COM207:InterculturalCommunication

Fall2012Semester
SoleAuthor

ReflectionofArtifact:InterculturalCommunicationMovieAnalysisPaper
LearningOutcome#1:Studentsshouldbeabletodemonstrateanunderstandingoftheir
theoriesandprinciplesofhumancommunicationthatwillfacilitatetheirprofessionaland
personaleffectiveness.

IproducedthisartifactduringCOM207:InterculturalCommunication.Wewere
requiredtoanalyzeamovieandapplyinterculturalcommunicationprinciplestothemoviein
ordertogainfurtherinsightandunderstandingintothemovie.Ianalyzedamovietitled
FindingForrester,whichisaboutJamalWallace,anAfricanAmericanteenager,whois
invitedtoattendaprestigiousprivatehighschool.Jamalbefriendsareclusivewriter,William
Forrester,whohelpshimrefinehistalentforwritingandcometotermswithhisidentity.
ThisartifactdemonstratesIhavemetthedepartmentalgoalbecauseIappliedtheories
andprinciplesofcommunicationthatwillhelpfacilitatemyprofessionalandpersonal
effectiveness.InthepaperIanalyzedthreeparticularscenesandappliedculturalconceptsto
eachsituation.Forexample,thefirstsceneIchosetoanalyzetakesplaceinthehighschool
cafeteria,whereJamalandhisfriendsdiscussthewindow,referringtotheoldmanwho
watchesthemfromhisapartmentwindow.Thissceneisanidealexampleofthesocialand
culturalfunctionsoflanguageandcommunicativeexchange,becauseitdemonstratesthe
groupsdistinctivestyleofspeechandnonverbalgestures.ThesecondsceneIanalyzed
depictsProfessorCrawfordaccusingJamalofplagiarism.Crawfordstatesthathis
accusationsshouldbeexcused,consideringJamalseducationandbackground.Thisscene
portraystheeffectsandrepercussionsofsocialconstructionandselectedsocialidentities
withregardtorace.ThethirdandfinalsceneportraysProfessorCrawfordchallengingJamals
knowledgeofliterature.JamalproceedstoanswerallquestionscorrectlyandCrawford,
realizinghehasbeenbeatenathisowngame,respondsoutofangerandasksJamalto
leavetheclassroom.ThissceneexhibitsHofstedesCulturalDimensions,withregardsto

powerdistanceanduncertaintyavoidance.Applyingcommunicationconcepts,suchasthe
onesmentionedabove,willallowmetofacilitatemyprofessionalandpersonaleffectiveness
becauseIwillbeabletoeffectivelycommunicatewiththosearoundme.Iamabletocritically
analyzeandreflectoncommunicativeexchanges,aconceptknownasinterculturalpraxis,
whichwealsolearnedinInterculturalCommunication.Interculturalpraxisconsistsofsix
differentpartsandtheyinclude:inquiry,framing,positioning,dialogue,reflection,andaction.
Understandingandapplyingtheseconceptsallowsmetobemoreculturallyawareof
anotherspointofview,whichisaskillthatishelpfulinbothpersonallifeaswellasinthe
professionalworld.Inordertoeffectivelycommunicatewithothers,itsimportanttoshow
themrespectandtakethetimetounderstandtheirperspective.
IfIweretowritethispaperagain,Iwouldhaveincludedlessbackgroundinformation
aboutthemovieinordertoemphasizethethreescenesandtheculturalconcepts.For
instance,thesecondparagraphisunnecessary,asitsonlypurposeistosummarizethe
movie.Ishouldhavewrittenthepaperwiththeassumptionthatthepersonreadingithas
alreadyseenthemovieanddoesnotneedarecap.Inaddition,Iprovidedanunnecessary
amountofdetailforeachscene.Again,Ishouldhaveassumedthatthereaderhasalready
seenthemovie,thereforeathoroughdescriptionofthesceneisnotrequired.
IhaveengagedtheseideassincewritingthepaperinotherclassesatCarroll
University.Forinstance,theessaysIvewritteninmyGenderandLiteratureand
Shakespeareclassesinvolvedcriticallyanalyzingliteratureorfilmsandapplyingconceptsto
furtherunderstandtheirmeaning.Forexample,inmyShakespeareclassIhadtocompare
WilliamShakespearesTheTempestandFredM.WilcoxsForbiddenPlanet.Idiscovered
thatbothprovidedevidencethatrevealstrikingsimilaritiesbetweenthem,offeringanew
readingofShakespearestext.Inthiscase,bothutilizetheconceptofunseenpower.The

TempestcapitalizesonProsperosstrategicuseofblackmagic,whileForbiddenPlanet
illustratesthatMorbiusspowerlieswithinhissubconsciousmindandultimatelyresultsinhis
demise.ThisobservationreinforcesthenotionthatShakespeareintendedtohighlight
Prosperoslifeattheendoftheplaytorendervisiblethatlimitlesspowerisfeasibleforman,
butmaintainingthatpowerissolelydependentonamanssubconsciousmind.So,critical
analysisthroughtheapplicationofcommunicationtheoriesandconceptshelpsonebecomea
moreeffectivecommunicator.Andthisprocessgoesbeyondtextandliteratureandcanapply
torealworldscenariosaswell.
Iwillusetheseskillsandconceptsinthefuture,asIhaveaspirationstobecomea
journalistandorpublicrelationsspecialist.Asmentionedbefore,applyingtheseconcepts
helponebecomeamoreeffectivecommunicator,whichisimperativeinmyfuturecareer.As
ajournalist,oneneedstocollectallthefactsandlookatallperspectivesinordertoremain
unbiased.Thisinvolvesinterviewingawidearrayofsources,whomostlikelycomefrom
differentculturalbackgrounds.Beingabletoapplycommunicationconceptswhen
interviewingthesesourceswillallowmetobetterunderstandtheirpositions.Apublicrelations
specialisttypicallyhasclientsandunderstandingyourclient'sneedsisessential,especially
whenplanningacampaignforexample.Again,understandingandapplyingcommunication
principlesandtheorieswillhelptoensurethatIamcommunicatingeffectivelywithclients.