Interpersonal Communication Styles Examined in My Big Fat Greek Wedding

Throughout the first half of Communication 101: Introduction to Human Communication we have been introduced to and discussed a lot of new concepts, ideas, and terms. All of this new material has been pertinent to how humans interact with one another, while also informing us of the why and how behind these interactions as well. The amount of new information we have learned would be impossible to cover and apply to one piece of pop culture, but a lot of what we have learned is relatable to the movie 50 First Dates. This 2004 movie featuring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore features numerous examples of normative relationships and key concepts that we have learned about in class. In this paper I will not only introduce communication terms

Whether we like it or not, conflict is a part of everyday lives. It can happen to anyone, from your friends to your family.

Conflict is the essence of drama. It can contrasts both inner e.g. when Sheila is deciding on whether to sell herself to the Jap’s. It can also be physical, an example

The term interpersonal communication often referred to as dyadic communication sounds a lot more complex than it really is. It is the communication between two people, or face-to-face interaction. There are many different characteristics that separate dyadic communication from other forms of communication, such as being more direct, personal, immediate, spontaneous, and informal. I chose to do an interpersonal communication analysis on the movie Dirty Dancing. In the movie there are two main characters that develop an interpersonal relationship, Frances “Baby” Houseman and Johnny Castle. In the beginning of the movie, Baby is the quiet naïve girl that is always over-looked in the crowd, she becomes infatuated with Johnny and his talent for dancing. Johnny holds the reputation of the “bad boy” and many have preconceived ideas about him before they take the opportunity to get to know him. Throughout the movie there are many different concepts of interpersonal communication displayed such as; rigid role relations, the journey towards intimacy, and self-disclosure.

One of the first conflicts in the film causes a bigger conflict in later years and later in the plot between the same characters. A conflict is defined as "Conflict is a fact of human life. It occurs naturally in all kinds of settings. Nations still struggle, families fracture in destructive conflicts, marriages face challenges and often fail, and the workplace is plagued with stress." in the textbook "Interpersonal Conflict" by Wilmot. Meriam-Webster defines conflict in three ways. Firstly a war, fight or battle. Secondly "competitive or opposing action of incompatibles :antagonistic state or action (as of divergent ideas, interests, or persons)" or "mental struggle resulting from incompatible or opposing needs, drives, wishes, or external or internal demands". Lastly "the opposition of persons or forces that gives rise to the

Communication, in its many forms, is a universal language and one of the most prominent and important things in a human existence. Because there are so many different modes of communication, we have developed theories about them so that we can categorize patterns to better understand ourselves and others. These theories help us navigate relationships and the conflicts in family, categorize the variances in communication between genders, and generally create a better understanding of human communication. Many of these useful theories abut the patterns of communication can be seen in the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding, a show about a very large and diversely dysfunctional family.

Recently, the class watched the movie “Dan in Real Life” and many people would be surprised just how much of this movie relates to what the class is currently learning about. For example, there is the use of nonverbal communication, the use of interpersonal communication, and the use of many other types of communications that are all found throughout the movie.

What is conflict? Even something as basic as a universal definition for the word conflict seems to vary from source to source. A literature review focusing on conflict defined it as “the interaction of interdependent people who perceive incompatibility and the possibility of interference from others as a result of this incompatibility” (Brinkert 2010). Often times the disagreement results not from a concrete difference, but rather a difference in perception (Ellis & Abbott 2012). One of the most important factors effecting conflict management is the resolution style used. The most often used tool for classifying how conflict is managed is the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (Iglesias & Vallejo 2012).

