Verified Document

Ethnography Of Communication Analysis In High School Film Essay

¶ … Ethnography of Communication in High School Film The EOC (ethnography of communication) is the analysis of communication within a culture, and practices of speech of a number of community. The EOC refers to the discourse analysis in linguistic drawing the anthropological field investigating the use of speech, their meaning or interpretation as being found in human groups or particular communities. The normative and cultural are two important concepts in the ethnographic communication analysis, which are used to analyze language, cultural norms, and situation context that influence communication among people.

The objective of this paper is to demonstrate the concept ethnographic of communication using the film titled "High School" directed by Frederick Wiseman.

Part 1 of Project

The study uses the film titled "High School" to illustrate the concept ethnographic communication. High School is an American film directed by Frederick Wiseman in 1968. High School is an ethnographic film depicting Northeast High School student's events. After the film production, High School has been distributed on DVD through Zipporah Films and rented to colleges, high school and libraries on 5-year term lease.

The intent of this study is to present text in the film based on cultural and normative analysis of communication. A particular text in the film reveals the communication between three participants: a student, a school counselor, and the student mother. All of them were seated in the counselor's office, and based on the tone of their conversations, it was evident that the students had been reprimanded for misbehaving, and the school counselor called in the mother for a conference. The following ethnographic texts described the episode in the film that resulted in the student being reprimanded.

Student: All of us were just messing around. We locked her up in the closet and threw her a book...

Counselor: I must admit that the teacher was not doing the best that she ought to be. What is your contribution?

Student: She is just messing around similar with everybody else.

Mom: Well, can you tell me the meaning of what "messing around"? This is what I have been trying to figure out...Almost every time you keep saying messing around, what does messing around actually mean?

Student: I admit, we were, talking, laughing.

Mom: Just plain talking, well, and laughing isn't offensive.

Student: Uhm, well, we threw a book around or something...

Mom: You threw a book around. OK, ...

Student: Mom (pause), not just me

Mom: Whoever was involved?

Student: Yah, I know I did, I must admit I talked back a lot.

Mom: Did you actually talk back to your teacher?

Student: Yea. (pause)

Mom: And this is what you are referring messing around? Isn't that more disrespectful?

Student: What I did, I know I was more disrespect. What the rest, What I, and what else everybody did was also just messing around,

Mom (later): You know, to be disrespectful is one of the worst things to do in the manner of speech or in the way of talking.

The study uses three theoretical frameworks applicable to the data collected from the film "High School." "

Theory I

Name Theory: Rules Theory

Online Source: https://www.jstor.org/stable/40237289?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

Brief Explanation of the Theory:

The rules theory describes the behaviors that are preferred, prohibited, or obligated in a given text. Typically, rules facilitate an effective process of communication as well as making symbolic interaction meaningful. However, rule varies across cultures, communities, languages, time and contexts. Although, there are varieties of rule theories in the communication field, however, these theories share the same rules in meaning, pronunciations, grammar and use. According to the rule theory, customs, conventions, taboos, prohibition, principles, guidelines, and norms are a common concept. (Shimanoff, 1980). For example, it is a general norm that a student does not come late to the class. Moreover, it is a general norm that students should respect their teachers and avoid talking disrespectfully to teachers.

Application of Data to the Theory

Different scenes in the High School film have been related to the rule theories. In the school, it is evident that there are rules that all students should follow and failure to respect the rules will lead student's punishment. From the data extracted from the film, the student has broken the school rules by using foul language on her teacher. Thus, the school counselor called her mother for a conference. The following data in the film has shown that the student...

We locked her up in the closet and threw her a book...
Mom: Well, can you tell me the meaning of what "messing around"? This is what I have been trying to figure out...Almost every time you keeping saying messing around, what does messing around actually consist of?

Student: Uhm, well, we threw a book around or something...

Mom: You threw a book around. OK, ...

The data shows that the student has broken the school rules by throwing the book at the teacher. Moreover, the student does not respect the school rules. She also uses the foul languages "messing around" at her teacher as being revealed in the data below:

Student: Yah, I know I did, I must admit I talked back a lot.

Mom: Did you actually talk back to your teacher?

Student: Yea. (pause)

Mom: And this is what you are referring messing around? Isn't that more disrespectful?

Student: What I did, I know I was more disrespect. What the rest, What I, and what else everybody did was also just messing around.

Theoretical Relationship between Culture and Language

In the analysis, the rule theory reveals that language and culture influence the tone of human communication. Typically, the environment and cultural background of an individual influence his or her tone of communication. As being revealed in the data extracted from the film, the student is using informal language in the school, and her tone of language has shown that the school has not inculcated the application of formal language in students.

Theory II

Name Theory: Social Identity Theory

Online Source: http://sk.sagepub.com/books/leadership-and-power/n16.xml

Brief Explanation of the Theory:

The social identity theory argues that people are motivated in order to achieve and maintain a positive social identity with a particular group. Essentially, the group is engage struggling for status, prestige, and power. Thus, an individual tries to adopt the norm of a group to be accepted by the member of the group. (Knippenberg, & Hogg, 2004). A person who does nor behave according to the norms of the group may not be accepted by the member of the group. An important aspect of social identity theory is that an individual should use the same dialect, and tone in the communication to belong to a member of the group. (Reid & Ng, 2003).

