Julie and Julia

Meryl Streep is Julia Child and Amy Adams is writer Julie Powell in Nora Ephron’s comedy Julie & Julia. Before Ina, before Rachael, before Emeril, there was Julia, the woman who forever changed the way America cooks. But in 1948, Julia Child (Meryl Streep) was just an American woman living in France. Her husband's job has brought them to Paris, and with her indefatigable spirit, she yearned for something to do. Fifty years later, Julie Powell (Amy Adams) is stuck. Pushing 30, living in Queens and working in a cubicle as her friends achieve stunning successes, she seizes on a seemingly insane plan to focus her energies. Julie decides to spend exactly a year cooking all 524 recipes in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking (which Child co-wrote with Louise Bertholle and Simone Beck) – and write a blog about her experiences.
Director-writer-producer Nora Ephron seamlessly melds these two remarkable true stories into a comedy that proves that if you have the right combination of passion, obsession, and butter, you can change your life and achieve your dreams.

In 1948, the Powerful Effects Theory was very prevalent. It is about the mass media being very influential and audiences are passive. This thoery became popular after WW2 and it is not really true in Julia Child's case as we can see that Julia is not a person who is influenced easily by the messages transmitted through the mass medis.

Fifty years later, the Moderate effects models became prevalent. It is about the ability of the media to influence its audiences still remains and media selectivity does not equate no effects. It shows when Julie Powell wants to write about her experiences when she was learning the to cook the dishes in all 524 recipes of Julia's Child Mastering the art of French cooking.

In my opinion, I felt that this was a good movie as it relates true stories and motivates the audiences to change their lives and achieve their dreams. It is up to the audience on how they perceive the message of this movie to be.

Haeundae: The Deadly Tsunami

The Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004 was the worst tsunami recorded in history with more than 300,000 lives lost. Man-sik experiences the catastrophe first hand, when he and his men get stranded mid-sea while deep-sea fishing. All crew except one is rescued and Man-sik feels responsible for the death of the lost crew member the father of Man-siks long-time love, Yeon-hee. Four years on after returning home, he is still unable to open up his heart to Yeon-hee because of the guilt. When he finally musters up the courage to propose to her, he is interrupted by the force of nature.
Man-siks younger brother Hyung-sik works as a coast guard. While on patrol, he rescues Hi-mi who had fallen off a yacht. The beautiful and spoiled vacationer from Seoul is instantly drawn to her rescuer and launches a bold campaign to win his heart. Hyung-sik finds himself attracted to her little by little.
A marine geologist Kim Hwi discovers that the Korean East Sea is showing signs of activity similar to the Indian Ocean at the time of the 2004 Tsunami and heads down to Haeundae to warn the authority. He runs into his ex-wife who is also in Haeundae to oversee an international event. With her, is their 7-year-old daughter whom he has never met. The fact that his daughter doesnt know who he is gives rise to complex emotions in Hwi.
In the meanwhile, a mega-tsunami is created as Hwi feared and is headed straight for Haeundae, to the unaware vacationers enjoying a peaceful hot summer day.

This movie displays individualist cultures when Man Sik felt guilty because he felt responsible for the death of Yeon Hee's father. His social behaviour is largely determined by his attitude. He create his own ingroups, rather than tradition. This is shown when the force of nature affected him when he has already made up his mind to propose to Yeon Hee. This shows that only specific aspects of a person's life is influenced by ingroups.

It also displays Classic Dimension of Cultures by Edward Hall. Korea is a country with high context cultures. Koreans have restricted codes and contextual cues. This can been seen in Kim Hwi's experience when he came across his daughter whom he has never met before. The way he kept quiet about his relationship shows that silence is part of the communication pattern in Korea.

In my opinion, I feel that Haeudae is a show that depicts the Korean culture and how they react when they are faced with a deadly situation. It goes to show that every country has her own culture and their actions is dependent on their culture. This means that culture shapes people and this is done through socialisation.

Shorts

Shorts is set in the suburb of Black Falls, where all the houses look the same and everyone works for BLACK BOX Unlimited Worldwide Industries Incorporated, whose Mr. Blacks BLACK BOX is the ultimate communication and do-it-all gadget that's sweeping the nation. Other than keeping his parents employed, however, Mr. Blacks BLACK BOX has done nothing for 11-year-old Toe Thompson, who just wants to make a few friends... until a mysterious rainbow-colored rock falls from thcrocodile armies, giant boogers... and outrageous magical mayhem around every corner. But its not until the grown-ups get their hands on the Rock that the trouble really starts. Now Toe and his newfound friends must join forces to save their town from itself, discovering along the way that what you wish for is not always what you want. e sky, hits him in the head and changes everything. The Rainbow Rock does Mr. Blacks BLACK BOX one better: it grants wishes to anyone who holds it. Before long, wishes-gone-wrong have left the neighborhood swarming with tiny spaceships, crocodile armies, giant boogers... and outrageous magical mayhem around every corner. But its not until the grown-ups get their hands on the Rock that the trouble really starts. Now Toe and his newfound friends must join forces to save their town from itself, discovering along the way that what you wish for is not always what you want.

