The show that I chose to view was Return to Amish on TLC. This is a reality show that follows a group
of Ex-Amish young adults who left their Amish community and are now retuning to
be closer to their Amish family and loved ones.
When I watched the show with the sound off I observed the
relationships between the cast to be civil between a husband and wife, brother
and sister, mother and son and friends. Based
upon the nonverbal communication the husband and wife were going though
something and the wife was trying to make up by giving him a handmade shirt.
The brother was taking his sister out to a party that made her feel uncomfortable. Two friends were out at a restaurant eating
and talking to one another and a mother was having a serious conversation with
her some about something important. One of the girls from the restaurant is emotional
about something that happened at the restaurant.
When I watched the show with the sound on I was correct in
my assumption about the husband and the wife. I assumed that Jeremiah and Katie
were brother and sister but he is not related to her. He took her to a party
and then showed her how to talk to boys without her parent’s knowledge. Katie
had never been to party and was uncomfortable about what was going on around
her. Rebecca and Chapel were meeting at the restaurant to talk about Rebecca’s
previous relationship with Andy who is now with Chapel. Chapel was trying to
get information about Andy’s previous relationships with other girls. Mom and
was speaking to her son Andy about her concerns about him being with Chapel and
her being a bad influence on him. The mom was worried that Andy would go back
to jail. The show ended with Chapel giving a confessional about her being
called to come into the doctor’s office and her not knowing what it is about.
I believe all of my assumptions would have been correct if I
would have been familiar with the character and already knew their back stories
as I was watching the show. After completing this exercise the first thing that I have
learned is that I am very blessed to have the gift of hearing. I have an aunt
who is deaf and I used to watch TV with her as a child and wonder how she knew
what was going on and when to laugh when she could not hear what was going on.
Looking at a show in which I am not familiar and do not know what is going on what
a little frustrating for me as I thought I knew what was going on but had interpreted some of the episode and relationships between the cast incorrectly.
Your choice in a show to observe is great. I am guessing there is a better chance of observing authentic communication in a reality show, more so than a scripted sitcom. You described the episode very well, I almost feel as though I saw it too!
ReplyDeleteHi Andrea,
ReplyDeleteGreat write up on your nonverbal television show it seems as though you were listening to the sound. The television show you selected appears to be interesting and worth watching.
Andrea, I enjoyed reading your post. I have never seen this show but you really made me curious. I love programs where you learn from other cultures such as Travelers or Amish because they are so different and unknown. In this case, I believe that not knowing who the characters are must have been difficult. Not to mention not being able to understand what they are going through. I also like that you chose a reality show because the emotions shown are real. Thank you for sharing your experience :)
ReplyDeleteI will definitely have to tune into an episode of this show after reading your blog post. It's always interesting how media can some types dispel some myths or stereotypes about other communities and cultures.
ReplyDelete