Interpersonal Communication in A Star Is Born Film Essay

Introduction

The discussion in this paper will revolve around the movie, A Star is Born. The film focuses exclusively on the relationship between Jackson Maine, a country rock musician, and Ally who doubles as a singer and songwriter. The two end up falling in love at a time when Ally was about to give up on her dream of becoming a star. However, her meeting Jackson was a one-time opportunity – he coaxes her into the spotlight (Oldfield et al., 2021). As Ally’s career finally takes off, the audience realizes that Jackson too is battling his own problems. In the end, Jackson commits suicide because he thinks he is the one holding Ally back. He believes that the only way to propel Ally to greater heights is by taking his own life.

While there are several interpersonal concepts embedded in the film, the discussion in this essay will focus only on five concepts. They include self-disclosure, mindful listening, interpersonal conflict, and identity management. More specifically, the paper will identify key moments in the movie that helps explain these concepts and conclude with a description of the success or detrimental of the concepts in the goals of the character.

Interpersonal Concepts of Communication

Self-Disclosure

Self-disclosure is where an individual reveals personal information to another person. DeVito (2022) defined it as “the process of passing on information about yourself to someone else whether intentionally or not” (p. 23). Self-disclosure has been brought out well throughout the movie. As the movie progresses, the audience can easily tell that Jackson is hesitant to reveal his career failures to Ally. A closer look at his body language whenever he interacts with Ally, it is clear that he is uncomfortable and uncertain. As a matter of fact, Jackson’s struggles emerge through his interactions with friends when he is sober. For instance, he openly avoids eye contact while, at the same, keep his head down during serious discussions (Oldfield et al., 2021). Any attempts from both Ally and Bobby of convincing him to open up did not succeed. He ends up believing other people’s opinion that he is holding Ally back. One of the risks of self-disclosure is that others may not accept such revelations or may reject them all together.

Identity management

Another interpersonal communication concept for consideration is identity management. DeVito (2022) described it as “the ability of an individual to negotiate and develop their personal identity and the self” (p. 34). For instance, when the audience first comes across Jackson, they immediately realize that he has already established his personal identity in the music industry – a country rock musician. Despite this, Jackson appears less comfortable in his own identity as evidenced through his alcohol addiction, which seems to overshadow his professional life. This explains why he chose to help Ally – he believes that his decision of helping others will eventually rescue him from his struggles (Cipriani, 2018). According to Cipriani (2018), Jackson saw Ally as a project – one that required full attention. However, he later realizes that Ally has a strong personality and that she is capable of driving her own destiny. Being an extrovert, Ally focuses all her attention and energy towards shaping her own identity through interactions with friends. She eventually taps into her own strengths, which propels her into an overnight star that Jackson even never expected (Cipriani, 2018). The only problem with Ally revolves round her lack of confidence.

Personal Conflict

Personal conflict can simply be described as the failure for two people to agree or get along. This interpersonal communication concept can also be defined as the inability of individuals or characters in the film to take control of their personal identities. Conflict, in the movie, stems from the belief that the two characters are incompatible with regard to their personal and professional lives. On one hand, Jackson appears unable to eschew drug and alcohol addiction, which affects his own identity. His first course of action was to introduce Ally to the public – he occasionally called her on stage to perform in front of a large audience. It turns out that she is a gifted singer and, in the end, gets signed to a recording label. He later realizes how wrong he was thinking that Ally could not make it. This is beginning point of their conflict which eventually ends their relation. It is at this point that the audience is able to understand how Jackson perceives himself and those around him.

Perception

Perception is also one of the main concepts of interpersonal communication explicated in the film. DeVito (2022) defined this concept as “the process of selecting, organizing and interpreting information” (p. 55). This process affects communication because people respond to stimuli differently. As evidenced in the film, Jackson perceived Ally as his muse or personal project (Cipriani, 2018). However, the personality that Ally finally manifests is not what his fiancée expected. He even claims that Ally’s new look does not define who she really is. On the other hand, Ally was genuinely in love with Jackson – she never, at any given time, asked him to help her with her music career. In fact, at no given time did she use his fame to propel herself to the top. More specifically, Ally perceived him as his fiancé and the love of her life. Although Jackson also loved her, he never forgave himself after it emerged clearly that his initial intention was to use her for his selfish gains. It can easily be concluded that Jackson’s decision to commit suicide was he perceived himself as incapable of resolving his problems.

Mindful Listening

Mindful listening as a concept of interpersonal communication emphasizes more on the need for parties to be actively present in communication. DeVito (2022) noted that mindful listening invites the speaker to share their feelings and thoughts without being interrupted. However, this concept, unlike the other three, was not fully exploited by any of the characters in the film. For example, Jackson is not able to engage in meaningful conversations with his friends when he is sober. The situation is even worse when he is drunk – he is less present and ends up apologizing in most of his conversations with friends. On the other hand, Ally’s failure to make her own choices stems from the fact that Jackson is a poor listener. He never, at any given time, asked his girlfriend what she really wanted. For instance, Jackson urges her to get a drink with him despite her informing him that she does not drink. In addition to this, Jackson compels her to sing in front of the crowd even after she informs him she was not ready. In fact all the men in her life including her forced failed to listen to her and, instead forced her to go to shows at the expense of her work.

Conclusion

It is clear that these concepts did not help Jackson achieve his objectives or reach his goals. Firstly, self-disclosure, as a concept, Jackson’s to express how he really felt. It can be argued that Jackson was aware of the risk of self-disclosure – that others may not accept or reject his revelations. As a matter of fact, Jackson appears more hesitant, especially when conversing with Ally. Secondly, Identity management helped the characters achieve their goals. For instance, when the audience first comes across Jackson, they immediately realize that he has already established his personal identity in the music industry – a country rock musician. However, he is unable to manage his identity as evidenced through alcohol addiction. Ally successfully uses this concept to propel herself into an overnight pop star that Jackson even never expected. Thirdly, personal conflict is detrimental to the characters’ ability to forge strong bonds. This concept, in the movie, stems from the belief that the two characters are incompatible with regard to their personal and professional lives. Lastly, perception also hinders the ability of the characters to understand each other.

Overall, the film, through its main characters, Jackson and Ally, advances several interpersonal communication concepts such as self-disclosure, identity management, personal conflict, perception and mindful listening. As discussed above, the communication styles exhibited through the five concepts, contributed largely to eventual tragedy that befell Jackson. Although Jackson desires to build a life with Ally, he is not able to put his feelings into words. In essence, Jackson and Ally’s failure to guard against personal conflict and perception is what led to their failed relationship.

References

Cipriani, C. (2018). Lady Gaga’s ‘A Star Is Born’ Character never asks for help, making this the most progressive version of the story yet [Video]. Bustle. Web.

DeVito, J. A. (2022). The Interpersonal Communication Book, Global Edition. Pearson.

Oldfield, B. J., Tetrault, J. M., & Berland, G. (2021). Addiction Screening—The A Star Is Born Movie Series and Destigmatization of Substance Use Disorders. The Journal of the American Medical Association, 325(10), 915. Web.