Abstract
The research, that has been carried out is aimed at studying such aspects of human relationships as communication apprehension and inability to present oneself effectively. Our task is to describe how these problems are reflected in the film “Bridget Joness Diary” and show the present-day scientific view on these issues.
Bridget Jones’s Diary
The problems, which arise in connection with interpersonal communication and self-expression, have always been a subject of thorough psychological analysis. It stands to reason, that many of them are reflected in cinematography and literature. For instance, we may take such a film as “Bridget Joness Diary” and analyze it within the context of psychological problems, especially interpersonal communication. Overall, it is worth mentioning that this film takes a very interesting approach to such issues as relationships between people and the way these people try to surmount the obstacles, they face.
We can single out such aspects as 1) influence of mass media on our behavior; 2) communication apprehension; 3) problem of self-expression and presenting oneself effectively. Our main task is to show how this aspect of human psychology and communication, is reflected in the film. Moreover, it is necessary to present a scientific view on these concepts, analyzing research works, dedicated to this topic.
As it has already been mentioned, one of the main communication concepts, reflected in “Bridget Joness Diary” is the impact of mass media (especially television) on our behavior. It is hardly possible to enumerate even the smallest part of works, dedicated to this issue. One of the landmark researches, exploring this topic is “Mass Media Influence on Self-esteem’, by Richard Felson.
This research work is aimed at studying how the ways mass media shape our consciousness, especially self-esteem. The author argues, that the overwhelming majority of modern women, often base their judgment on the information that television or any other form of mass media gives to them, especially if we are speaking about self-esteem. That can be applied not only to women but also to the stronger sex. The author combines various research techniques, qualitative and quantitative methods. The researcher hypothesizes that almost every aspect of our behavior is predetermined by what see on television or listen by radio. In addition to that, Richard Felson states that we are often inclined to follow the examples that mass media give to us. At times, people, unable to follow these standards, fall into depression, and it is difficult for them to get out of it.
As we have already mentioned this research involves various research techniques. Regarding qualitative methods, we should mention the structured interview with grading scale (or Likert scale as it is also known), for example, “Strongly Agree”, “Agree”, “Neither Agree nor Disagree”, “Disagree”, “Strongly Disagree”. This method was employed to describe the attitude of people towards media. According to this research, 85 % percent of respondents agree with the fact that their perception of physical and moral beauty is strongly influenced by television.
Additionally, 45 percent of respondents state that they are dissatisfied with themselves just because they do not meet the standards, which mass media sets. This dissatisfaction often results in the feeling of discontent or even depression.
The author concludes that we should not be too preoccupied with the messages that television tries to convey to us, because this desire for perfection can have rather detrimental effects on our self-esteem. Moreover, Richard Felson substantiates this statement by the following examples; his research has ascertained that people, who do not pay extra attention to mass media, because they do not have time for it, do not suffer from an inferiority complex, especially in comparison with those respondents who normally base their decisions and opinions on television.
This concept was eloquently described in the film “Bridget Jones Diary”. The main character constantly feels that she is far from being perfect. She is obsessed with appearance and weight. She worships thin models, trying to meet these standards. When she fails, it seems to her that she is going to die “fat and lonely”. We may observe a very curious phenomenon, Bridget forgets that she may be a rather attractive person. She is very shy, and therefore unable to fully express herself. Thus, we can conclude that the presence of mass media is very noticeable in this film.
Another very important aspect of human relationships, described in this film is such phenomenon as communication apprehension, in other words, inability to express oneself. It is quite possible to say that these two aspects are closely connected. Regarding this fear of tĂŞte-a tĂŞte communication, we can mention such an article as “Skills versus apprehension: empirical evidence on oral communication” by David Fordham. Even though this research work is primarily aimed at improving communication skills, it also contains some material as to the reasons for this apprehension.
The author hypothesizes that in the overwhelming majority of cases, this phenomenon is connected not with the inability to express one’s thoughts clearly and concisely, but rather with the psychological peculiarities of human nature. In addition to that, David Fordham argues that it should not be viewed as some disorder. The point is that some people can be introverts, which means that their interests are directed towards one’s thoughts and feelings, rather than towards the external world. The author combines two research methods; structured interview and field experiment. He states that people, prone to introversion are not very good at making social contacts, moreover, they usually keep other people at the distance. According to this research, communication apprehension can be conquered only with help of other people, especially when the situation requires their interaction; it is also desirable that their interests and worldview coincide.
A bright example of such an extrovert is Mark Darcy. He is very reticent, and at first glance, it may seem that he is even somewhat egoistic. It takes him a very long time to tell Bridget that he loves her. Bridget believes that he is arrogant and rude; she practically insults him in her diary. However, despite these insuperable odds these people manage to “find each other”.
The last issue that we are going to discuss is the problem of presenting oneself effectively. Very often, our success or failure depends only on the impression that we produce on other people. The thing is that many people are not able to do it. There are several reasons for it, for instance, fear of looking foolish, which makes us look foolish. As for this issue, we can mention such research work as “Self-regulation and Self-presentation’” by Kathleen Vohs Although this research provides practical tips to people, who cannot present themselves effectively, it also analyzes the reasons for such inability. The authors use qualitative and quantitative research techniques, like instance observation, induction, and structured interview. Using these methods, researchers attempt to ascertain the main reasons why some people are not able to produce an adequate impression on others. The author hypothesizes that we should be positively oriented, in order to produce a good and lasting impression on other people
The authors use a structured interview with a grading scale to explore respondent’s attitudes to their problem. According to the results obtained by this method, it is mostly connected with their fear of mistakes (58 % of respondents). Another important factor is introversion (28 %). We should also mention that some people could not present themselves properly because they suffer from an inferiority complex.
“Bridget Joness Diary” gives a very realistic description of this phenomenon. For example, the main character Bridget often sounds and looks awkward because she thinks that she is unattractive. Moreover, it seems to Bridget that other people view her as foolish. This inferiority complex is the underlying cause of all her troubles. As regards, Mark Darcy, we can also say that he is unable to present himself effectively, because, he is too reticent. Therefore, he is often perceived as haughty, and rood. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the film mostly focuses on this issue.
Thus, having analyzed the film “Bridget Joness Diary” especially some aspects of human relationships; we can arrive at the following conclusions; first, our desire to meet certain standards that mass media impose on us, can result in an inferiority complex, which subsequently hinders the process of interpersonal communication.
Bibliography
- David Fordham. (2001) Skills versus apprehension: empirical evidence on oral communication. Communication Studies, (5). 1, pp 64-78..
- Kathleen Vohs.(2004) “Self-regulation and Self-presentation’”. Communication Research, (3).1 , pp. 13-31.
- Richard Felson. (2003) “Mass Media Influence on Self-esteem”. Journal of Mass Communication, (5), 2, pp. 42-66