Intercultural communication

Introduction

Cultural communication is important as it aims at sharing of information. Intercultural communication is sharing of information across various different cultures and social groups. The communication process is wide as it ranges from the different social context such as religion, social ethnic and educational backgrounds. The intercultural communication helps solve problems that may arise naturally in an organization (Novinger, 2001). Intercultural communication seeks to know how people from different cultures and countries act, communicate and perceive what is around them in the world. This emphasizes how different cultural backgrounds interact.

            Amelie is a film of a girl who had her childhood suppresses by her father due to her heart defect. Due to the concerns of her father Amelie considered homeschooling for her girl. This denied Amelie any real life contact with other people. As a result of her loneliness, she developed active imagination and mischievous personality (Jeunet, 2001). Amelie social lives worsened when he father withdrew from the society after her mother was killed in a suicidal attack on a church. Later on, when she became a young woman she moved to Paris where she worked as a waitress. As it was the first time to get a direct contact with other people she resorted in her own fantastical world with big dreams. Due to lack of social life and interaction when growing up she had a collection of bizarre behaviors that landed her in few disappointing relationships (Jeunet, 2001). She devoted herself to help people around her. During this time she had to develop various communication techniques as she came into contact with various people who were from different communities and whose culture was different.

Communication between Amelie and Bretodeau is connected by the old box which moves the man to tears because of the memories it holds. This created a ground for reconciliation with his estranged daughter who he never met. This scenario made Amelie happy and gave her a strong drive to embark on her mission (Jeunet, 2001). By helping the blind man Amelie had the perception of helping the man understand by interpreting and describing to him the street scenes that he passes without seeing them. By explaining to the blind man and making him sense how his surroundings look like creates grounds for communication between the two people who barely know each other (Vanderschelden, 2007). Communication with her father also made possible by persuading her father to tour the world and meet with other different people through the help of a flight attendant. Communication was also enhanced by taking pictures of various landmarks across the world. The pictures will show various regions giving an indication of different communities (Novinger, 2001).

Nonverbal codes between people include visual cues such as physical appearance body language and a touch. This communication style also involves the use of paralanguage, frequent glances, and blink rate. Verbal codes such as syntactic, pragmatics and connotation were used by the characters in the film.  This enhanced communication between the characters and also created a sense of understanding as they were from different communities and backgrounds (Novinger, 2001). Amelie and her boyfriends who happen to be a co-worker and a customer in the bar she used to work communicated with both verbal and nonverbal codes. Amelie found the need to communicate with her boyfriend but only from a distance. This means that nonverbal codes were being used in cases where there was no contact (Sadri & Flammia, 2011). The use of gaslighting tactics of communication to the nasty greengrocer resulted into a positive outcome where Collignon was no longer able to through abuses which made Lucien a good-natured assistant take up the grocery. By observation, as a means of communication, Mr. Dufayel was able to begin a conversation with Amelie about his painting. As a painter, Mr. Dufayel had never captured the look of a girl drinking water from a glass. There was communication of Amelie’s loneliness that was captured through the image as several conversations arose between Mr. Dufayel and Amelie (Jeunet, 2001). Through painting and discarded photographs in the photo booth love emerges between the two. It is interesting that Amelie did her communication nonverbally as she avoided direct communication with the people she came across though she was not anti-social (Vanderschelden, 2007). The nonverbal communication seen to exist between Amelie and the other characters is as a result of how Amelie learned to communicate from a young age. This indicates that Amelie was better of communication with nonverbal codes as it helped her understand her surrounding and the different people she comes across. It has also portrayed the French culture can communicate through various methods (Sadri & Flammia, 2011).

The interpersonal skills used by the different characters enable them to understand each other (Novinger, 2001). They created communication channels between them recognizing individual abilities that helped them develop sets of roles due to their mixture of their character traits and the essential information needed. The intercultural communication between the characters creates a successful framework among them as they are able to understand each other despite which region one is from. Amelie was new in Paris and in all cases she came across new people (Vanderschelden, 2007). Even without having them when growing up Amelie found a way to communicate with them which gave her happiness and joy within. She felt accepted which made her pursue her desires to help other people despite where they were from.

The French movie shows cultural patterns of where people are open minded are unique in their own way, quirky, and whimsical (Vanderschelden, 2007). This is seen when Amelie wants to get the most of her life after the death of her mother. She decides to free herself, find love and help the people around her.  An act of kindness is also seen when Amelie helps a blind man cross the streets (Jeunet, 2001). Having grown up in isolated childhood can only communicate through imagery metaphors which are a different case from the cultural patterns of the French people. The film portrays the French people as those people who can spread goodness when given a chance. The film also shows French culture as where parents can be protective to their children and they would be rather considered old fashioned and ensure that their children get the best.

Communications in the film were done through the use of schemes, plots, metaphors and tricks. This shows that all the communication in the film was no real communication as it was done in a childlike manner of a cat and a mouse (Jeunet, 2001). This indicates that interpersonal communication in the film was not properly considered and taken seriously. Amelie used one of her games to conceal her identity as she way shy as she returns Nino’s treasured album anonymously. Amelie is also to panic after arranging a meeting in Moulins (Vanderschelden, 2007). This makes her try to deny her identity. As a result, her co-worker is concerned for Amelie well-being after Amelie was made to believe that Nino had been lost to her co-worker. In order to make Amelie pursue Nino Dufayel had to intervene. This portrays a culture of concern where people look after the well-being of other individuals.

The intercultural communication of the French society is similar to that of my culture in that the skills used are to enhance sharing of information and communicating with other people from various groups and other social cultures. The communication techniques involve the understanding of different customs, social norms, standards and patterns (Novinger, 2001). The intercultural communication skill also facilitates the acceptance of the differences between the different cultural groups and how to adapt to them. By used of body language, various items to communicate such as photographs and written information is a common practice in Amelie culture and my own culture (Vanderschelden, 2007). This also creates better grounds for understanding different behavioral norms that exist between different communities whose culture is different.

Conclusion

Intercultural communication plays a great role in how people communicate and how to understand different communities. This involves the development of communication skills that enable people to communicate effectively despite background difference. Amelie portrays her intercultural communication skills well. This shows that one can be able to communicate effectively with strangers and also people with disabilities. The film displays the cultural pattern of the French people who have different backgrounds and environments when growing up. The film shows the importance of developing interpersonal communication skills in order to facilitate human contact in an easier way for mutual benefits.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reference

Jeunet Jean P (2001) Amelie. Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0211915/

Novinger, T. (2001). Intercultural communication: A practical guide. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press.

Vanderschelden, I. (2007). Amélie: Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 2001). London: I.B. Tauris.

Sadri, H. A., & Flammia, M. (2011). Intercultural communication: A new approach to international relations and global challenges. New York: Continuum International Pub. Group Inc.