Communications 11410
October 12,2010
Communication Climates
"Stand By Me"
"Stand By Me" is the movie we chose to watch. The movie is about four
childhood friends; Chris, Gordie, Vern and Teddy; who embark on a two day journey to
see the dead body of a boy named Ray Brower. The story takes place in Castle Rock,
Oregon during the summer of 1959 Each boy has his own individual fears and issues
they face along the way, but the main focus of the movie is the relationship between
Chris and Gordie.
-.-Chris Chambers is a tough kid who comes from a broken home, his father is an
alcoholic who abuses Chris. Chris has an older brother, name "Eyeball", who is street
hood and no role model. Gordie, on the other hand comes from a good home with
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loving parents, but all that changes dumtt&'
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of his older brother Dennis. Dennis
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was a star athlete and his parents' whole world, in Gordies eyes. Even prior to the death
of his brother, Gordies father shows little interest in Gordies passion; writing.
Gordie feels invisible and Chris wishes he was. Chris and Gordie have very
different yet similar issues they need to deal with, and realize they are each seeking
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approval and support. Initially, the trip to see the dead body was just a way to pass time
and be adventurous youths, yet they each learn something more during the trip.
There are a number of different communication skills at work in this film.
However, we decided to focus on the communication climate. Communication climate
has two forms, supportive and defensive. Communication Climate- "includes such
factors as our feelings toward the person or persons with whom we are in
attitude about how we feel about ourselves in the particular interaction.'
Climate- "encourages free and open interaction between people." Defensive Climate-
"inhibits the interaction between people" (Dunn & Goodnight,
main form in
this film was supportive. Chris and Gordie do exhibit a defensive climate, but it is only
ording to William Buchhol
ting environments also contribute to a
supportive communication climate. He also states that barriers could hinder open
communication and cause defensiveness
Although his article focuses
on communication in work environment, you see elements of his report in this film.
Some of the major influences affecting the communication climate between Chris
and Gordie are outside of the relationship, such as, Eyeball and Ace, Gordies Father,
the death of Dennis and even Teddy and Vern. Although the boys are friends with
Teddy and Vern they are not as open with them.
During the film there are a number of scenes between Chris and Gordie where
they demonstrate the willingness to communicate freely with each other. Chris had been
accused of Stealing milk money at sc
sks him why doesn't he have
his father in
issues. Neither
m reciives
support and praise from home, so they decide to stand by each
other and offer support.
Later in the film, Chris confides in Gordie, when he tells him the truth of missing
milk money. Although he says, "suppose" before he makes a comment. He admits to
stealing it, but he says he returned it to "Old Lady Simmons", who bought a new skirt
with it instead of returning it to the school. Chris is upset because he knows nobody
would believe him, except for Gordie. It seems as if he almost does not want to admit
he gave the money back, even to his best friend. Chris tells Gordie about a dream he is
having where Teddy is standing on the train tracks with a train bearing down on him.
Chris attempts to grab Teddy from the tracks but he misses. Gordie listens to every
word his friend has to say, and looks at him with a smile stating, "Chris Chambers never
misses" (Reiner, 1986). Chris confides in Gordie, when he tells him the truth of-missing
Gordie enjoys writing stories, even though his father shows no interest in them,
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Chris is always telling him is a good writer who writes interesting stories. Chris becomes
angry with Gordie when he constantly berates his own writings. He also tells him they
won't have as much time to spend together, since Gordie will be attending college prep
courses during school and Chris will be in wood shop with the other losers.
These are just a few instances where the boys demonstrate a supportive climate.
The movie will make you reflect on past relationships and think about the people you
were able to openly communicate with. You may even be surprised to realize some of
your biggest fans and supporters were, and will always be, your friends.
Friends
support you because they like you our truly believe in you, the feeling is genuine and
never forced between true friends, such as Gordie and Chris. The boys feel as if they do
Two examples of a defensive climate behieen the boys is the scene on the street
with Eyeball and Ace, and the death of Gordies brother. During the street scene,
.
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Eyeball takes Gordies hat and instantly the attitudes of Chris and Gordie change; they
are no longer openly communicating and having fun. They are now closed and focusin
on avoiding the situation with the older boys. As soon as they walk away together, thei
1
moods instantly change back; they begin joking with each other again. Throughout th
movie Gordie is thinking about his brother Dennis, but he never talks about him, even to
Chris until they discover the body of Ray Brower. After this Gordie begins to talk to
Chris, asking him why his brother had to die. It was as if seeing the body gave Gordie
the strength to speak about his brother's death.
The relationship between the boys reflects the movie title and the song "Stand By
Me." In most cases we have at least one person in our lives who pushes us to succeed
and makes us believe in ourselves.
other authoritative figure. Sometimes you have one person who you feel you can truly
*
be yourself around. In the movie Chris and Gordie play the role for each other. No
matter how down they get or negative, the other is there; they pick each other up and
dust each other off. During adolescents, our friends spend the most time around us and
our close friends know us better than our parents.
