Movie analysis pitch perfect

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Transcript of Movie analysis pitch perfect

Synopsis

Beca is a new student at Barden University, which isn’t where she wants to be. She wants to move to LA and be a DJ. Her dad is the professor at the university, and the reason why she is there. She is cynical and unhappy and just wants to get through the semester, so she can hopefully leave afterword to follow her dream. The last thing she expects to do is join a female a capella group and make friends with the girls.

The group is trying to make a comeback after their disaster on stage the previous year, where Aubrey vomited on stage. She wants to keep to tradition, but Beca has other ideas about spicing things up so their performances aren’t as tired and overused.

Characters

Aubrey

Social perception is the set of processes by which people perceive themselves and others.

Perception

Perception is the process of attending to, organizing,and interpreting the information that we receivethrough our senses.

Self-perception is the overall view people have of themselves.

• Attributions is reasons we give for others’ and our own behavior. • When Chloe barges in naked on Beca in the shower, it is derived that Chloe is

confident, so doesn’t feel the need to cover her body.• Situational attribution is the perception that the cause of the behavior is some situation

outside the control of the person. • Beca couldn’t control Chloe waking in to her shower, or that she didn’t cover herself.

• Dispositional attribution is attributing behavior to some cause that is under the control of the person.• Beca could someone control covering herself since she was naked in the shower.

• Selective perception is distortion that arises from paying attention only to what we expect to see or hear and from ignoring what we don’t expect. • Chloe was so focused on Beca’s singing and wanting her to sing for her that she didn’t

notice how uncomfortable Beca was.

Perceptual Bias

Halo effect is a perceptual bias that occurs when we misperceive that a person has a whole set of related personality traits when only one trait has actually been observed.

Forced consistency is the perceptual bias in which we inaccurately interpret different perceptions of another person so that our interpretation of what we see remains consistent.

Projection is the perceptual bias that occurs when we incorrectly think someone who is like us in one respect will share other characteristics and attitudes.

V E R B A L M E S S A G E S A R E T H E P A R T S O F A NU T T E R A N C E T H A T U S E L A N G U A G E T OC O N V E Y M E A N I N G .

Verbal Messages

What we say and how we say it

Semantic meaning is meaning of a verbal message derived from the language itself. When Jesse says, “Always a pleasure,”

there is a hint of sarcasm behind it because she has never been warm and fuzzy toward them, instead she is distant and specifically rude in this scene, so he doesn’t actually mean that she it is always a pleasure, he means that it is not.

Denotation is the direct, explicit meaning of a word found in a written dictionary of the language community. When Jesse is leaving Beca’s room after

Kimmy-Jin enters, he says, “Always a pleasure Kimmy-Jin,” which in the literal wording means, that it seeing her is always enjoyable.

Connotation is the feelings or evaluations we personally associate with a word. We generally connect a good feeling with

the word pleasure.

Jargon is a technical terminology whose meaning is understood by only a select group of people in a specialized speech community based on shared activities or interests. When Chloe tells the group that she has

Nodes, that is an example of jargon, since Beca didn’t know what nodes were, but Aubrey did.

Slang is the informal vocabulary developed and used by particular co-cultural groups in a society. When Aubrey says, “aca-scuse me?” she is

creating a slang for excuse me, which they do quite a bit in the movie.

Linguistic sensitivity is using language that respects others while avoiding language that offends. Aubrey has a lack of sensitivity. The first

conversation she has with Beca, she calls her a bitch, which is offensive, so that is an example of not avoiding offensive language, and shows that she didn’t respect her.

Stereotyping

Stereotyping is applying the beliefs you have about the characteristics of a group to an individual whom you identify as a member of that group.

When Chloe points out Beca to Aubrey for a possible Bellas recruit, Aubrey responds, “oh, I don’t know. She looks a little ‘too alternative--for us.” Aubrey is placing her in a category of people that is different than them because of her experience which includes her clothing and piercings before she has even met Beca.

N O N V E R B A L C O M M U N I C A T I O N I S A L LH U M A N C O M M U N I C A T I O N E V E N T S T H A TT R A N S C E N D S P O K E N O R W R I T T E N W O R D S .

Nonverbal Communication

Body language is the intentional or unintentional movement of variousbody parts that sends nonverbal messages.

Eye Contact

Eye contact is using eye focus to signal attention, respect, emotional reactions, or dominance.

Beca makes eye contact with her father when he first enters her dorm room shortly after she moves in, and then she turns away and doesn’t look at him while she works on her computer. He continues to look in her direction, but can’t make eye contact because she isn’t looking at him. This shows that she doesn’t value that he is there or the conversation.

