In Cheris Kramarae’s muted group theory a muted group is defined as, “people belonging to low-power groups groups who must change their language when communicating publicly, thus, their ideas are often overlooked.” In this theory the low-power groups he is referring to is women. Women are always seen as being lower than men in various aspects of life.

Sexual harassment is “an unwanted imposition of sexual requirements in the context of a relationship of unequal power.” In most cases women are the ones being accused of this act happening to them. Normally a person who holds a position of high power are either sexually embarrassing, humiliating, or traumatizing a person who holds a lower position.

This reminds me of a scene from the TV series, One Tree Hill, when Peyton Sawyer works for a high end record label. The owner of the label is a man who doesn’t treat Peyton in a very nice way. He is always putting her down and making her do the dirty work. Peytons biggest aspiration is to be an owner of a record label and wishes she could get into the huge meeting thats about to take place which could make it all come true. She is told that the only way she is allowed to set foot into the meeting is to “drop a couple buttons on her shirt.” She is appalled by this statement and feels sexually harassed by her male boss. If Peyton had been a male, this definitely would not have happened.

In Sandra Hardings and Julia T. Woods standpoint theory they define a standpoint as, “a place from which to critically view the world around us.” We all have different knowledge of the world and have experienced different things which causes us to all have different standpoints. Our standpoint directly affects our view of the world. Standpoints can be of different class, gender, race or anything else really. Having these different standpoints can cause one to have a different perspective on that particular thing.

For example in the TV show, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Will Smith demonstrates the standpoint theory perfectly. He grew up in west Philadelphia with his mother, but is then forced to go live with his rich aunt and uncle in Bel-Air. Immediately upon his arrival he notices several differences between the life he lived and the one his relatives live. The wealthy lifestyle in Bel-Air is portrayed as normal to everyone except Smith. This difference is demonstrated multiple times throughout the entire TV series.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBe0VCso0qs

Deborah Tannen believes that, “male-female conversation is cross-cultural communication.”(435) She explains how men and women communicate with each other and how different their outlook is when speaking.

For example in private speaking vs. public speaking there are two different types of talk. Rapport talk is generally a style for women which “seeks to establish connection with others”; whereas, report talk is usually associated with men who “seek to command attention, convey information, and win arguments.” Women are known to talk more than men do in private conversations. Men try to use talk as a weapon against others and must have the final say in a conversation. They must win the argument at hand to show up the girl they are talking with.

In this scene from She’s The Man, Sebastian Hastings who is a female acting as a male at a new school tries to impress a group of guys by winning multiple conversations with various women. He talks to the women in sexual ways and sends them away to prove to the guys that he has power over them. In return, the guys believe that “he’s the man.” This use of report talk has earned Sebastian an “in” with the popular guys at school which ultimately makes him popular as well. Being seen as the one in power over these women is a perfect example of how men use report talk which is the direct opposite of the rapport talk that women generally use.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbxi_M2nCLA

In Gerry Philipsen’s Speech Codes Theory, he defines speech code as, “a historically enacted, socially constructed system of terms, meanings, premises, and rules pertaining to communicative conduct.” He placed the information of the theory into six propositions: 1) Wherever there is a distinctive culture, there is to be found a distinctive speech code (422) 2) In any given speech community, multiple speech codes are deployed (423) 3) A speech code involves a culturally distinctive psychology, sociology, and rhetoric (424) 4) The significance of speaking, depends on the speech codes used by speakers and listeners to create and interpret their communication (425) 5) The terms, rules, and premises of a speech code are inextricably woven into speaking itself (427) 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 (428)

Proposition five there is a communication ritual that have four major steps. First, is initiation, which is when one mentions that they have something to talk about. Second, acknowledgment, which is when the listener is willing to sit down and talk it through. Third, negotiation, which is the talking taking place and feedback is given. Fourth, reaffirmation, which is when both the speaker and listener resolve the problem and tell each other their feelings towards one another.

This reminds me of a scene in an episode from One Tree Hill. Brooke Davis confronts her best friend, Peyton Sawyer about a boy that they both like. They talk it through and demonstrate every single step given above. There was a problem, but they resolved it through communication.

George Gerber states that violence “is the simplest and cheapest dramatic means to demonstrate who wins in the game of life and the rules by which the game is played.” He believes that the more frequent of a violent TV viewer one is, the more their world is shaped by it. If one were to watch a very heavy amount of violent television shows, they will start to believe that the world around them is just as violent. They will also develop feelings regarding those beliefs. He has done lots of research that has proven that the amount of violence in everyday television is at very high levels that are very unrealistic of real life scenarios.

For example, in Willy Wonka’s, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Mike Teevee, one of the golden ticket holders, completely proves Gerbers point. It is known from the start that Mike is considered a heavy user. In fact, he eats all of this meals right in front of the television. When the interviewers asked Mike if he liked “the killings”, he replied with, “isn’t that what lifes all about?” He then proceeds to pull out a toy gun and pretends to shoot at all the people around him. Having watched far too much violent television, Mike is under the impression that life is all about committing violent acts.

This is a perfect example of how Gerber predicts that heavy violent television viewers perceive the world and shape their beliefs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlA2hACf6G0

Semiotics is defined as, “the study of the social production of meaning from sign systems; the analysis of anything that can stand for something else.” The ultimate goal is clarify between verbal and nonverbal signs. We use or see signs each and everyday and we probably don’t even notice when we do.

