Bryan Southwick

Reel Paper
Comm 2050
Oct 1st, 2017

Singing in the Rain and Relational Dialects Theory

Introduction
One of my all-time favorite movies is Singing in the Rain. This movie has really been a great example of
different ways to communicate and different ways to fail at communication. I believe that the Relational
Dialects Theory is clearly defined on so many different levels within this movie. There are so many
different relationships and different ways that they grow and change, or fall apart and diminish. Using
the Relational dialects theory I will be able to analyze the communication within the movie and pick out
the specific pieces and details that really define this theory. After defining the theory and analyzing the
movie and the ways they are communicating I will be able to provide some theory recommendations
that can influence the communication within my own life, and conclude with how these pieces of a
theory can change different ways I or others may communicate.

Movie Background
Singing in the Rain is a 1952 American made musical based in Hollywood California during the early
times of film and during the transition to talking pictures in the 1920s. Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) is the
number one film actor in Hollywood with his beautiful costar Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen). Undenounced
to Lina, Don does not like her very much even though their movie star personas are in love and perfect
together. Upon hearing that the movie industry is making a switch to talking pictures Don realizes that
Lina has a horrible voice and will never be able to continue working on their current movie project The
Dueling Cavalier until Kathy Seldin (Debbie Reynolds) graces Dons presence capturing his heart in the
process. They secretly work together with groups of friends and producers to create and finish the
movie they started by dubbing Kathys voice over Linas in an attempt to save the movie. Lina finds out
about this scheme as the movie is about to premier and demands that she be able to continue to use
Kathys voice permanently and maintain her famous place long Dons side. In the end Linas strong
personality and independence get the better of her as she offers to sing at the presentation of the
movie, while Kathy sings behind the curtain. Full of love Don pulls the curtain mid song revealing Linas
sad truth about her voice, and showing the world the amazing talent that is his love Kathy. This movie is
full of twists, turns, and drama, intermixed with all the different relationships and communication.
Having studied the vocabulary and watching this movie I was able to pick out how all the different
Relational Dialects worked together to create Singing in the Rain.

Theory Definition
Relational Dialects Theory is all about the way that we communicate on an interpersonal level. The
theory is about personal relationships and it makes a point to highlight and predict the specifics like
tensions, or struggles that are happening between the individuals. This theory was originally developed
by Leslie Baxter and Barbara Montgomery in 1988. They have used some common phrases to explain
their theory. "Opposites attract", but "birds of a feather flock together". Also, "Two's company; three's a
crowd" but "the more the merrier". (Baxter, L. A., & Montgomery, B. M. 1996). Within the theory
there are many different pieces or ways that the communication is affected by relationships and
by the time people have been in the relationship. West, Richard and Turner make a great definition
of this theory by dividing it into four different understandings. "(1.) Relationships are not linear, (2.)
Relational life is characterized by change, (3.) Contradiction is the fundamental fact of relational life, and
(4.) Communication is central to organizing and negotiating relational contradictions". (West, Richard,
and Lynn Turner, 2010)

Some of the specific things that affect the rational dialects theory and are comfort level, Time
Segmentation, Activity Segmentation, Environment, Reaction, Power, and Autonomy-connection. They
are also broken into groups by the type of relationship. For example Romantic Relationships,
Friendships, Work Relationships, sibling, parent, and other family style relationships are all affected and
work differently through this specific theory.

Analysis of Movie using Relational Dialects Theory

I will be analyzing a few specific relationships and they dynamics in this section. I know that there are
some relationships that change and grow throughout the movie and those changes and ways they are
growing or diminishing are some of the specifics I plan on pointing out through my analysis.

The first person who I think of is for sure Don Lockwood, and his Praxis or ability to make choices as a
human are very integral to the feel and flow of the movie. All of his decisions set into Motion the
process of the relationships in a positive or negative way.

In the beginning of the movie Don and Lina step out of a fancy car at a movie premier. The girls all
swoon at Dons presence on the red carpet and everyone is so jealous of the love that he shares with
Lina is costar. As they are interviewed by the local press Don answers all of the questions and he keeps
cutting of Lina from speaking at any cost. This Interactional Dialects creates a lot of tension from the
way this communication was constructed. Don intentionally was making communication decisions so
that the rest of the world would not hear Linas horrible voice. She didnt know this and is getting more
and more frustrated ends up quietly listening to Don respond and answer all her questions while she
rolls her eyes. This creates so much tension in the eyes of Lina and she slowly builds the tension inside of
her. The Effect of this communication ends with her getting upset and cornering Don about this
particular situation and saying that next time she will make her own speeches. I love watching this scene
as Don draws a beautiful Image with words and society responds with even more love and desire to be
more like Don and Lina while Lina is having a huge inner thought process that is visible on her face.

