Movie Analysis Rebecca  Martin  

The Women Starring  Meg  Ryan,  Annette  Bening,  Eva  Mendes,  

Debra  Messing,  and  Jada  Pinkett  Smith  

Main  Characters  • Mary  (Protagonist):  Meg  Ryan  

•  Sylvie:  Annette  Bening  

•  Edie:  Debra  Messing  

• Alex:  Jada  Pinkett  Smith  

•  Crystal:  Eva  Mendes  

• Molly  (Mary’s  Daughter):  India  Ennenga  

• Mary’s  Cheating  Husband:  Never  Seen  

Plot  

•  Mary  learns  of  husband’s  affair  

•  Couple  separates  

•  Mary’s  friends  offer  support  through  time  of  need  

•  Mary  becomes  inspired  to  follow  her  dreams  •  Designs  a  clothing  line  and  showcases  it  in  a  fashion  show  

•  Concludes  with  Mary’s  soliloquy  over  the  phone  with  her  husband  •  Discusses  Mary’s  requirements  in  their  relationship  if  

they  give  it  another  try  

Relevant  Theories  in  Communication  

•  Social  Perceptions:  specifically  self-­‐perception  

•  Dominant  &  Co-­‐cultures:  specifically  social  class  and  cultural  identity  

•  Types  of  nonverbal  communication:  specifically  body  language  

•  Self-­‐Disclosure  

•  Social  Exchange  Theory  

•  Listening  Style:  specifically  people-­‐oriented  listening  

•  Types  of  Empathy:  specifically  perspective  taking  

•  Effects  of  Disclosure  &  Privacy  on  Relationships  

•  Personal  Feedback    

•  Asserting  Rights  &  Expectations:  specifically  the  assertive  approach  

Social  Perceptions  

•  Scene:  Lingerie  Store  

•  Crystal’s  self-­‐concept  :  

•  attractive  female,  capable  of  seducing  a  man,  confident,  manipulative,  unintelligent,  and  arrogant  

•  Extremely  confident  about  who  she  is:  

•  Knows  she  is  attractive  and  confident  in  her  ability  to  seduce  a  man  through  manipulative  ways  

•  This  confidence  makes  her  arrogant  

•  Has  very  high  self-­‐esteem  

•  Believes  herself  to  be  worthy    

•  Believes  herself  very  competent  in  her  abilities  

•  This  is  portrayed  when  she  flaunts  around  the  lingerie  shop  in  a  seductive  piece  visible  in  the  picture  above.  

Dominant  &  Co-­‐Cultures  •  Mary  and  her  friends  are  part  of  a  higher  social  class  commonly  referred  to  

as  socialites  •  Evident  in  the  house  she  lives  in  

•  Connecticut  resident  in  the  suburbs  of  New  York  City  •  They  all  drive  high  value  vehicles  such  as  BMW  and  Lexus  •  Mary’s  husband  works  on  Wall  Street  •  Shop  at  expensive  lingerie  stores  

•  Mary’s  cultural  identity  is  based  on  the  social  calendars  she  grew  up  with  •  Adopted  the  dominant  culture  of  the  upper  class  

•  Plans  luncheons  for  women’s  committee  

•  Although  middle  class  America  is  larger  than  upper  class  America,  it  is  the  upper  class  that  holds  more  power    •  The  upper  class  makes  up  the  dominant  culture  because  they  have  more  

influence  and  power  

Types  of  Nonverbal  Communication  

•  Scene:  Mary  informs  her  housekeepers  that  she  is  leaving  her  husband  

•  Body  language:  intentional/unintentional  movement  of  various  body  parts  that  send  nonverbal  messages  

•  Eye  contact:  one  housekeeper  fails  to  make  direct  eye  contact,  in  this  scene  it  shows  discomfort  

•  Facial  expression:  both  housekeepers  drop  their  jaws  to  express  their  state  of  shock  at  the  news  

•  Gesture:  when  sharing  the  news  Mary  waves  her  hand  nonchalantly  to  show  little  concern  for  the  situation    

•  Body  orientation:  Neither  housekeeper  squares  their  shoulders  to  Mary=indirect  body  orientation-­‐shows  Mary  has  more  power  

Self-­‐Disclosure  •  Scene:  Mary,  Edie,  Sylvie,  and  Alex  have  cocktails  at  a  bar  

•  Mary  and  Sylvie  have  high  disclosure,  high  feedback  relationships  •  Sylvie  admits  to  having  shared  information  about  Mary’s  

separation  with  a  gossip  columnists  knowing  Mary  will  provide  negative  feedback  to  this  information  

•  During  lull  in  friendship  there  is  more  information  left  secret  

•  They  make  up  later  in  movie  on  a  New  York  street  when  they  have  a  battle  of  words,  all  of  which  is  completely  honest  

•  The  closer  friends  are  &  the  longer  the  friendship  the  more  open  it  is  likely  to  be  

