500 Days Of Summer Penetration Theory

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The ways of communication varies, and we interact each other through the unique communication. 500 Days of Summer, which is one famous movie, we can recognize some important communication theory. In this paper, I would like to focus on the social penetration theory revealed in 500 Days of Summer. In this movie, some essential perspectives of penetration theory are revealed: depth and breadth of penetration, stages of the penetration theory, and verbal and non-verbal communication. In this essay, I am going to discuss these three characteristics revealed in the movie, 500 Days of Summer with my observations. First of all, depth and breadth of penetration is revealed in this movie. Firstly, the breadth of penetration is …show more content…

As the movie goes on, they reveal each other very deeply, especially when Summer tells she does not believe in true love. In addition, she confesses her secrets and dreams which she has never told someone. For example, she expressed her feeling toward her boyfriends and girlfriends, and she finally realized that true love does not exist. Thus, breadth and depth penetration theory are reflected in this movie. This theory reminds me of the first time when I meet my best friend. We just started form ice breaker like the Tom and Summer. However, now we share our feelings, thoughts, and values freely. Actually, it took around 5 years to reach this point. One thing is different from our relationship and Tom and Summer’s relationship, the difference is whether it is a romantic relationship or not. When I take a look at the way of Tom and Summer’s self-disclosure, they had to think about gender differences both mentally and physically. So, I consider that they should take more time to know each. The more time they spent together, the more their intimacy increases. As a result, I believe that if they take enough time, they could avoid breaking up. Then, I consider that Tom and Summer’s relationship can be divided in five stages by the social penetration …show more content…

The conversation between Tom and Summer certainly shows how their verbal self-disclosure impacts their relationship. However, the relationship grows in other ways as well as a result of non-verbal self-disclosure. One scene reveals this character. This is when Tom draws something on Summer’s arm. I assume that this helps their relationship in two ways. First of all, Summer offers her arm as a canvas and it displays her desire for physical contact. Tom’s acceptance reciprocally discloses the same. In addition, Altman and Dalmas (1973) contend that physical space penetration can affect willingness to allow personal penetration, and vice versa. Therefore, this moment can be a predecessor to future personal penetration. Secondly, when Tom draws his architectural design, the imagined city, reflects the inside of his mind. I guess the architecture is his outlet, it means that when words fail him, it is one of the ways to express himself. Another example of non-verbal self-disclosure happens when Summer lets Tom enter her house. Summer’s apartment is essentially her world. When she invites Tom to the doorway, she takes him into her world. It describes a very deep penetration and, at the same time, it can also be either reciprocal non-verbal or verbal self-disclosure. Thus, this situation is a little bit different from other scenes because they do not

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