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Final Film Analysis Works Cited Adler, Ronald B. (Ronald Brian), 1946-. Interplay: The Process of Interpersonal Communication. New York: Oxford University Press, 2013.

1. Briefly describe the film including the main plot and two main characters that you will be using. Additionally, please identify the type of interpersonal relationship they have (e.g., romantic, friends, family, etc.). The film I am choosing is The Princess Diaries. This movie is about a 15-year-old (Mia Thermopolis), who lives with her mother (Helen Thermopolis) in San Fransisco. Helen is a single mother and notifies Mia that her estranged grandmother (Queen Clarise Renaldi) is in town and would like to see her. Up until this point Mia lived a normal life. She was incredibly socially awkward, she felt invisible most of the time, and was simply trying to manage getting through high school. When Mia met up with her grandmother Clarise, Clarise dropped a bombshell; she informed Mia that her late father (Prince Philippe Renaldi) was the prince of Genovia, that she was the queen of Genovia, which in turn made Mia the princess of Genovia. Mia did not take the news well and ended up running away. Later at home she confronts her mother Helen and asks why she had kept that a secret from her all this time. Helen explains that she and Philippe decided that they had her best interest at heart by allowing her to have a “normal” life, and once she was 18, they would tell her. However, with Philippe’s passing it complicated things. With all this new information, Mia must decide whether she wants to take on the task as “Amelia Mignonette Grimaldi Thermopolis Renaldi Princess of Genovia”. Clarise promises Mia that she will teach her everything there is to know about being a princess, and will have “princess lessons”, and then she can make the decision and announce it at the “Genovia’s Annual Independence Day Ball” which is in a few weeks. What Mia doesn’t know (until the end), is that if she refuses to accept the throne, then Genovia will cease to exist as they know it. Over the next few weeks, between princess lessons and trying to keep her new information a secret from everyone on the outside. Mia is faced with several obstacles. She continuously goes back and forth with the decision if she can be a princess, or if she doesn’t have what it takes. She finally decides that she will walk in the royalty footsteps of those before her and officially announces at the Independence Day Ball that she is “Amelia Mignonette Grimaldi Thermopolis Renaldi Princess of Genovia”.

The interpersonal relationship between Mia & Clarise is a family relationship, grand-daughter and grandmother.

2. Apply the needs described in the “Why we Communicate” section of the textbook (pgs 4-8) to the dyad you have selected from the film. Include the following in your response: Describe the needs in your own words. Describe all four needs (pg. 4-8 in Interplay text) and how they apply to both characters. The needs described in the “Why We Communicate” section of Interplay pgs. 4-8 are physical, identity, social, and practical. All four of these needs plays an important role in why we communicate. In my opinion, the physical need is essential for our well beings, its needed in all relationships. As described in Interplay pg. 6 it explains the physical need as “communication is indispensable for health. Not everyone needs the same amount of contact, and the quality of communication is almost certainly as important as the quantity. Nonetheless, the point re- mains: Personal communication is essential for our well-being.”. The identity need in my opinion, is how we perceive ourselves from other people's responses and opinions. As described in Interplay pg. 6 it explains the identity need as “Communication does more than enable us to survive. It is the primary way we learn who we are (Harwood, 2005). As you’ll read in Chapter 3, our sense of identity comes from the ways we interact with other people. Are we smart or stupid, attractive or ugly, skillful or inept? The answers to these questions don’t come from looking in the mirror. The reactions of others shape who we are.”. The social need in my opinion, is where we figure out what kind of person we are and develop our self-worth. As describe in Interplay pg. 7 it explains the social need as, “Some social scientists have argued that besides helping define who we are, communication is the principal way relationships are created. It’s impossible to imagine how they could exist without communication. These relationships satisfy a variety of social needs, such as giving and receiving affection, having fun, helping others and being helped, and developing a sense of self-worth.” Lastly in my opinion the practical need is how we express what we need, or in need of. As described in Interplay pg. 8 explains the practical need as, “Along with satisfying physical, identity, and social needs, communication is essential in dealing with more practical matters. It’s the tool that lets us tell the hairstylist to take just a little off the sides, direct the

