This document provides an analysis of the movie "The Women". It includes a list of the main characters played by actresses like Meg Ryan and Annette Bening. The plot summary explains that Mary learns of her husband's affair, separates from him, and finds support from her friends as she follows her dreams. It concludes with Mary discussing her requirements for rebuilding her relationship with her husband. The document then analyzes several relevant communication theories shown in scenes from the movie, such as social perceptions, dominant cultures, nonverbal communication, self-disclosure, social exchange theory, and listening styles.

1. Movie Analysis
Rebecca
Martin

2. The Women
Starring
Meg
Ryan,
Annette
Bening,
Eva
Mendes,
Debra
Messing,
and
Jada
Pinkett
Smith

3. Main
Characters
• Mary
(Protagonist):
Meg
Ryan
• Sylvie:
Annette
Bening
• Edie:
Debra
Messing
• Alex:
Jada
Pinkett
Smith
• Crystal:
Eva
Mendes
• Molly
(Mary’s
Daughter):
India
Ennenga
• Mary’s
Cheating
Husband:
Never
Seen

4. Plot
• Mary
learns
of
husband’s
affair
• Couple
separates
• Mary’s
friends
offer
support
through
time
of
need
• Mary
becomes
inspired
to
follow
her
dreams
• Designs
a
clothing
line
and
showcases
it
in
a
fashion
show
• Concludes
with
Mary’s
soliloquy
over
the
phone
with
her
husband
• Discusses
Mary’s
requirements
in
their
relationship
if
they
give
it
another
try

5. Relevant
Theories
in
Communication
• Social
Perceptions:
specifically
self-­‐perception
• Dominant
&
Co-­‐cultures:
specifically
social
class
and
cultural
identity
• Types
of
nonverbal
communication:
specifically
body
language
• Self-­‐Disclosure
• Social
Exchange
Theory
• Listening
Style:
specifically
people-­‐oriented
listening
• Types
of
Empathy:
specifically
perspective
taking
• Effects
of
Disclosure
&
Privacy
on
Relationships
• Personal
Feedback
• Asserting
Rights
&
Expectations:
specifically
the
assertive
approach

6. Social
Perceptions
• Scene:
Lingerie
Store
• Crystal’s
self-­‐concept
:
• attractive
female,
capable
of
seducing
a
man,
confident,
manipulative,
unintelligent,
and
arrogant
• Extremely
confident
about
who
she
is:
• Knows
she
is
attractive
and
confident
in
her
ability
to
seduce
a
man
through
manipulative
ways
• This
confidence
makes
her
arrogant
• Has
very
high
self-­‐esteem
• Believes
herself
to
be
worthy
• Believes
herself
very
competent
in
her
abilities
• This
is
portrayed
when
she
flaunts
around
the
lingerie
shop
in
a
seductive
piece
visible
in
the
picture
above.

7. Dominant
&
Co-­‐Cultures
• Mary
and
her
friends
are
part
of
a
higher
social
class
commonly
referred
to
as
socialites
• Evident
in
the
house
she
lives
in
• Connecticut
resident
in
the
suburbs
of
New
York
City
• They
all
drive
high
value
vehicles
such
as
BMW
and
Lexus
• Mary’s
husband
works
on
Wall
Street
• Shop
at
expensive
lingerie
stores
• Mary’s
cultural
identity
is
based
on
the
social
calendars
she
grew
up
with
• Adopted
the
dominant
culture
of
the
upper
class
• Plans
luncheons
for
women’s
committee
• Although
middle
class
America
is
larger
than
upper
class
America,
it
is
the
upper
class
that
holds
more
power
• The
upper
class
makes
up
the
dominant
culture
because
they
have
more
influence
and
power

8. Types
of
Nonverbal
Communication
• Scene:
Mary
informs
her
housekeepers
that
she
is
leaving
her
husband
• Body
language:
intentional/unintentional
movement
of
various
body
parts
that
send
nonverbal
messages
• Eye
contact:
one
housekeeper
fails
to
make
direct
eye
contact,
in
this
scene
it
shows
discomfort
• Facial
expression:
both
housekeepers
drop
their
jaws
to
express
their
state
of
shock
at
the
news
• Gesture:
when
sharing
the
news
Mary
waves
her
hand
nonchalantly
to
show
little
concern
for
the
situation
• Body
orientation:
Neither
housekeeper
squares
their
shoulders
to
Mary=indirect
body
orientation-­‐shows
Mary
has
more
power

9. Self-­‐Disclosure
• Scene:
Mary,
Edie,
Sylvie,
and
Alex
have
cocktails
at
a
bar
• Mary
and
Sylvie
have
high
disclosure,
high
feedback
relationships
• Sylvie
admits
to
having
shared
information
about
Mary’s
separation
with
a
gossip
columnists
knowing
Mary
will
provide
negative
feedback
to
this
information
• During
lull
in
friendship
there
is
more
information
left
secret
• They
make
up
later
in
movie
on
a
New
York
street
when
they
have
a
battle
of
words,
all
of
which
is
completely
honest
• The
closer
friends
are
&
the
longer
the
friendship
the
more
open
it
is
likely
to
be