Symbolic signs don’t relate to the object they are interpreting. It must be something learned within a certain culture. For example, the pause button on a remote controller. Everyone knows the parallel lines means that one can stop whatever they might be watching for however long they desire. In no way does the image refer to the action that takes place once you push it.

Iconic signs are the complete opposite. The image of the sign directly relates to the object being portrayed. One can use any of their five senses to distinguish the sign to which its referring. For example, the sign used for recycling. The three green arrows represent reusing and the fact that its normally green means that it is eco-friendly. The arrows are designed in a circular pattern to interpret the cycle that our waste is put in.

Indexical signs are “directly connected with their referents spatially, temporally, or by cause and effect.” The use of the sign relates to the object, action, or idea to which one is referring. For example, the shrug of one’s shoulders means that they do not know.

The rhetoric is defined as, “discovering all possible means of persuasion”. There are inartistic proofs, evidence that the speaker doesn’t create, and artistic proofs, evidence that the speaker does create. There are three different types of artistic proofs: logical, ethical, and emotional.

Ethical proof is known as perceived credibility which is derived from knowing the intelligence, character, and goodwill of the speaker. These characteristics are key in having a speaker that really connects with the audience and really wants their message to be heard. Having intelligence means that the audience can make a connection between their own beliefs and what the speakers message is. Character is shown by being a good and honest person. Finally, goodwill is having the audience’s best interest at heart.

In this episode of One Tree Hill, Karen is fighting for Coach Whitey to still be the head coach of the Ravens basketball team against the town’s mayor, Dan Scott, who happens to be the father of her son. She is known as a very kind cafe owner who has grown up in the town of Tree Hill her whole life. Having known Coach Whitey her whole life and attending this high school she is seen as very knowledgeable about the subject at hand. The audience definitely agrees with what she has to say and we can see that through their body language of shaking their heads in agreement. Karen genuinely cares for the well being of the town and Coach Whitey through the charismatic words she uses in her speech.

Karen displays all three characteristics of being a credible source, just like the ethical proof calls for.

https://docs.google.com/a/wfu.edu/file/d/0B3TFGVb5Zd5IYUw4Z29lSW9fX3M/edit

In the functional perspective on group decision making theory, it states that there are four functions of effective decision making. These functions include: analysis of the problem, goal setting, identification of alternatives, and evaluation of positive and negative characteristics. Hirokawa and Gouran call these the requisite functions of effective decision making.

Identification of alternatives is defined as, “generation of options to sufficiently solve the problem”. When coming up with a plan it is important to weigh your options. One must consider all sorts of different choices before making their final decision. Knowing all your options can only improve your end result.

In the movie, Non Stop, the air marshal on board receives a text message from someone on the flight that there is a bomb somewhere and that its timer is almost out. Eventually he finds the bomb, but still hasn’t figured out who brought it on board or how to disable it. In the video, a couple of the passengers and the air marshal are all thinking of ways to solve the problem at hand. The african american male suggests paying off the person or finding him, but both of those options are insufficient. Knowing that all of the ideas mentioned aren’t going to be apart of an effective decision, the air marshal comes up with a plan that is used in the end to rescue all the passengers aboard.

This example is just like the one from the book where the green and blue groups are weighing their options about when to have their classes each day.

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

Postdecision dissonance is defined as, “strong doubts experienced after making an important, close-call decision that is difficult to reverse.” There are three things that play a role within this term. The more important the decision that needs to be made, the more time one will take in making the actual decision, and the greater the difficulty it is to stay with your decision once its been made if one feels it needs to be reversed. The example used in the book is what an individual feels after having bought a new car. They start to question if they made the right choice, but its too late to do anything about it. It is almost like having buyers remorse.

For example, in the movie, John Tucker Must Die, four girls try to destroy a guy named John Tucker. Three of the four have previously dated him and the fourth, Kate, becomes his new love interest on purpose. The three girls use Kate to get back at John by manipulating him to fall in love with her. In return, John does end up falling for Kate. Once Kate realizes he is starting to fall for her she immediately starts to feel bad and wants to stop, yet she is in too deep. Even though she feels doubt, the decision she made to help the girls cannot be taken back.

This example from John Tucker Must Die is just like the example used in the book about buying a new car.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEnLySS2Op8

The coordinated management of meaning states that, “person-in-conversation co-construct their own social realities and are simultaneously shaped by the worlds they create.” When this is looked at from a practical theory standpoint by Pearce and Cronen, it is said to make life better for an individual in the world. They think a practical communication theory should be able to help one understand bad communication skills, understand particular moments in a conversation, and it should encourage ways to make a better environment for interaction. The strange loop, meaning an unwanted repetitive communication pattern, is sometimes used to help describe the behavior in this theory.

For example, in the movie, The Clique, Massie belittles her new neighbor, Claire, because of the non-designer clothes she wears. In the pool scene attached, Claire explains to Massie’s three best friends that she is wearing a bathing suit from a designer that none of them have heard of before. Thinking her bathing suit is adequate and up to their standards, they decide playing around in the pool and being nice to her is considered okay. Once Massie shows up and explains that Claire’s suit is nothing short of ordinary they begin the process of being mean to her again. This cycle is repeated multiple times throughout the entire film, but in the end the girls come to an agreement. They realize the kind of clothes one wears shouldn’t make a difference when it comes to friendship.

This is just like the example provided in the book about the family therapy session. The figure-eight pattern in the diagram on page sixty eight is exactly like the pattern in the behavior shown by the girls in the movie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3W-FSxNDRg