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 • alfred molina: $3 million

• screenplay: $10 million
• producers: $15 million
• director (sam raimi): $10
million
• cast: $30 million
• tobey maguire: $17 million
• kirsten dunst: $7 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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