STD 120
7/13/2010
Non-Verbal Paper - Cast Away
What we communicate linguistically only makes up 7% of what we are actually saying; non-verbal communication makes up the other 93%. The message is expressed primarily through non-verbal communication, (NVC). In communication with people close to us, our NVC can hold more emphasis than the verbal. NVC is communicated through ten primary channels and are often unconscious, multi-channeled, and continuous. The ten primary channels consist of: facial displays, eye behaviors, movements and gestures, touch, vocal, smell, space, physical appearance, time, and artifacts. Cast Away is a movie about a man, Chuck Noland, who is obsessed with time. His whole demeanor throughout the beginning sections of the movie advocate that his life is ruled by the clock. As he gives a speech to employees in a foreign country his non-verbal communication reveals his message, the interpreter translates the verbal, but each channel of non-verbal forcefully conveys it. He is a collected, powerful man who is passionate about his work and the ideals that exist within that. When Chuck is washed up onto an island, his concept of living, along with his watch, are flooded. He isn’t communicating directly with anyone, but his NVC is displaying his emotions to those watching the movie. He doesn’t have to say, “I am scared.” his facial displays, eye behavior, and gestures convey the message properly. Sequentially through the movie his NVC is almost the only means of communication. One of the ten channels of NVC is facial displays; the face communicates more information than any other channel. When his plane crashes and his seclusion begins, his life boat washes ashore. His face is contorted, mouth open, and his forehead scrunched. He is in disbelief, or shock at what is happening. Within minutes his forehead becomes more distressed and his eye behavior becomes erratic; he begins to soothe himself by “self touching.”