R. E., & Schyns, P. G. 2015. The human face as a dynamic tool for social
communication. Current Biology, 25(14), R621-R634.
Ruben, B. D., & Gigliotti, R. A. 2016. Leadership as social influence: An expanded view of
leadership communication theory and practice. Journal of Leadership & Organizational
Studies, 23(4), 467-479.
Yılmaz, O. C., & Róka, J. 2017. SOCIAL IDENTITY PERFORMANCE THROUGH
PROXEMICS, HAPTICS, AND KINESICS. Journal of Kinesics theory, 2(3), 39-45.
Website
imdb.com 2018, Infinity War, Available at: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4154756/fullcredits
[Accessed on: 21 July, 2018]
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