Facial Expression

Facial expression is arranging facial muscles to communicate emotion or provide feedback.

Her father knocks and comes in making a joke and smiling and Becareturns a fake annoyed smile, not genuine like his. Her face then drops the fake smile and her face doesn’t show any amusement, meaning she doesn’t find him funny and is not happy that he is there.

Gestures

Gestures are using hand, arm, and finger movements to replace, complement, and augment a verbal messages.

Beca begins emphasizing what she is saying with her hands when she becomesfrustrated when speaking with her dad because he thinks being a DJ is a hobby, nota career. Beca is stressing that she wants to produce music. The hand movementsshow her frustration with her dad and how he doesn’t understand what she wantsto do with her life because it is different than what he wants her to do.

Emblems are gestures that substitute completely for words.

Posture

Posture is the position and movement of the whole body.

Beca’s back is kind of bent as she is working on her computer with music. Her dad stands up straight after he enters and Beca turns somewhat straight up and then turns again and hunches over her computer again. She has mostly poor posture through the scene. Her posture shows that she is uninterested. Her posture is not welcoming or respectful.

Body Orientation

Body orientation is your position in relation to another person.

Beca continues to do things while her father is in the room. Most of the time shefacing away from him, but he is generally facing toward her. His orientationshows he is interested in the conversation and that his attention is on her,Beca’s orientation shows that she is not interested or fully engaged.

Touch

Touch is putting part of the body in contact with something or someone.

Beca is almost always touching something when she is in the room with her father, but they never come in physical contact with each other.

Voice

Paralanguage is using the voice to convey meaning. When Beca says,“Chris Rock everybody,” about her dad trying to be funny, her voice

fluctuates and use of tone indicates that she is being sarcastic.

Pitch is the rate of vibration of your vocal cords. Volume is the loudness of a person’s vocal tone.

Beca and her dad’s tone generally stays the same, calm and relaxed, expect for when Becagets frustrated. The volume increases some as she tries to tell her father what she wants to do. Beca’s tone is also lower when she is sarcastic or holds annoyance in her voice.

Rate is the speed at which a person speaks. Beca and her father exchange words at a normal rate. Beca’s rate slows down some when she

is telling her father she wants to make music as she is trying to find the words to express herself.

Quality is the sound of a person’s voice. Intonation is the variety, melody, or inflection of a person’s voice. Vocal interferences is extraneous sounds or words that interrupt fluent

speech. Beca says, “UGH,” when she gets frustrated with her father because he doesn’t understand

what she wants to do with her life.

Spatial Usage

C O N V E R S A T I O N I S A N I N T E R A C T I V E ,E X T E M P O R A N E O U S , L O C A L L Y M A N A G E D ,A N D S E Q U E N T I A L L Y O R G A N I Z E DI N T E R C H A N G E O F T H O U G H T S A N D F E E L I N G SB E T W E E N T W O O R M O R E P E O P L E .

Conversations

Turn-Taking

Turn-taking is the alternating between speaking and listening in an interaction.

• When Beca and Jesse are in her dorm room and she is explaining how she makes mash ups of songs and is showing him one with her singing, they take turns speaking. “I’m talking really loud, that is me singing.”-Beca “This is really good. Now I’m the one yelling,”-Jesse

Conversations

Extemporaneous is uttered in the spur of the moment without lengthy preplanning.

Sequential organization is the identifiable beginnings ( openings), middles ( bodies), and ends ( closings) of conversations.

Small talk is a type of conversation focused on inconsequential topics such as the weather, uncontroversial news topics, harmless facts, and predictions.

Gossip is discussion of people who are not present for the conversation. When Chloe, Aubrey and the group discuss Beca when she isn’t there, that is

gossip.

Conversation purpose is what the conversation is intended to do. Chloe wanted Beca back in the group, but Aubrey intended to convince them that

they didn’t need Beca.

Face Saving

Face-saving is helping others to preserve their self-image or self- respect.

When Aubrey stops Beca from dragging her chair all the way out of the room and lets her come back to the group that is a form of face-saving, since it stopped the situation from becoming more embarrassing for Beca.

E M P A T H Y I S T H E C O G N I T I V E A N D A F F E C T I V E P R O C E S S O F P E R C E I V I N G T H E

E M O T I O N S O T H E R S A R E F E E L I N G A N D T H E N A C T I N G O N O U R P E R C E P T I O N .

Supporting Others

Support

Sympathetic responsiveness ( also called emotional concern) is empathizing by feeling concern, compassion, or sorrow for another person because he or she is in a distressing situation but not identifying with the specific emotion he or she is experiencing.

