Interpersonal Communications CM206
1. What is the name of the show? Who are the main characters and what are their relationships to each other?
The name of the show that I watched is Melissa & Joey. The main characters are Melissa, who goes by Mel, a professional business woman who is now taking care of her niece and nephew. Lennox, is Mel’s teenage niece. Lennox’s brother, Ryder, is also a teenager and Mel’s nephew. Joey, goes by Joe, has moved into the home to be the housekeeper and “manny” to Mel’s niece and nephew. Elena is a Russian businesswoman who is in the U.S. on business. Joe and Elena are lovers and she has been staying at the house.
2. What are five nonverbal types that you observed in the program? Explain with details from the program.
There were many nonverbal types observed throughout the program. Kinesics was observed when Mel put her hands on hips. She was making a statement to Joe about his relationship with Elena. When she stopped what she was saying and put her hands on her hips she made a big statement without using words. It was obvious that she was being firm with what she just said. Mel also uses a lot of facial expression throughout this episode. In one scene Mel rolls her eyes at Joe and Elena kissing. In another scene Mel sticks out her tongue, as if to gag, when Joe and Elena are hugging. Joe was trying to make a decision as to how he could keep Elena from returning to Russia, he clenched his hands together. This body movement emphasized the determination that he felt. During a scene when Joe was leaving the house he patted Mel on the back, almost in a condescending way.
Physical Appearance was observed when Elena appeared in a scene wearing a sexy negligée and was making breakfast. Also, in the scene Mel was in her bathrobe. The clothes showed that it was a morning at the house. This morning scene also led the viewer to know that Elena had spent the night there.
Artifacts were observed throughout the show. One artifact that appeared many times was something you drink from. For instance, when Mel and Elena are on the couch, Joe put a bottle of vodka on the table in front of them. The Vodka is an artifact but also the shot glasses, that were shown in their hands. Mel often holds something to drink in her hand throughout the show. In the morning scene, Mel is holding a mug, assumed to be coffee. In another scene, Mel is in the living room with a tall plastic cup in her hand.
Haptics was used throughout the show. There was a lot of touching between all of the characters. Joe and Elena had a lot of intimate touching, hugging, and kissing in many of the scenes. There was a hug exchanged between Ryder and Elena by the dinner table. It was to be Elena’s last meal with the family. Ryder gave her an embrace, but it was obvious that this male teenager enjoyed hugging her based his smile and that he didn’t want the embrace to end. From Elena’s expression, she was just giving him a nice hug and was trying to pull away from the embrace.
Proxemics was observed during the show. Joe and Elena, being lovers, were standing very close to each other throughout their scenes together. Many times, not only were they physically close, but also there was touching. Joe’s arms were on Elena’s hips during the breakfast kitchen scene and she had her hand on his chest. During the final scene, the teenagers were in the school cafeteria. Lennox and Ryder were standing next to a snack machine. Another girl stood away from them, about 6 feet, and asked if Lennox was the one who got all the junk food removed from the snack machine. When Lennox said that she was the one, the other girl announced to the students to “get her”. Lennox ran out of the school with plenty of time to get out the door before the other students ran after her.
3. Was it easy or difficult to understand what was happening in the action while only observing the nonverbal cues? Explain