It is incredible
to watch a pilot episode of a popular television show for the first time –
without captions or voice. My son had suggested a popular TV show, How I Met Your Mother, to write about
for this blog assignment. I had seen promotional advertisements and vignettes
of the show, and it appeared to be a form of Friends ensemble. I literally had no idea what it was all about
when I attempted to watch the pilot episode. And only a few of my assumptions
had been correct! At the end of the post is a description of the pilot episode.
Without captions
or voice, here’s a running assumption of the show episode and whether it was
correct.
Character Assumption
Ted, the main
character, seemed happy-go-lucky bachelor who was interested in meeting women and
having sex but never did want to get married.
Actually: He is a lovable character who does not
know social dating cue
Character Assumption
Ted’s best
friend, Marshall, is not your usual male Lothario. He just proposed to his
long-time girlfriend.
Actually: My
assumption about Marshall was correct.
Character Assumption
Lily appeared to
be a school teacher. Cue was a handprint on her shirt.
Actually: My assumption about Lily was correct.
Character Assumption
Barney was a
little too opinionated based on his physical mannerisms and facial expressions.
Actually: My assumption about Barney was correct
Event Assumption
Two narrators
who appeared to be a female and a male in their early 20s looking bored.
Actually: Their uncle was telling them a story from
off-screen.
Event Assumption
There was a male
proposing to his male roommate.
Actually: He was practicing his proposal to Lily,
his long-time girlfriend.
Event Assumption
Robin came with
a group of girlfriends who appeared annoyed at her flirtation with Ted.
Actually: One of the girlfriends was dumped and she
was mad at all guys.
Event Assumption
When Robin and
Ted were at her apartment door, a TV news van came up to them looking for news.
Actually: Robin was actually a TV reporter; they
told her they needed her to report on the breaking news.
Nonverbal Behaviors: Tactile such as pats on the back or
shoulder
Function: Barney pats Ted a lot on his back or shoulders.
Nonverbal Behaviors: Gestures
Function: Almost all characters gestured to
encourage additional information. One extended his hand, and the female shook
his hand. In that particular TV show episode, that was a lingering handshake
that was supposed to be the signal to kiss.
Nonverbal Behaviors: Body Orientation
Function: All characters – mostly Barney – have
certain body orientation to represent their characters and the actions of the
episode.
Nonverbal Behaviors: Facial Expressions
Function: Again, all characters had facial expressions that represented the events in the episode. However, I misread most of those facial expressions.
Nonverbal Behaviors: Facial Expressions
It was really
astonishing to see how we can assume more than we should about both people’s
characters and incidents/events. O’Hair et al (2011) wrote, “Don’t assume that
because you observe someone being happy, sad, or angry, and so on, you know the
reason” (p.104)
How I
Met Your Mother is
a comedy about Ted (Josh Radnor) and how he fell in love. It all starts when
Ted's best friend, Marshall (Jason Segel), drops the bombshell that he's going
to propose to his long-time girlfriend, Lily (Alyson Hannigan), a kindergarten
teacher. At that moment, Ted realizes that he had better get a move on if he
too hopes to find true love. Helping him in his quest is Barney (Neil Patrick
Harris), a friend with endless, sometimes outrageous opinions, a penchant for
suits and a foolproof way to meet women. When Ted meets Robin (Cobie Smulders),
he's sure it's love at first sight, but destiny may have something else in
store (tv.com, n.d.).
References
How I Met Your Mother. (n.d.). TV.com.
Retrieved from: http://www.tv.com/shows/how-i-met-your-mother/
O'Hair, D., Friedrich, G. W., & Dixon, L. D.
(2011). Strategic communication in business and the professions. Boston, MA:
Allyn & Bacon.
Marla,
ReplyDeleteI have never watched that television show, which is quite popular, but you gave great details about the show. I like that you chose to use the pilot episode which means that the show was fresh and you had a fair shot at guessing who all of the characters were. You spoke about making assumptions from observing someone's behavior and I immediately thought about a friend of mine. My friend said that one morning a neighbor stopped him and stated that he noticed that my friend was wearing a suit every morning and leaving his house. He asked him how long was his court case going to be. The man was implying that my friend was a defendant in a pending court case. My friend replied by stating that he was not in court and that he was a music teacher at a school. The man apologized and just walked away. I thought that the man judged my friend based on stereotypes that he has seen in the media. I was like to tell my friends that you never know what someone is going through unless you have a personal discussion with them. Some people have learned to mask their emotions and smile through their pain. Great post!
Marla, what a thorough breakdown of examples you observed of nonverbal communication! I appreciate how you brokedown the nonverbal gestures into their function for communication. I have seen and enjoyed watching this TV show before so it was beneficial to read how an outsider picked up on the storyline based on visual cues. My lesson was similiar to yours, never make assumptions, thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteMarla, what a thorough breakdown of examples you observed of nonverbal communication! I appreciate how you broke down the nonverbal gestures into their function for communication. I have seen and enjoyed watching this TV show before so it was beneficial to read how an outsider picked up on the story line based on visual cues. My lesson was similar to yours, never make assumptions, thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteMarla,
ReplyDeletewhat a thorough breakdown of the show and situations. I have watched this show and the visual cues can be very deceiving like you mention. It would be difficult to pick up on a story line if you did not know the first plot or listened to what was happening with the "two kids bored" situation.