Application of Data to Social Identity Theory

Some aspect of data extracted from the film "High School" has revealed the linkages with the social identity theory with the tone of communication of the students. It is evident that the student adopted the tone of communication, which has been accepted as a general mode of communication among the group of students. For example, the student has used foul languages and behaviors in the data showing that the language is the accepted social identity communication among the students: The phrase "messing around" or other phrases are accepted social identity communications used in the data:

Student: All of us were just messing around. We locked her up in the closet and threw her a book...

Student: She is just messing around similar with everybody else.

Mom: Well, can you tell me the meaning of what "messing around"? This is what I have been trying to figure out...Almost every time you keeping saying messing around, what does messing around actually consist of?

Student: Uhm, well, we threw a book around or something...

Mom: You threw a book around. OK,...

Mom: Did you actually talk back to your teacher?

Student: Yea. (pause)

Mom: And this is what you are referring messing around? Isn't that more disrespectful?

Theoretical Relationship between Culture and Language

The social identity theory shows that a culture is a powerful tool that influences the behavior and method of communication. The theory shows that a group can develop a cultural norm that can influence the way of communication of all the member of the group. The data in the film shows that the student follows the cultural norm of the social group in the school.

Theory III

Name Theory: Speech Codes Theory

Online Source: https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/theorizing-about-intercultural-communication/book225618

Brief Explanation of the Theory:

The SCT (speech code theory) expands ethnography of communication offering an analytical framework to understand the effect of culture in communication. The theory builds an idea of cultural communication to understand how a particular member of society performs and communicate based on the cultural context. The theory argues that the tone of individual's communication depends on their cultural background, which is transferred from generation to generation. The SCT points out that cultures have a set code that individual must respect, and penalties are imposed when these rules are broken. For example, there is a laid down regulation to follow in a speech code and communication forces within a society.

Application of Data to Speech Codes Theory

In the data, it is revealed that the student has broken the school speech code making the school counselor…

Sources used in this document:
Reference

Gudykunst, W. B. (2005), Theorizing about intercultural communication (pp. 55-68). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Knippenberg, D. V. & Hogg M. A. (2004), Leadership and power: Identity processes in groups and organizations (pp. 210-223). London: Sage

Shimanoff, S. B. (1980). Communication rules: Theory and research. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Nursing Home Community Ethnography
Words: 1594 Length: 5 Document Type: Essay

The Nursing Home Community: A Critical Ethnography A nursing home is a community of care ideally designed to provide seniors with a safe and supportive environment in which to receive around-the-clock evidence-based healthcare and ancillary services. Nursing homes are also complex environments, with the residents comprising one distinct social cohort and staff another, with evident hierarchies and roles within the organization. An ethnographic approach to the nursing home community lends insight

Influences of Professional Learning Communities on an Administrators...
Words: 7742 Length: 30 Document Type: Term Paper

Women in Film Noir Teaching is in many ways a solitary profession: A teacher in his or her own classroom spends hours in contact with students but often relatively little time talking to other teachers and educators. Administrators are also in many ways isolated from the teachers. Perhaps because of this fact, the administrators interviewed for this project emphasized the personal importance of collaboration with other members of the professional and

Spotlighting Samplings 4 Qualitative Research Choices 6
Words: 16532 Length: 60 Document Type: Research Paper

Spotlighting Samplings 4 Qualitative Research Research Choices 6 the Phenomenology Method The Ethnography Method DEPTH Four Qualitative Approach Comparison Strengths and Critiques of Case Studies "A research design indicates the full research process from conceptualization of the research problem, generation of data, analysis and interpretation of findings, and dissemination of results" (Magilvy & Thomas, 2009, What and Why… Section, ¶ 4). The Question of Interest What type of research design should the researcher use? To answer the study's critical research

Does the Fisher, Ury Model Work
Words: 29882 Length: 120 Document Type: Dissertation

Negotiation Skills A High Impact Negotiations Model: An Answer to the Limitations of the Fisher, Ury Model of Principled Negotiations This study aims to discover the ways in which blocked negotiations can be overcome by testing the Fisher, Ury model of principled negotiation against one of the researcher's own devising, crafted after studying thousands of negotiation trainees from over 100 multinational corporations on 5 continents. It attempts to discern universal applications of

Children, Grief, and Attachment Theory
Words: 22384 Length: 75 Document Type: Term Paper

Figure 1 portrays three of the scenes 20/20 presented March 15, 2010. Figure 1: Heather, Rachel, and Unnamed Girl in 20/20 Program (adapted from Stossel, 2010). Statement of the Problem For any individual, the death of a family member, friend, parent or sibling may often be overwhelming. For adolescents, the death of person close to them may prove much more traumatic as it can disrupt adolescent development. Diana Mahoney (2008), with the

Clinical Psychology
Words: 60005 Length: 200 Document Type: Dissertation

Clinical Psychology Dissertation - Dream Content as a Therapeutic Approach: Ego Gratification vs. Repressed Feelings An Abstract of a Dissertation Dream Content as a Therapeutic Approach: Ego Gratification vs. Repressed Feelings This study sets out to determine how dreams can be used in a therapeutic environment to discuss feelings from a dream, and how the therapist should engage the patient to discuss them to reveal the relevance of those feelings, in their present,

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now