A passage in a book called "Friendship Matters", by William J. Rawlins reinforces
this thought. Throughout his book he touches on a number of different communication
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skills. The passage that best describes the relationship at hand is, "Children describe
their friendships as egalitarian, same-sex, same age, bonds, characterized by intimacy,
a1 admiration, affection, acceptance,
" (Adler Furman,198
te gives us a glimpse into
1
Due to the climate the boys created with each other, Chris and Gordie each
become successful. Gordie becomes a successful writer. Chris does take the college
prep courses with Gordie and makes it out of Castle Rock. He becomes a lawyer, but
he was killed while waiting in line at a restaurant. A man pulled a knife on another man
and Chris jumped in to break it up. He was stabbed in the neck and died. In Gordies
eyes this was fitting of Chris Chambers, a kid who nobody ever believed in, yet he
believed there was good in the world. He would also stand up for what he thought was
right, no matter how tough the circumstances.
In the final scene of the movie, Gordie is sitting at his computer desk working on
a story. It seems he has become a successful writer and he is putting the final touches
on his latest work. The story is based on the trip the boys took during the summer of
1959. The closing line of the story is, "I will never have friends like the ones I did when I
was twelve." "Jesus, who does?" (Reiner, 1986). When he states this, he is telling us
how important his friends were and even though he had not seen Chris in ten years, the
bond between them still held a special spot in his heart.
Small G r o u ~Proiect Evaluation
Title of Movie:
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Introduction: Description of film &concept
Body: Thorough analysis &application of concept
Conclusion: Summary of findings
Effective Writing: Organization &structure enhanced ideas presented
Concepts and Aoplication
Communication concept defined
Application of communication concept to the film
Analysis & discussion of the concept portrayed in the film
Concepts &Applicationpoints&
References
Correct APA format & 2 source minimum
In text citations
11. Small G r o u p Presentation
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resentation
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COM 114-11
OCTOBER 12,2010
SELF- CONCEPT
"THEPURSUIT OFH2PPIWESS"
Chris Gardner was played by Will Smith in the movie "The Pursuit of Happyness". In
this movie, Chris Gardner plays a salesman that is trying to build a beaer future for himself, his
wife and his son who is played by Jaden Smith. In the beginning of the movie Chris Gardner and
his wife are having a lot of problems because she has no faith in him taking care of home. They
were two months behind in rent, and she was fed up with all of his beliefs that things would get
better. Throughout the movie, Chris is attempting to get out of the salesman position and find a
better job. Before he could prove himself to his wife, she decides to walk out leaving Chris to
take care of their son by himself.
With all of Chris's hard work and determination it finally pays off when he was giving
the opportunity to interview for the internship as a stockbroker. Chris didn't have a high enough
education, but he was extremely good with numbers along with good people skills. These are
two main skills that you need to become a good stockbroker. With this position being unpaid, he
had no sort of income. Chris Gardner and his child were kicked out of their apartment forced to
live on the streets. All he had was hopes of selling the bone density machines which he invested
his whole life savings. He actually was successful in selling them, but it was only enough money
for food and hotels. While sleeping in hotels, in homeless shelters and even in the restroom at a
train station, Chris became even more determined and didn't want to put his child through the
misery that he was living. Chris finally is offered the job at the stockbrokers business and has a
~ & $ a y ~ ~ d a n d e d o ofn thee highest sales with another business that
was over one million dollars. He is one of the most well- known people on Wall Street today.
The communication concept that our grou has chosen is "self- concept". Self- concept is
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said to be, what one t h i s or perceives of selfl~tis a notion of what someone believes of
themselves. Not necessarily being true, but true in the eyes of the beholder. With the conception
of self- concept, one may hold many different titles and if that is how they perceive themselves,
that's how they want others to perceive them as well. For example, if a person thinks they are
n believe they always
smarter than average then
have great ideas, they're likely to prove that as well. They want others to see what they see in
themselves, which is what makes it more of a belief
to immediately recognize our presence as b
is a blend of poise, self-confidence, control
(Bixler, 1992). We chose this concept to an
a smart man and that he can do
dividual. "Therefore we want others
d and competent. Professional image
owers us to command respect"
cause Chris Gardner believes he is
out to do. Chris perceives himself as a loving,
the job done by any means
caring, hard working,
necessary, and that's
After Chris's wife shows disbelief in his capabilities by sayi&~tockbroker? Not an
astronaut?" then abandoning him, Chris's entire focus is set on his son (Oabried&ccino, Todd
4
Black, Jason, Blumenthal, Steve TiscK ames Lassiter, and Will Smith). For arnoment, Chris
doubted accepting the internship because it was an unpaid position, but when his focus was
turned to his son; his determination grew to prove he was not the incapable man that his wife
thought he was. Chris needed to prove to Christopher that he was capable of providing stability
for them, so he chose to accept the internship.