Interpersonal communication is everywhere in society, both the past, present, and the future. “Marty,” a love story, and a movie made in the fifties, shows many examples of interpersonal communication. In this movie, the main character, Marty, who is a decent, socially awkward man who is pressured by his peers and family to find love and get married. He then gets fed up and goes to a club in town and meets a woman named Claire, who is in similar circumstances to him. Marty and Claire then interact and spend time together and Marty experiences companionship for the first time. As time goes on, Marty’s bachelor friends and his mother are expressing their disapproval of Claire. Marty then gets angry with everyone, and tells them all I

Meet the Fockers is a movie about two families who meet to prepare for a wedding, but some funny and surprising things get in the way when secrets are revealed. Ben Stiller plays the groom, Greg Focker, and Teri Polo plays Pam Byrnes, the bride. The two of them decide to finally bring their families together to settle out wedding plans. As the their families get to know each other things do not go well. Greg knows that his family is not a typical family so he tries to impress Pam's family by downplaying the strange ways of his parents. This paper studies communication in the movie by looking closely at eight specific communication principles and applying them to eight scenes.

As a new student coming into this class we might have wondered what interpersonal communication was. However, I believe by now we all have a better understanding of what it means to communicate amongst ourselves. We all, or at least most of us were strangers at the start of class. However, through exercises and discussions we have become open with each other and learned a little along the way. Something as simple as our shared interests such as superhero movies or Star Wars trivia has opened up discussions we might not have had otherwise as a group. Our perceptions of each other have changed since that first awkward day playing a cheesy board game (Alder, Rosenfeld, Proctor II, 2013, p. 106-139). As we practiced our communication skills many of us have developed a stronger self-concept as well as boosted our self-esteems (Alder, Rosenfeld, Proctor II, 2013, p. 66-67). We also used social comparisons in our class intended or not (Alder, Rosenfeld, Proctor II, 2013, p. 69). We compared our backgrounds, both cultural, ethnic, as well as socio economic standing. Some of these comparisons come from what we learned as children to believe, while others are from what we have learned in life. This is what has intrigued me the most in class. The facts that we as a “civilized” world still have not come that far at all. Women are still for the most part second-class citizens, hate is taught to our children, and language still hasn’t evolved to where there are no

In today’s society there are brand new movies released almost every week. But not many people know that all those movies are stuffed with communication concepts like a stuffed turkey on Thanksgiving Day. The movie Mrs. Doubtfire is a great example of one of these movies. There are three very specific concepts of communication jumping out. Mrs. Doubtfire is about a marriage going through a divorce.

The results of conflict can be absolutely horrendous as depicted in the media everyday, but disagreement is not generically a negative experience. Compromise between opposing parties is needed to resolve conflict, as Wayne Dyer espoused “Conflict cannot survive without your participation” this presents a relevant adage toward resolving conflict. Conflict can show itself in an abundance of different ways, I believe that conflict shows itself as an ever burning fire that will lurk around disagreements to fuel itself into becoming a feral a brute that seeks to harm. The protagonists in the texts Every Man In This Village Is a Liar and the Life of Galileo all showed compromise to avoid conflicting disputes.

Some external conflict that was found in the story was Alecs betray to Alexis when he didn’t tell her about her grandma's condition before she had a heart attack and was sent to the hospital. Internal conflict that was found throughout the story was Alexis’s levels of trust with Alec as she got to know him better when they either hung out together or when they went on dates. Alexis learned how to cope with her betrayal from both her family and Alec not confiding in her about her grandma's condition when she talked to her herself at the hospital. In the story it shows. “Don’t...blame Alec...for what I...made him do. I can see it...in his eyes...Lexy girl...the boy loves you,and I’d wager...he’s as heartbroken as...you. Don’t let him...take

Conflict is one of the main points and the entire argument between the protagonist and the antagonist, that sparks the message of the story. The relationship between the narrator and her mother seemed to be falling apart, due to the fact that the narrator did not want her mother dictating what she wanted to do in her life. Furthermore, the narrator expresses a way of explaining the conflict with examples of how her mother treated her as a child. The context of the story shows a deeper meaning to what the actual story is about. For instance, cultural differences between the narrator and the mother is important to view in the story. The conflict of the story represents opposing opinions between the two characters and their point of view. Disagreements are involved in