Communication is more than just words
When one sense is diminished, another is magnified, but can it ever truly be compensated? In some instances, yes however, when addressing the ability to communicate, there are two senses, that when absent hinders the communication process: sight and touch. Communication is more than just words. In an effort to explore this idea further, we will look at the movie “Witness”.
The movie, starring Harrison Ford and Kelly McGillis, takes place in New England. After losing her husband, Rachel Lapp (McGillis) and her son, Samuel, travel via railway to Baltimore, Maryland to celebrate the birth of Samuel’s cousin. When Samuel goes to the restroom during a delay in Philadelphia, he witnesses the murder of a Narcotics Officer. During the investigation, Detective John Book (Ford), discovers that the murderers are two fellow officers in conspiracy with the Chief of Police. In an effort to protect Samuel Lapp, John finds himself living in the Amish community with Rachel, Samuel, and Eli Lapp, Rachel’s father-in-law.
When two worlds such as an Amish community and a 20th century metropolis collide, they give textbook examples of different aspects of communication.
During the first half of the movie, when Rachel and Samuel enter into this unknown society, their reactions are mirrored by society’s reactions to them.
When Rachel and Samuels board the train, we see Eli Lapp, and friend of the family, Daniel; express their discontentment of Rachel’s decision to venture out into a world filled with “evil”. While Eli’s expressions are of concern and care, we notice, as Daniel gives Samuel a small wooden toy, his countenance pouring with an alterative motive as he smiles flirtatiously at Rachel.
Next, lets discuss Rachel’s insinuations towards the foreign society. When we see Rachel on Eli’s farm, she seems to be a very devoted Amish woman. This implication remains unchanged, as we see her at the train station in Philadelphia. She is very introverted, as she sits alone on a bench, sewing. She is stiff and apathetic to the world revolving around her and in making no attempt to commune with it, only speaks German to Samuel while in public, succeeding in isolating themselves. She demonstrates great lethargy towards any issue that exists outside her “realm”. She demonstrates this several times when, while someone talks to her, she stares out the window, making no eye contact and sending a loud and clear message that she does not want to hear what he or she are saying.
The film is set in Bodega Bay - a small town by the sea. All the
Throughout the novel the characters are put in these situations which force them to obtain information about the people they thought they knew. The center of finding out who everyone is was brought into play through the death of Marie. The story is told by David, only twelve years old, who sees his family an community in a different light for who they truly are under there cover. By doing his own little investigations, often times eavesdropping, David saw through the lies, secures and betrayals to find the truth.
This novel takes place in Holcomb, Kansas. The Clutters live in the area, on River Valley Farm. It is very clear from the introduction of the book that they are going to be murdered. The story threads between this family and Perry Smith and Dick Hickock. The Clutters go on about their daily activities, having no idea what is to come. Dick and Perry slowly make their way towards the Clutter farm, with an evil plan to carry out. As they make their way to the farm, the duo make stops for supplies. Perry is shown to have came for parole, but not finding an old friend, he agrees to work with Dick. Capote goes back and forth between characters, with no correlation, only to who is the most important at any given time during the case. Dick and Perry eventually arrive at the Clutter home.
Cohen’s grandfather, despite being unable to hear and speak, lived a pleasant life filled with compassion, happiness, and humor throughout. Because Cohen could not communicate verbally with her grandfather, it appears that in the past, Cohen may have viewed his deafness as an inconvenience. In “Words Left Unspoken,” Leah Cohen, with sensory imagery conveys the successful methods her deaf grandfather utilized to communicate and the lingering regret she has over her inability to speak to him before his death.
The movie begins with John, Sarah, and their daughters Christy and Ariel cross over the border from Canada into the United States with the mission of finding a better life and jobs. There first trouble is finding an apartment, but they eventually find one in New York City in a poor neighborhood in Hell’s Kitchen. Next, John and Sarah struggle to find jobs. John is an actor and is constantly practicing, but has no success in finding an acting job. The family faces many problems due to their poverty and John feels like it is his job to provide for them and make them feel comfortable. For example, he does all he can to find an air conditioner for them because of the extreme heat in their apartment.
