Muted Group Theory states that low-power groups exist in society and that members of these low-power groups must change their language when communicating publicly in order to not be overlooked. The book explains that in society women are often overlooked and subordinate in public conversation, especially when men are dominant and assume the role as gatekeepers of communication.

This theory reminds me of an episode from the TV series Mad Men, in which one of the main characters, Don Draper, gets a new secretary. When the secretary first comes to the office, she is naive and optimistic, however, she quickly realizes that she will need to change things about herself to do her job correctly in the eyes of the men of the office. The show is set in the 1960’s, thus corporate culture at the time was very sexist. Through the help of other secretaries, she learns that she must dress more promiscuously and needs to flirt with Mr. Draper and speak to him in a very subservient manner. As the Muted Group Theory illustrates, she has to change her language in order to be successful within the company.

Standpoint Theory claims that the best way to understand the world is to look at it critically from other peoples’ points of view aka other standpoints. Each standpoint provides a very distinct experience and view of the world, thus it is not fair to judge someone without first thinking about things from their standpoint. Standpoint theorists state that, “the social groups within which we are located powerfully shape what we experience and know as well as how we understand and communicate with ourselves, others, and the world.”

An example of Standpoint Theory can be found in the film, Remember the Titans. Remember the Titans takes place in Virginia, in 1971, a period of time characterized by great racial inequality. Throughout the course of the film, two star players Julius Campbell and Gerry Bertier become best friends, as they overcome the racial ignorance and hatred that was the norm in Virginia at this time. There is a scene in which Gerry tells his mother that he is going to Julius’ neighborhood to play basketball with him. Julius’ mom says some racist things and tells her son that she doesn’t care to get to know Julius and doesn’t want Gerry hanging out with him in the first place. At this point in the movie, Gerry doesn’t care about Julius’ race and doesn’t have racist feelings towards African-Americans, because he has seen the scenario from Julius’ standpoint. Gerry’s mother has not seen things from Julius’ standpoint, thus she still upholds her racist and ignorant beliefs.

Genderlect is the idea that men and women are so dissimilar in terms of the way that they communicate that it is best to view them as possessing two different cultural dialects. Men and women specifically tend to differ most in the following situations: private speaking vs. public speaking, when telling a story, while listening, when asking questions, and in times of conflict.

This concept reminds me of Ari Gold’s relationship with his wife in HBO’s Entourage. Throughout the series they have a fairly tumultuous relationship plagued by constant fighting. In their discourse, Ari and his wife handle conflict very differently. Ari almost always loses his cool and explodes at his wife, while his wife tends to remain calm. Also, in discussion, they have a great problem with listening, as Ari is always so caught up in his work that he never truly listens to his wife, if he even gives her a chance to speak in the first place.

Speech Codes Theory claims that there is a historically and sociologically constructed system of terms, meanings, premises, and rules that pertain to communicative conduct. The theory then goes on to specify with the following propositions: 1. Wherever there is a distinctive culture, there is to be found a distinctive speech code, 2. In any given speech community, multiple speech codes are deployed, 3. A speech code involves a culturally distinctive psychology, sociology, and rhetoric, 4. The significance of speaking depends on the speech codes used by speakers and listeners to create and interpret their communication, 5. The terms, rules, and premises of a speech code are inextricably woven into speaking itself, and 6. The artful use of a shared speech code is a sufficient condition for predicting, explaining, and controlling the form of discourse about the intelligibility, prudence, and morality of communication conduct.

An example of this theory is evident in an episode of South Park I recently watched. In the episode, two handicapped kids named Jimmy and Timmy joined the gang, the Crips, because the kids thought that the name Crips was referring to cripples. In this scenario, the speech codes of Timmy and Jimmy were significantly different than those of the Crips, even though they lived close to one another.

Cultivation theory is a social theory, which aims to examine the long term impacts of television viewing. It operates with the presumption that the more people watch television, the more their perceptions of the world will begin to be altered and formed by the media that is being consumed. A significant portion of the theory surrounds violence in media, and it suggests that since so many television programs show violent content or news stations report on violent stories, that individuals who frequently watch television’s perception of reality is altered to the extent where they believe the word is much more dark and violent than it truly is.

An example of cultivation theory is the exposure of women to “thin media.” Media today is inundated with women that are incredibly and often unhealthily thin. The more the average woman watches television programs that feature extremely thin women and present them as the norm, the more their thoughts will be cultivated to believe that in the real world, a very thin woman is the social norm and cultural expectation.

Semiotics is the analysis of anything that can stand for something else, or in other words, the study of the social production of meaning from sign systems. It is important to note that a sign is the combination of its signifier and signified. The signifier is the physical form of the sign as we perceive it through our senses; also known as an image. The signified is the meaning that we associate with the specific sign.

