Spanglish: The Coordinated Management Of Meaning

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Recommended: The principles of communication theory

Communication, as defined by Griffin is the relational process of creating and interpreting messages that elicit a response. Griffin states theory is a set of systematic, informed hunches about the way things work (Griffin, 2012, p. 4). Pairing the two together, Communication theory is using a systematic approach in order to understand the relational process of creating and interpreting messages. Many communication theories have been created to understand how and why things are the way they are. This essay will focus on one theory called the Coordinated Management of Meaning. (Hereby referred to as CMM.) The following essay will contain a brief summary of the film, Spanglish, followed by an explanation of CMM. The paper will analyze the film through the lens …show more content…

The purpose of this essay is to use instances and situations in the film to support and illustrate the major concepts of CMM. The two questions that all analysis evolves around are… In what ways are communication patterns either effective or ineffective in these situations? How well does CMM explain what is happening in these situations?

Spanglish is a story about a Hispanic immigrant by the name of Flor Moreno. Flor comes to the United States to get her and her daughter, Cristina, better living conditions and a better education. They settle into Los Angeles where Flor works two jobs for six years before looking for a new job that pays enough so she can work one job instead of two. In this process she finds the Clasky family. The patriarch, John Clasky, heads the Clasky’s. John is a top chef, renowned by many. His wife Deborah Clasky is a rambunctious,

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