Dons first interaction with Kathy is funny because he is being attacked by a group of women and to
escape he jumps into her car as she is driving down the road. Her immediate response is that she is
being robbed or taken advantage of and starts calling for help and pulls over. Once she realizes that Don
is a famous movie star her entire demeanor changes. She decides to take him home and drop him off so
he can escape the crowds. Within this five minute conversation the relationship goes through so many
different processes and changes. The Cyclic Alternation or coping response to the tension changes over
time and gives Kathy a different view and perspective of Don. Near the end of this first interaction Don
gets all smug and expects Kathy to start falling for him. His Looking-glass Self and her view of Don are
obviously very different as this interaction ends with her kicking him out of the car in front of his house.
Don had never been turned down before and immediately falls for this beautiful girl Kathy.

The first explanations of both of these relationships is fast and intricate and really fun to understand
there is a lot of tension based on the way Don is manipulating the conversation to his own needs. As you
watch you want the characters to clearly explain their stance or desires. The different points of view or
communication strategies that are implemented by each character work in different ways to help or
hinder them personally. It is clear that Don is experienced in using communication to get what he wants.
Lina obviously has been walked all over and only believes what the media says about her, and Kathy is
not about to become a clich or be the same as the other girls in the crowd.

Half way through the movie don has a moment where he sets a beautiful scene to express how he feels
about Kathy. He is tiered of the Public Dialect and is focusing on creating a Private Dialect so he can
share what he feels without everyone else getting involved. He proves to Kathy that he is not linear in
the way he communicates and that he does care about her. The contradiction from the past is resolved
and trust is built. They fall in love and there is trust and growth in the relationship. They begin to work
together to finish and save the film buy changing Linas voice.

Near the end Lina presents a Monologic Approach stating you can either keep using her as my voice for
ever or I am going to sue the agency. Her direct subtle attitude has changed and her Cyclic Alternation
sets her into a fight or flight mode. She is no independent and the acknowledgement of her
interdependence or Totality is very apparent and this creates a whole new contradiction in motion with
her role in the movie. This Praxis to blackmail her other cast members and boss end with her losing
everything and Kathy becoming the victor in the end.

Theory Recommendations
I think that if Lina and Don Together could have more of a Dialectic Approach to the way their
relationship was going to work and rather than hiding their individual plans they could have avoided a
lot of different confrontation. I feel like the Dialectic Approach is the easiest way to have a conversation
where the contradictions are described as both or and, and things are discussed and resolved. The
communication of Lina is atrocious throughout the movie. She really struggles to make a statement or
point without being walked all over. After so much she just hits a breaking point and really talks control
and makes some decisions that in the end dont work out for her.

As per Kathy she really uses the Dualistic Approach when communicating. She creates stability around
her. Stability vs change are things that people create to really grow their trust. Griffin and Emory say
that, "a class of relational dialectics that includes certaintyuncertainty, conventionallyuniqueness,
predictabilitysurprise, and routinenovelty. (Griffin, Emory A. 2003) Kathy uses her independence and
understands the independence of others around her (Totality) and uses this to really define the stability
in her life.

Conclusion
In conclusion I still love the movie Singing in the Rain after spending hours dissecting their
communication skills and blunders throughout the movie. I think the Relational Dialects Theory is very
open to interpretation. I understand that it is about the way we communicate and trust and that with
more trust and more openness communication is better, but the theory is more than just interpersonal
relationships. It is about every conversation we have with everyone around us every day. It defines the
way that we view conversation, the way that independence affects communication and that without
opposition in conversation there can be no growth.

I think that this definition and quote explain the meaning of the Theory in such a great way. The
relational dialectic is an elaboration on Mikhail Bakhtin's idea that life is an open monologue and
humans experience collisions between opposing desires and needs within relational communications.
Baxter includes a list of dialectical tensions that reminds us that relationships are constantly changing,
and that successful and satisfying relationships require constant attention. Although Baxter's description
of relational dialectics is thorough, it by no means is exact or all-inclusive since we all experience
different tensions in different ways (Baxter, L. A. 2204 pg182-192). I love coming up with inalagies as I
think of the different communication theories and the one that I came up with for Relational Dialects
theory is that communication is fluid the rocks that we bump along the rivers edge affect and create
obstacles we must overcome and in the end the conversation continues. Through it all the river
continues running constantly weather we break off and create new routes or weather we follow the
easy route of others communication continues.

References

Baxter, L. A., & Montgomery, B. M. (1996). Relating: Dialogues and dialectics. New York: Guilford.

West, Richard, and Lynn Turner (2010) Introducing Communication Theory Analysis and Application. 4th
ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Higher Education ISBN 0073385077

Griffin, Emory A. (2003) A First Look at Communication Theory McGraw Hill, Boston, ISBN 0-07-248392-
X.

Baxter, L. A. (2204). A tale of two voices: relational dialectics theory. The Journal of Family
Communication, 4(3&4), 182192.