The concept of food is an example of an application of semiotics. This is because whether food is prepared in a five-star restaurant or if it is dog food, it is still food. It requires the signifier and signified to discern and attribute meaning to the concept and symbol of food.

With the concept being established by the Ancient Greek philosopher, Aristotle, rhetoric is the art of identifying all of the available means of persuasion in any particular situation. According to Aristotle, there can be three possible settings for rhetoric: forensic speaking (a courtroom setting), epideictic (a ceremonial setting), and deliberative (a political setting). In addition, rhetoric relies on proofs as means of persuasion for their intended audience. There are inartistic proofs, which the speaker doesn’t create, and artistic proofs, which are created by the speaker. The three types of artistic proofs operate by appealing to the audience in different ways. Logos is a logical appeal, ethos is an ethical appeal, and pathos is an emotional appeal.

Dr. Martin Luther King’s iconic I Have a Dream speech is a rhetorical masterpiece, as he uses rhetoric to appeal to his diverse audience on an extremely controversial topic. For instance, towards the end of his speech, King employs pathos as he appeals to the emotions of his audience, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” This appeal to emotion (in a sense it is also an appeal to logic) is utilized to inform and persuade his audience during an incredibly important time period in U.S. history.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smEqnnklfYs

According to Hirokawa and Gouran’s theory of Functional Perspective on Group Decision Making, as long as group members “care about [an] issue, are reasonably intelligent, and face a challenging task that calls for more facts, new ideas, or clear thinking” group interaction has a positive effect on the final decision. There are four requisite functions that making up the “Group Decision Making” process: analysis of the problem, goal setting, identification of alternatives, and evaluation of positive and negative characteristics.

This theory is interesting, because it provides a contrasting idea to age old adages such as, “If you want something done, do it yourself,” or, “too many cooks spoil the broth.” In my fraternity, I have had many experiences that validate Hirokawa and Gouran’s theory. Our executive council is made up of twelve or so people and I could not imagine making the decisions that we make without having each individual’s input. In no way does the production or efficiency get muddled, because we all care about the issues, are reasonably intelligent, and are willing to face the challenging tasks that are at hand. I’m also social chair for my fraternity and if I did not delegate the planning of parties or set-up of parties with my peers then nothing would ever completely get done.

Cognitive dissonance theory explains the phenomena that a person experiences when there is inconsistency between two of their beliefs or a belief and an action. For example, one feels the mental distress that cognitive dissonance provides when they smoke a cigarette, but know it is bad for them and something they should not be doing. To avoid or reduce the phenomena of cognitive dissonance, people often employ one of the following three mechanisms: selective exposure, postdecision dissonance, or minimal justification.

An example of this would be AMC’s Breaking Bad. Protagonist and high school chemistry teacher, Walter White, knows that cooking and selling meth is not a moral thing to do. However, when he is diagnosed with cancer, he begins to cook and sell meth to make money to pay his medical bills and support his family. Walter feels the phenomena of cognitive dissonance when he enters the dangerous and illicit practice of cooking and dealing meth. I couldn’t find a specific scene where Walter expresses his remorse or regret for his actions, however the attached video is a montage of Season 1, in which you see Walter stressed and upset over his new life. In addition, towards the end of the video he makes a list of the cons of cooking meth and his recent actions. On the list you can see he writes, “You won’t be able to live with yourself,” and “murder is wrong.” Clearly, Walter is feeling cognitive dissonance toward cooking meth and the collateral murders that he committed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=By2fcaX7VVA

The coordinated management of meaning theory was created on the premise that our social realities have direct effect in the physical world, as every conversation and interaction lives on and influences our lives. The theory has application as a practical, interpretive, and critical theory. Taking a closer look at the coordinated management of meaning theory as an interpretive theory, we understand that, “persons-in-conversation co-construct their own social realities and are simultaneously shaped by the worlds they create.”

An example of this from media can be found in Martin Scorsese’s The Departed. Leonardo DiCaprio’s character lived a double life his entire life. Whilst living with his mother, he lived an upper middle-class life, however when he would stay at his dad’s in South Boston on the weekends, he would change the way he spoke and participate in illicit activities. In doing this, Leo’s character shapes the world around him by changing the content of his conversations and in turn changing his lifestyle. Although scenes of DiCaprio doing this are only discussed in the movie and never shown, it can be assumed that conversations in South Boston about gang life and drugs produced a very different reality than his conversations about boarding school and upper-middle class life that he had when living in the suburbs with his mother.

Here, this aspect of DiCaprio’s character’s life is discussed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqWJho4zSFc