When Rachel first arrives in Portland, she is a shy, insecure, and is a lonely
Blindsight is often understood as supporting certain claims concerning the function and the status of the phenomenal qualities of visual perceptions. In this talk I am going to present a short argument to show that blindsight could not be understood as evidence for these claims. The reason is that blindsight cannot be adequately described as a special case of seeing. Consequently, it is not possible to draw inferences from it concerning the role of the phenomenal qualities for seeing.
The Living Witness by Mary S. Costanza takes an intimate view into the lives of those forced into the Nazi-controlled concentration camps and ghettos during World War II through the art they created. The book begins by noting that there is no other time in recorded history that such a large number of visual documentation was created about the terrors a group experienced as did those in these European death camps. This book contains black and white photographs of some of the art produced by the individuals mentioned throughout. The author then explains the significance of the visual images as a universally understandable medium. By showing recognizable human forms experiencing horrifically inhuman conditions, it communicates volumes without the use of
Rachel does not turn for direction in her soul, but turns to her body instead, leaving her to be egocentric. If something doesn’t interest Rachel, it doesn’t matter to her. For example, when Ruth May died, the rest of the family handled the death badly, compared to Rachel, who seemed upset only because she wouldn’t be able to forget the Congo, and will continue to have memories of it. This is ironic, considering that Rachel does not show any interest in the Congo, but now she will have to have it haunt her for the rest of her
The setting for this film and the particular scene is vital to bringing the story into focus. The story is of a black man who is fighting for his own life and not going to prison for the killing of two white men who had raped his 10 year old daughter. The director Joel Schumacher and the author John Grisham revisit the small town of Canton Mississippi in order to shoot this film. This element brings a reality and a visual to the audience of where the actual events took place. This builds the drama in the story. The courtroom scenes are shot at the actual courthouse in Canton (Arrington 1996). Originally the filming location chosen was to be in Oxford. Fortunately the filming was to take place during football season and all the hotels were full. Another setback was the courthouse lawn in Oxford was too small, therefore the traffic would also have to be rerouted for up to 15 days and this posed a problem as well. The Canton location was a better choice for originality of the story (Arrington 1996).
would be unable to convey the main focus of the story, that of Rachel’s feelings within
The movie is set in a run-down town in the middle of nowhere surrounded by a forest and woods. The entire place is in shambles; it is dark and reeks of despair much like other films that Tim Burton has created. The main character...
When defining the word blindness, it can be interpreted in various ways. Either it can be explained as sightless, or it can be carefully deciphered as having a more complex in-depth analysis. In the novel Blindness, Jose Saramago depicts and demonstrates how in an instant your right to see can be taken in an instant. However, in this novel, blindness is metaphorically related to ‘seeing’ the truth beyond our own bias opinions.
Witnesses are extremely important to a case and gathering facts. There are many different things that can make a good witness. Some of these things are as listed. First of all I think the most important attribute that a witness must have is honestly. Cases can be corrupted if there are bad witnesses that aren’t telling the truth. Even though a witness is sworn under oath, that doesn’t stop some from giving false statements. A false statement can completely change the entire outcome of a case. Not only is lying under oath wrong it’s also illegal. Giving a false statement and lying under oath in known as perjury (England). Perjury is a serious crime within the court room, if someone is found guilty of committing perjury they could face up to
With communication continuing to change forms every day, we have seen many different theories and explanations to try and explain communication. Communication is an interaction between two objects in any way, as long as there is a connection between the two objects. With the ever changing theories of communication, Marshall McLuhan’s theory of the medium is the message and his Playboy interview create a very interesting question. Why does Marshall McLuhan see the development of communication as a downfall to our society as seen in the Playboy article where Adler, Johnson and Lakeoff show many ways communication can have long lasting positive effects on society? The three points that McLuhan brings up are the phonetic alphabet, extension and the electric age. This paper will critique the different points McLuhan has made by using material from Adler and Lakeoff and Johnson.