doctor to where it hurts, and inform the plumber that the broken pipe needs attention now!” All the four needs are found in The Princess Diaries. The physical need in this movie is that Clarise needs Mia to accept the throne, as she is next in line, and to keep the heir in the family. You can find this need at 18:28 in the movie. This is where Clarise explain to Helen that she needs Mia to accept the throne. Another example is that, Mia needs and desperately wants to know who her father is and what kind of person he was. You can find this need at 01:34:13 in this movie. This is where Mia finds a letter her father (Philippe) wrote to her. The identity need in this movie is that Clarise has not been to the US in a long time, Clarise and Mia decide to take a break from princess training, and Mia shows Clarise around San Fransisco. Clarise try's a corn dog for the first time and loves it, Mia takes Clarise to an arcade, and Clarise plays the arm-wrestling machine (obviously for the first time). A few moments later they are driving back home, and Mia’s car is struggling to get up the hill. She eventually loses and control and the car starts rolling backwards, ultimately ending in crashing into a trolley car. 911 is called and when the police officers arrive Clarise is notified that she hasn’t had a valid driver's license in over 45 years, and that Mia should not have been driving since she doesn’t have a valid driver's license either. Clarise asks the officers if there is anything to stop her from getting in trouble, the officer responds and tell her for you yes, but we must take her (Mia) downtown. Clarise continues by saying I understand you “noble” men must do your job, and that she wishes she could honor them into the Genovian guard. The authorities are star gazed by the queens offer that they accept and eventually let them both go with a warning since nobody got hurt. You can find this need at 01:00:00 in this movie. This is where Clarise uses her identity to get out of trouble. Another example is that Mia finds her self-confidence. Throughout the princess training you watch Mia transform from this shy awkward teenager into a confident beautiful young princess. This is found throughout the movie, but one main example is found at 01:28:30 in the movie. This is where Mia stands up to Lana and smears ice-cream all over her cheerleading uniform. The social need in this movie is when Mia is walking into school, after everyone has found out that she is a princess. Mia sees a little girl in a wheelchair in a crowd of people, she decides to walk over and talk to this little girl. She asks her, her name and she responds with Lily. Mia then states that, that’s her best friends name. Mia signs a pocketbook as Princess Mia for the young girl. This is the first time that Joe communicates that Mia is ready to be a princess and that he thinks she can do it. You can find this need at

01:07:00 in the movie. Another example is after Mia announces that she will be princess of Genovia, Clarise assists Mia in getting cleaned up, and gives Mia her first crown. She explains to Mia that this crown was her first crown as well. Mia then asks Clarise how she knew that Mia would accept the throne. Clarise explains that Mia reminds her a lot of a “young me”. You can find this need at 01:44:26 in the movie. The practical need in this movie is when Mia makes her speech at the end where she announces that she will be accepting her position as “Amelia Mignonette Grimaldi Thermopolis Renaldi Princess of Genovia”. You can find this need at 01:31:35 in the movie. This is where Mia demands that she will be accepting the throne. Another example is when Clarise brings in Palo to do Mias makeover. Clarise states to Charlotte (her assistant) to “watch him like a hawk”. You can find this need at 37:50 in the movie. This is where Clarise has instructed Palo to turn her granddaughter into a princess.

3. Apply the Relational Dialectics theory (found in lecture video and textbook) to the dyad you have selected from the film. In your response: Describe the theory in your own words. Provide appropriate examples of dialectical tensions between the dyad by addressing at least one tension (although more may apply). The relational dialectics theory is in my opinion, is when conflicts arise between two people, this comes into play when challenges arise. It’s a form of narrowing common challenges within relationships. Most common in newer relationships, when you are getting to know someone, but can also happen later in the relationship when unknown challenges occur, or if someone is lacking or giving to much of one thing, such as attention. In Interplay pg. 273 relational dialectics is explained as “Some maintain that it’s possible for a relationship to have attributes of both “coming together” and “coming apart” at the same time. Maintaining relationships, then, is about managing these competing goals. Scholars call these struggles dialectical tensions: conflicts that arise when two opposing or incompatible desires exist simultaneously in a relationship.”. One dialectical tension between Clarise & Mia would be the conventionally-uniqueness dialectic. This tension is described in Interplay pg. 276 as “captures the challenges that people in a relationship face when trying to meet others’ expectations while being true to themselves.”. Mia is extremely upset after she finds out that she's a princess. She's upset with her mother Helen for keeping it a secret and upset with Clarise for not making any contact with her, her whole life. When Clarise goes to Mia’s house the next day to talk to her about the situation further. Mia states that

she isn't family with either one of them because her mother lied to her for 15 years & her grandmother ignored her for 15 years. You can find this tension at 20:19 in the movie.

