Relational Communication In Plans Trains And Car

Relational Dynamics Planes, Trains, and Automobile is a film that tells a tale of a family oriented man Neal trying to make it home to his beloved wife and kids before thanksgiving, although he faces transportation obstacles that delays his goal and oddly enough encounters another man by the name of Del. Throughout most of the film the relationship between the two main characters is exceedingly strained due to their difference of mental attitudes, which leads to their clashes of destructive communication. Their relationship changes over time for the better, when Neal and Del both recognize the similarities in values that they both share, and as their bond strengthens so does the communication between one another and that is where relational
Their first argument was the most destructive type of communications from the whole film, and as time passed and they spent more time together, their understanding of each other became more clear which is how their communication slowly changed from destructive to constructive. As chapter 9 in the book recalls it, the relational stages of Mark Knapp, during the first dispute Neal and Del were in the initiation stage and Neal blew up and said hurtful things to Del with the intention of hurting him, and though Del continued the pattern of getting on Neal’s nerves, Neal’s reaction differed in each stage. During the stage where two people develop shared identities also know as the Integration stage, it is stood out when Neal and Del are at a motel room after their rental car was burned and they both realize they share the same family values and it is initiated when they make a toast “To the
Chapter 10 (page 313) speaks about dimensions of intimacy, which are perfect examples on how Neal and Del came to having a solidified bond. The first dimension of intimacy is physical, and the two are first seen experiencing physical contact on the morning after they met and got a motel room, they awake cuddling each other unknowingly. The second dimension of intimacy is intellectual sharing, and the two are seen exchanging ideas during the scene in the motel room after their rental car was burned down, they spoke about family values which had made Neal acquire a tenderness for Del. The third dimension of intimacy is emotional, also known as exchanging important feelings. When Neal was on the train home and had finally realized the subtle messages that Del conveyed through their conversations, he went back to find Del had settled in the train station. Del had confessed that he was homeless and his wife had died 8 years ago, which created the feeling of closeness between the two. The fourth and final dimension of intimacy is shared activities, which is seen when Neal had invited Del to have thanksgiving with his