Social support is the process of providing emotional, informational, and instrumental resources to someone we perceive is in need of this aid.

Supportive messages are communications that provide intangible support for your partner, including emotional support, information, advice, and motivation.

Capitalization is the process of sharing our successes and leveraging the good feelings that come from them by telling others with the expectation that they will celebrate with us.

Celebratory messages is active-constructive feedback whose goal is to leverage your partner’s positive feelings that stem from a happy event or accomplishment.

Comforting messages is active-constructive feedback whose goal is to alleviate or lessen the emotional distress felt by someone else.

Supportive interaction is a conversation or series of conversations in which messages of support are offered to someone.

Clarifying supportive intentions are openly stating that one’s goal in a supportive interaction is to help the person in need of support.

Beca opens up

Three fourths of the way through the movie, Beca opens up to her dad. He lets her talk about how she is feeling and gives her feedback. Telling her she shuts everyone out and commenting on her walking away from the bellas. She takes it much better that the past and actually asks what she should do, which is huge for her. Her dad doesn’t give her a bunch of advice or tell her what she should do, but he took on a supportive role.

I N T E R P E R S O N A L C O N F L I C T I S A D I S A G R E E M E N T B E T W E E N T W O

I N T E R D E P E N D E N T P E O P L E W H O P E R C E I V E T H A T T H E Y H A V E I N C O M P A T I B L E G O A L S .

Conflict

When Beca gets arrested because a window at a building they performed in accidently got smashed and everyone else ran away, Jesse Called her dad to bail her out. Beca was happy to get out until she discovered he called her dad. He thought she should be happy that he called and she is out and thankful since he was the only one there, but she wasn’t. She instead said she didn’t ask him to be and yells at him.

Pseudoconflict is adisagreement that is caused by a perceptual difference between partners and is easily resolved.

Fact conflict is adisagreement that is caused by a dispute over the truth or accuracy of an item of information.

Value conflict is a disagreement caused by differences in partners’ deep- seated moral beliefs.

Policy conflict is a disagreement caused by differences over a preferred plan or course of action.

Ego conflict is a disagreement that results when both parties insist on being the “ winner” of the argument to confirm their self- concept or self- esteem.

Metaconflict is a disagreement over the process of communication itself during an argument.

Resolutions

Withdrawing is resolving a conflict by physically or psychologically removing yourself from the conversation.

Accommodating is resolving a conflict by satisfying the other person’s needs or accepting the other person’s ideas while neglecting one’s own needs or ideas.

Forcing is resolving a conflict by satisfying one’s own needs or advancing one’s own ideas with no concern for the needs or ideas of the other person or for the relationship.

Compromising is resolving a conflict by bargaining so that each partner’s needs or interests are partially satisfied.

Collaborating is resolving a conflict by using problem solving to arrive at a solution that meets the needs and interests of both parties in the conflict.

On several occasions Becaresolves conflicts by walking

away (withdrawing). She did it in the beginning with her dad

when she left her room. She did it with Jesse after she was

arrested and again when she blows up at him after he tries to

stick up for her when Aubrey was mad at her for changing

doing an impromptu change of sings on stage.

B e c a a n d I h a v e q u i t e a f e w s i m i l a r q u a l i t i e s . I t e n d t o b e s a r c a s t i c , c a n b e c l o s e d o f f , a n d h a v e w a l k e d a w a y f r o m a c o n f l i c t o n m o r e t h a n o n e o c c a s i o n . I h a d n ’ t w a t c h e d t h i s m o v i e i n a w h i l e , b u t t a k i n g t h e t i m e t o a n a l y z e i t , g a v e m e n e w p e r s p e c t i v e s a n d h a d g r e a t e x a m p l e s o f i n t e r p e r s o n a l c o m m u n i c a t i o n . T h e c h a r a c t e r s h a d r e a l i s t i c i n t e r a c t i o n s , a n d e a c h p e r s o n w a s d i f f e r e n t . B e c a e v o l v e d t h r o u g h t h e m o v i e a n d l e a r n e d t o o p e n u p s o m e b y t h e e n d .

Evaluation

• M O O R E , J . ( D I R E C T O R ) . ( 2 0 1 2 ) . P I T C H

P E R F E C T [ M O T I O N P I C T U R E ] .

• V E R D E R B E R , K . S . ( 2 0 1 2 ) . I N T E R - A C T .

O X F O R D U N I V E R S I T Y P R E S S .

• G O O G L E I M A G E S

Works Cites