Social  Exchange  Theory  •  Scene:  Mary  tells  her  mother  about  the  affair  in  a  

restaurant  

•  Theory  states  that  people  continue  to  develop  a  relationships  as  long  as  the  rewards  outweigh  the  costs  

• Mary’s  mother  explains  how  the  rewards  outweigh  the  costs  despite  the  affair  •  The  other  woman  means  nothing  to  the  husband  • Mary  needs  to  worry  about  her  daughter’s  best  interests  •  Despite  the  pain  Mary  knows  that  the  “pumpkins”  she  

talks  about  later  outweigh  the  pain  

Listening  Style  •  Scene:  Mary  tells  her  mother  about  the  affair  in  a  restaurant  

•  People-­‐oriented  listening  style:  focus  on  what  information  tells  us  of  conversational  partner  and  their  feelings-­‐become  personally  involved  

•  Mary’s  mother  relates  to  what  Mary  is  feeling  •  Notices  how  hurt  Mary  appears  •  Describes  how  she  thinks  Mary  is  feeling  •     Becomes  very  involved  in  the  conversation  

Types  of  Empathy  •  Scene:  Mary  tells  her  mother  about  the  affair  in  a  

restaurant  

• Perspective  taking:  empathizing  by  using  everything  we  know  about  our  partner  and  our  partner’s  circumstances  to  help  us  understand  how  he/she  is  feeling  

• Mary’s  mother  can  relate  to  the  situation  because  she  experienced  the  same  thing  •  Understands  Mary’s  feelings  and  beliefs  •  Perfect  example  of  perspective  taking  

Effects  of  Disclosure  &  Privacy  

•  Effects  on  intimacy:  Mary  and  Sylvie  were  less  intimate  after  Mary  learned  that  Sylvie  had  sold  her  out  and  more  intimate  after  the  reconciled  •  Relationships  fluctuate  in  level  of  intimacy  based  on  what  

information  is  disclosed-­‐intimacy  may  be  preserved  when  one  chooses  privacy  

•  Effects  on  reciprocity:  at  the  onset  of  the  movie  Sylvie  tells  Molly  she  likes  her  dress  and  Molly  replies  that  she  likes  Sylvie’s  sunglasses  •  Mutual  disclosure  of  similarly  sensitive  information  by  both  

partners  deepens  the  relationship  through  common  history  

Personal  Feedback  •  Scene:  Behind  the  scenes  at  Mary’s  fashion  show  

• Personal  feedback:  disclosing  information  about  others  to  them  and  how  it  relates  to  issues  of  privacy  

• Molly  expresses  how  cool  the  fashion  show  is  to  Mary  •  Example  of  positive  feedback  •  Important  moment  in  their  relationship  

•  Molly  praises  her  mother  •  Molly  accepts  her  mother  as  human  being  and  makes  it  

known  

Asserting  Rights  &  Expectations  •  Scene:  Mary  speaks  to  her  husband  on  the  phone  while  

Edie  delivers  a  baby  

• Mary  self-­‐disclosed  a  lot  of  information  about  what  she  expected  their  relationship  to  be  like  •  Took  assertive  approach:  direct  and  honest  about  her  

expectations  while  respecting  her  husband’s  rights  •  She  stood  up  for  herself  

•  She  owned  her  statements,  described  her  feelings,  made  use  of  facework,  and  used  appropriate  nonverbal  behaviors  

Representativeness  of  Reality  

•  Accurate  representation  of  female  friendships  •  Mary,  Edie,  Alex,  and  Sylvie  always  there  for  each  other  and  

willing  to  go  to  great  lengths  for  each  other  •  Still  have  squabbles  

•  Accurate  representation  of  relationship  between  mother  and  teenage  daughter  •  Difficult  conversations  •  Miscommunication  and  inefficient  communication  

•  Semi-­‐Accurate  representation  of  marital  relationship  •  Always  possibility  of  cheating  in  a  marriage  •  Debatable  whether  majority  of  couples  reunite    

Relation  to  My  Communication  Style  

•  Unlike  the  main  characters  I  am  part  of  the  co-­‐culture  •  Come  from  a  middle  class  family  with  less  power  than  the  dominant  culture  

•  My  nonverbal  communication  is  similar  to  Mary  in  that  we  both  make  extensive  use  of  body  language  

•  Especially  gestures  and  facial  expressions  

•  Experience  high  disclosure,  high  feedback  relationship  with  my  best  friend  

•  One  major  difference  is  my  tendency  to  be  passive  and  aggressive  over  assertive  

•  I  tend  to  remain  passive  until  my  emotions  boil  up  and  I  release  aggressively  

•  I  think  I  would  do  well  in  the  relationships  depicted  

•  I  have  similar  friendships  

•  I  think  I  would  be  a  similar  type  of  mother  •  I  would  have  reacted  differently  to  my  husband  cheating  

Ending Credits