Chris had a very long list of hardships ahead of him but one of the biggest was being
homeless. It came to the point where he and his son had to sleep in a restroom at the train station.
Despite the fact that they are sleeping in a restroom, Chris does not allow his son to perceive him
as a failure. Chris tells Christopher that the scanner is a transporter and by touching the black
button they will be transported to another era.
which dinosaurs exist, and the restroom that they're going to sleep in is not a restroom, but a
cave.
Furthermore, there is a scene where Chris and Christopher are playing basketball,
Christopher tells his dad that he's going to go pro in basketball, but Chris shoots down his
dream. Chris does so by telling his son that he was always a below- average player, therefore
Christopher would be also.
not b-Chris
basic
playing basketball. After seeing Christopher's face of disappointment Chris says, "Don't ever let
somebody tell you, you can't do something. Not even me. Alright? You got a dream, you protect
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it. ..If you want something, go get it. Period" (Gabriele Mucc' o, Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal,
Steve Tisch,
4
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s Lassiter, Will Smith). This demonstrates Chris's self- determination for
.
success to Christopher and provides him with a sense of self- determination for himself.
This is an accurate concept for the movie we chose, because despite what is shown on the
outside, Chris has to prove who he believes he is on the inside. Mainly, Chris wants to prove to
0
his son that h I smart man who can earn that competitive position of a stockbroker in order to
provide Christopher stability. In the interview for the internship, Chris receives the compliment
from one of the partners that he is a determined man. Chris also adds that he likes to believe that
he is smart. He says that he is the type of person that when he doesn't know the answer he will
say so, but he knows how to find the answer and he will find the answer. He shows his selfconcept to the partners at a firm where he will ultimately earn the position he strived for.
The similarities of the concept and the movie are that Chris sees himself as a man that
can do anything that he put his mind to. He views himself as a strong family man and that is the
image he tries to uphold. The differences compared to the concept are that, it's hard for him to
uphold the beliefs he has for himself and his son due to unfortunate circumstances. Those
circumstances are not having a solid foundation for him and his son, or a steady income. His
living situation is not what he set out or had planned for his family.
We believe that their strengths as communicators are that they have a very strong
relationship with each other. Chris is very much involved in Christopher's life academically,
emotionally and physically. Chris gives his son advice and tells him not to worry. Christopher
believes in his father. He trusts him and knows that everything will be fme. The weakness in
their communication is because Chris hides a lot from his son because he's only a child and he
doesn't want him to wony or lose faith in him like Christopher's mother did. Chris keeps a lot of
feelings to himself; he says everything will be fine even though he's not sure his self. There were
times when he didn't know where he would get money to eat but he didn't tell his son. He never
told his son that they were homeless, even though you would think it was very obvious to the
child but the son didn't perceive it that way. They could have improved their communication if
the dad was more open with the son, but a child his age didn't need to know the hard truth. Some
things are better left untold. In our opinion Chris Gardner is a great example of self- concept
because everything he thought his self to be, he was. After going through everything he went
through, he did not give up. He knew he could do it and that was his only hope. After all he did,
he finally proved to everyone most importantly his son that he could be anything he wanted to
be. He showed his son that you could succeed in anything as long as you believe in yourself and
stay true to what you want to be.
-
c-44
Black, T., Blumenthal, J., Tisch, S., Lassiter, J., Smith, W. ( Producers),
Muccino, G. (Director). (2007). The Pursuit of Happyness
[Columbia Pictures]. United States. ( Sony Pictures).
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Bixler, S. (1992). Professional Presence. New York Berkley Publishing Group.
Carr- Ruffiio, N. (1993). The promotable woman. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth
Publishing Company.
& ~ ~ h * \
& Henslin, J.M. (2009). The Essentials of S o c i o l o ~A down-to-earthapproach.
( J.Lasser, Ed.) (8th ed.) Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville.
Group I
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COM 114 (11)
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Small Group Project
Octobet 11,2010
I
Introduction & Why this movie?
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Conclusion
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5. Paper Total:
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Introduction. Body and Conclusion well d e f i n d
Introduction: Description of film &concept
Body: Thorough analysis &application of concept
Conclusion: Summary of Endings
Effective Writing: Organization & structure enhanced ideas presented
Concepts and Apptication
Communication concept defined
Application of communication concept to the film
Analysis & discussion of the concept portrayed in the film
Concepts &Applicationpoint&
References
Correct APA format & z source minimum
In text citations
References p o i n t s & &
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11. Small Group Presentation
presentation ~ o t a l :
Presentation Outline
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Introduction of group, movle and terms (2 pts)
Presented material in a clear and precise manner (5 pts) J
Demonstrated a solid understanding of the material presented (5 p t s ) d
Sources cited orally (I pt) 18
Use of visual aid to illustrate points (2 pts) 4
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