10. Social
Exchange
Theory
• Scene:
Mary
tells
her
mother
about
the
affair
in
a
restaurant
• Theory
states
that
people
continue
to
develop
a
relationships
as
long
as
the
rewards
outweigh
the
costs
• Mary’s
mother
explains
how
the
rewards
outweigh
the
costs
despite
the
affair
• The
other
woman
means
nothing
to
the
husband
• Mary
needs
to
worry
about
her
daughter’s
best
interests
• Despite
the
pain
Mary
knows
that
the
“pumpkins”
she
talks
about
later
outweigh
the
pain

11. Listening
Style
• Scene:
Mary
tells
her
mother
about
the
affair
in
a
restaurant
• People-­‐oriented
listening
style:
focus
on
what
information
tells
us
of
conversational
partner
and
their
feelings-­‐become
personally
involved
• Mary’s
mother
relates
to
what
Mary
is
feeling
• Notices
how
hurt
Mary
appears
• Describes
how
she
thinks
Mary
is
feeling
•
Becomes
very
involved
in
the
conversation

12. Types
of
Empathy
• Scene:
Mary
tells
her
mother
about
the
affair
in
a
restaurant
• Perspective
taking:
empathizing
by
using
everything
we
know
about
our
partner
and
our
partner’s
circumstances
to
help
us
understand
how
he/she
is
feeling
• Mary’s
mother
can
relate
to
the
situation
because
she
experienced
the
same
thing
• Understands
Mary’s
feelings
and
beliefs
• Perfect
example
of
perspective
taking

13. Effects
of
Disclosure
&
Privacy
• Effects
on
intimacy:
Mary
and
Sylvie
were
less
intimate
after
Mary
learned
that
Sylvie
had
sold
her
out
and
more
intimate
after
the
reconciled
• Relationships
fluctuate
in
level
of
intimacy
based
on
what
information
is
disclosed-­‐intimacy
may
be
preserved
when
one
chooses
privacy
• Effects
on
reciprocity:
at
the
onset
of
the
movie
Sylvie
tells
Molly
she
likes
her
dress
and
Molly
replies
that
she
likes
Sylvie’s
sunglasses
• Mutual
disclosure
of
similarly
sensitive
information
by
both
partners
deepens
the
relationship
through
common
history

14. Personal
Feedback
• Scene:
Behind
the
scenes
at
Mary’s
fashion
show
• Personal
feedback:
disclosing
information
about
others
to
them
and
how
it
relates
to
issues
of
privacy
• Molly
expresses
how
cool
the
fashion
show
is
to
Mary
• Example
of
positive
feedback
• Important
moment
in
their
relationship
• Molly
praises
her
mother
• Molly
accepts
her
mother
as
human
being
and
makes
it
known

15. Asserting
Rights
&
Expectations
• Scene:
Mary
speaks
to
her
husband
on
the
phone
while
Edie
delivers
a
baby
• Mary
self-­‐disclosed
a
lot
of
information
about
what
she
expected
their
relationship
to
be
like
• Took
assertive
approach:
direct
and
honest
about
her
expectations
while
respecting
her
husband’s
rights
• She
stood
up
for
herself
• She
owned
her
statements,
described
her
feelings,
made
use
of
facework,
and
used
appropriate
nonverbal
behaviors

16. Representativeness
of
Reality
• Accurate
representation
of
female
friendships
• Mary,
Edie,
Alex,
and
Sylvie
always
there
for
each
other
and
willing
to
go
to
great
lengths
for
each
other
• Still
have
squabbles
• Accurate
representation
of
relationship
between
mother
and
teenage
daughter
• Difficult
conversations
• Miscommunication
and
inefficient
communication
• Semi-­‐Accurate
representation
of
marital
relationship
• Always
possibility
of
cheating
in
a
marriage
• Debatable
whether
majority
of
couples
reunite

17. Relation
to
My
Communication
Style
• Unlike
the
main
characters
I
am
part
of
the
co-­‐culture
• Come
from
a
middle
class
family
with
less
power
than
the
dominant
culture
• My
nonverbal
communication
is
similar
to
Mary
in
that
we
both
make
extensive
use
of
body
language
• Especially
gestures
and
facial
expressions
• Experience
high
disclosure,
high
feedback
relationship
with
my
best
friend
• One
major
difference
is
my
tendency
to
be
passive
and
aggressive
over
assertive
• I
tend
to
remain
passive
until
my
emotions
boil
up
and
I
release
aggressively
• I
think
I
would
do
well
in
the
relationships
depicted
• I
have
similar
friendships
• I
think
I
would
be
a
similar
type
of
mother
• I
would
have
reacted
differently
to
my
husband
cheating

18. Ending Credits