This movie exhibits group communication. When the rock landed on the grown-ups hands, it shows that displays individual needs. It shows that the individual continuously measure the rewards gained from the group and this process is called evaluation. He was more interested in meeting his own needs and did not care if he harmed his community. He was not able to balance between individual and group needs-Group pressure. However, when Toe and his newfound friends joined forces, they were able to maintain group pressure. They worked together to make complex decisions and had full support of his group members. This allowed him to save his neighbourhood from harm unlike the grown-ups who were selfish in their thoughts.

This movie also exhibits group think. Many employees working in Black Box had pressure on dissenters. They slogged for Mr Black so that they will not be sacked and kicked out of their community. One of the models of group development used is Poole's Multiple Sequence Model. This model suggests that group develops three different but parallel tracks: task track, topic track and relationship track. I feel that this movie displayed more of relationship track because all of them works for Mr Black and they have to ensure that their relationship with Mr Black will not be strained at any point.

In my opinion, this movie clearly demonstrates the features of group communication and group think. It shows the way and thoughts when people join different groups. Everyone has different priorities and Shorts in one such movie that displays it.

Aliens in the Attic

A group of kids defend their Maine vacation home from knee-high alien invaders in this adventure comedy for the entire family. When Michigan native Bethany Pearson (Ashley Tisdale) arrives home after a secret outing with her boyfriend Ricky (Robert Hoffman), her father Stuart (Kevin Nealon) decides that it's high time for a family vacation. Packing up the car with wife Hannah (Ashley Boettcher) teenage son Tom (Carter Jenkins) and big sister Bethany in tow, Stuart invites the extended family to join them at the vacation home for some much-needed R&R and sets his sights on Maine. Much to Tom's dismay, Bethany's stuck-up boyfriend Ricky even manages to wrangle an overnight visit. Shortly after the Pearsons arrive at their sprawling summer home, however, things start to get strange. As dark clouds start to swirl overhead, four glowing objects blast through the sky on a collition course with the Pearsons' roof. But these aren't your typical meteors, because inside dwells tough-talking alien commander Skip, muscle-bound weapons specialist Tazer, lethal female Razor, and geeky four-armed techie Sparks. Before long, the aliens have taken Ricky over via a powerful mind-control device, and announced their intentions to claim Earth for the "Zirkonians." While the adults are completely oblivious to the extraterrestrial threat, the kids fight to save the planet with a little help from Sparks, the alien tech-specialist and one non-hostile invader. John Schultz directs a script penned by British scribe Mark Burton (Wallace & Gromit).

I will focus on the scenes of Ashley Tisdale and Robert Hoffman. These scenes demonstrates certain stages of Knapp Model of Relational Development.

The first scene shows the Intensifying and Integrating stages.

Intensifying stage:

It shows the increased commitment, awareness and participation of both parties. This scene also demonstrate a disclosure of feelings to the other party. There is physical contact between both parties. And the couple displays a relational identity.
Integrating stage:

Bethany and Ricky relationship encompass their social networks which creates a social identity. It is seen in the scene that Ricky visited Bethany even when her family is on a vacation. Bethany's family welcomes Ricky happily which creates a social identity for Ricky.

The second scene shows Differentiating and Circumscribing stages.

Differentiating stage:

It shows the reaffirmation of individuality. Their communication and interaction marked by overt conflict. Their intense differentiation may reflect a relationship that has developed too fast.

Circumscribing stage:

There is a shrinking of relational interest and commitment. Bethany showed Ricky that "She didn't want to talk about it."

These stages are something most dating couples might face during their relationship. Bethany and Ricky relationship definitely describes certain stages of the progression and development of relationships in Knapp Model of relational development.

Chris Young - The Man I Want to Be

This song was released on 1st September 2009. Information taken from Latest Country Music CD Release website: http://www.countrystandardtime.com/cdreleases.asp

Taken from a concert

Lyrics:

God, I'm down here on my knees

Cause it's the last place left to fall

Beggin for another chance

If theres any chance at all

That you might still be listenin

Lovin and forgivin guys like me

I've spent my whole life gettin it all wrong

And I sure could use your help cause from now on

I wanna be a good man

A do like I should man

I wanna be the kind of man the mirror likes to see

I wanna be a strong man

And admit that I was wrong, man

God Im asking you to come change me

To the man I wanna be

There's anyway for her and me to make another start

Could you see what you could do

To put some love back in her heart

Cuz it going to take a miracle

After all I've done to really make her see

That I wanna be a statement

I wanna be a great man

I wanna be the kind of man that she sees in her dreams

God, I wanna be your man

And I wanna be her man

God, I only hope she still believes

In the man I wanna be

Well, I know this late at night that talk is cheap

Lord, don't give up on me

I wanna be a givin man

I wanna really start livin man

God, I'm asking you to come change me

To the man I wanna be

This song makes use of nonverbal communication. It has a nonverbal communication characteristic which is normative and idiosyncratic in interpretation. This song speaks to those who tries to be perfect as a human being or perfect spouse. There are also a few types of nonverbal communication portrayed in this song. Firstly, paralinguistics is one of them. The quality of the voice is very rich and the tone is very serious. There is silence at the beginning of the song which is substituted by the instrumental music of the guitar. Secondly, Chris Young's physical appearance may be judged by the audience. The clothes he wore to perform the song he composed expresses his feelings with his music indirectly. The environment he performs at is also one of the sources of nonverbal communication. The presense of the people there may affect the way he performed.

I feel that this song speaks to people like us who wants to be perfect. It portrays the desire of our hearts and how we end up being in the wrong path. Chris Young displays how he needs God's help to change him to be the man he want to be. He might actually also include how God will change him to the man He wants him to be. However, this also depends on how an individual is willing to let God change him/her to the man/woman He wants him/her to be. This song speaks to everyone differently.

Enjoy! =)

Singapore Rebel

This is the film Singapore's censorship board does not want people to see. It is the story of opposition politician Chee Soon Juan, who has been imprisoned twice for championing democratic change in the city state. The censors declared it a "party political film" and it was pulled from April 2005's Singapore International Film Festival line-up after the director was warned he could face two years in jail if the screening went ahead. It is directed by Martyn See. 'Singapore Rebel' has been selected to premiere in two human rights film festivals this month. The inaugural New Zealand Human Rights Film Festival and the Amnesty International Film Festival (USA) will host a series of screenings in Auckland, Wellington and West Hollywood. Film-maker Martyn See will not attend the festivals. He is now under investigation by the Singapore police for "the making" of 'Singapore Rebel'.

In my opinion, it is shown in this video that there were many opposition parties but many were not as brave as Chee Soo Juan to lead such protests. However, I feel that it is unwise to lead such rallies because it may disrupt the peace in Singapore although he claimed that it would not. It is good that Singapore takes defamation of the government very seriously if not rumours will take a hold of Singapore. He has a very different perspective of the laws in Singapore. He defines them as just or unjust laws. Just laws are those that are good for society and they must be respected and obeyed. Unjust laws are those that are placed by the government to surpress the people which made him feel that citizens should know about it and break these laws. However, he warned that when citizens intend to break these laws, they must be prepared to face the consequences. I feel that many Singaporeans will not give up their future just to reform Singapore's laws. This may be a good sign after all as there will not be protests on the streets which will definitely disrupt the peace in Singapore.

The content in this video uses cognitive schemata because when we watch this video, we already have the mental framework that we have developed over time. The type of personal construct shown in this video is the social role and position of Chee Soo Juan. It shows where he stands in society and what Singaporeans view him as. Structural principles can be identified in this video where we can see the relationship Chee Soo Juan has between the people involved and relational goals. From his first public talk in 1998 and second public talk in 1999, it shows that he was able to engage people to speak up for their rights. Interpretation of his purpose in these public talks may differ from every individual because interpretation refers to how we attached meaning to what we select and organise. This will structure our perception of Singapore's government as it is the most subjective of the three sub-processes of perception.

Singapore is the easiest place to do business

Source: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1003854/1/.html

This news covers certain perspectives in communication that we have learnt this week.

From "The World Bank said Singapore simplified business start-ups by making it possible to incorporate a company and register for taxes by using the same online form.", it shows that Singapore uses the psychological perspective to enable messages encoded to be in a clear, lively and appropriate ways. It makes use of the transactional model as it is a process of simultaneous exchange between communicators.

From "Everything is done electronically, very secure and the land transfer is a question of an hour. It's the most efficient system that we have seen globally, and that could maybe be an inspiration for how to move forward in Singapore.", social constructionist perspective is being used in the communication. Although this involves people with different cultural traditions globally, by doing everything electronically, it shows that people have shared roles and rules. Hence, it helped Singapore to improve in their ranks globally.

It also covers pragmatic perspective because these moves or acts are repeated and it results in payoff whereby Singapore has maintained in the top ranking for the fourth year straight.

I feel that Singapore has maintained its top ranking is mainly because of the authorities placed in the business sector who knows how to engage people globally to start their businesses in Singapore. One of the reasons is that Singapore has made it easier to register property with their improved computerised system. It goes to show that the advance in the computerised systems is the main factor that maintained the top ranking. However, Singapore has to explore other ways and not be dependent on the computerised systems. If the computerised systems ever go wrong, Singapore has no other backup plans. Therefore, it is necessary for Singapore to explore different ways of maintaining its top position in the world.