#3. Discuss the self-disclosure behavior of one of the members of the dyad you have selected from the film. In your discussion reference each of the factors of self-disclosure (pgs. 85-86) discussed in the textbook and provide relevant examples from the character’s self-disclosure that illustrate the factors. Keep in mind that it is possible that the character may not follow the factors and if so, please explain why you believe this is not the case. Self-disclosure behavior is described in Interplay pg. 85 as “Although this definition is a start, it ignores the fact that some messages intentionally directed toward others are not especially revealing. For example, telling an acquaintance “I don’t like clams” is quite different from announcing “I don’t like you.” Let’s take a look at several factors that further distinguish selfdisclosure from other types of communication.” Self-disclosure includes four main components: honesty, depth, availability of information, and context of sharing. The character I will be choosing is Mia. Mia goes through all four stages of self-disclosure. For example, honesty is shown when Mia tells Lily to just stop it, after Lily had been nagging and going on and on about Mia’s new look. This can be found at 42:41. Mia is being brutally honest and is not concerned by how Lily would feel about saying that to her. Honesty is explained in Interplay pg. 85 “As long as you are honest and ac- curate to the best of your knowledge, communication can qualify as an act of selfdisclosure.”. The next step is depth, this can be seen in the scene where Mia explains to her mother about how she wants her first kiss. She goes into detail about her foot popping and how in older movies, when a girl gets kissed, her foot pops. Her mother thought Mia was joking and then started hysterically laughing. This scene is at 01:10:00 in the movie. Depth is explained in Interplay pg. 85 as “A self-disclosing statement is generally regarded as being personal— containing relatively “deep” rather than “surface” information. Of course, what is personal and intimate for one person may not be for another. You might feel comfortable admitting your spotty academic record, short temper, or fear of spiders to anyone who asks, whereas others would be embarrassed to do so.”. The next one is availability of information, an example of this could be when Palo leaked to the newspaper that Mia is the new princess of Genovia, and everyone found out her secret. This can be found at 48:00. Availability of information is explained in Interplay pg. 85 as “Self-disclosing messages must contain information that the other person is not likely to know at the time or be able to obtain

from another source.”. Lastly is context of sharing an example of this is Mias speech at the end, where she announces that she will accept the throne. Mia goes into detail about how she didn’t think she could be a princess, but her grandmother and her father reminded her that courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is greater than fear. The brave may not live forever, but the cautious do not live at all. She also uses examples on how she used to be a poor public speaker, even would vomit. She assured everyone that that wouldn't happen tonight. This can be seen at 01:41:36 in the movie.

#4. Rogers and Steinfatt (1999) address intercultural communication from the standpoint of individuals who are “unalike culturally”. Identify two cultures from the movie and discuss how they are unalike culturally (these cultural differences could be represented by two different people or by two groups of people). Intercultural communication is explained in Interplay pg. 40 as “as the process that occurs when members of two or more cultures or co- cultures exchange messages in a manner that is influenced by their different cultural perceptions and symbol systems, both verbal and nonverbal.”. The two different cultures in this movie is that Clarise comes from Genovia and is royalty, Clarise is extremely elegant and very proper. Mia is a 15-year-old who lives with her single mother in San Fransisco, Mia is very quiet, subdue, and has an adolescent way of speaking. There are multiple examples of the different cultures throughout the movie one example is when Clarise is teaching Mia how to properly sit and eat at a table. Mia responds is this customary in Genovia to imprison your dinner guests. This can be found at 33:23 in the movie. Another example is when Clarise is teaching Mia how to properly wave, and say thank you for coming today, you can find this at 46:14 in the movie.

#6. In your own words, briefly describe the conflict styles from Chapter 11. Using the dyad, you have selected from the film, describe their communication styles in conflict. Be sure to include specific examples that support your choice. It’s possible that their style may change over the course of the film. In my opinion conflict is when a challenge arises in the relationship, and you must figure out how to resolve it. Some conflicts are win-win, some are lose-lose, and some are compromises. In Interplay through pgs. 327-333 it explains the different forms of conflict which include avoidance,

accommodation, competition, compromise, and collaboration. In Interplay pg. 327 explains conflict styles as “Most people have default styles of handling conflict—characteristic approaches they take when their needs appear incompatible with what others want. Although our habit- ual styles work in some situations, they may not work at all in others. What styles do you typically use to deal with conflict? Find out by considering this hypothetical situation.” The conflict style I am choosing between Clarise & Mia is the compromise style. In Interplay pg. 331 explains compromise as “gives both people at least some of what they want, although both sacrifice part of their goals. People usually settle for a compromise when it seems that partial satisfaction is the best they can hope for.”. Clarise & Mias entire relationship is a compromise. Clarise compromises by allowing Mia a few weeks to decide if she wants to accept the throne as princess of Genovia. Mia compromises her entire life as she knows it. Her whole life has changed and will because after she accepts the throne, she will be moving to Genovia. There are multiple examples of these conflicts, one example can be found at 21:00 where Helen states that Mia will attend princess lessons and will make her decision at the Independence Ball. Another example can be found at 48:10 when Mias secret of being a princess is released to the media. Another example is at the end when Mia is flying to Genovia this can be found at 01:49:52, Joe leans over and tells Mia to look out the window and welcome to Genovia....