Garbie
New member
- Joined
- May 18, 2008
- Messages
- 20
The last time I watched The Burbs, my friend and I were talking about the brilliance of the body language in the film. We started talking about this during the scene where they introduce themselves to the Klopeks, and it reminded me that I wrote something about this topic for a communication skills course a couple years ago.
To answer this question, rather than watch a movie in hopes of finding a great nonverbal communication scene, I tried to think of mostly nonverbal scenes which have stood out in my memory. Luckily for me, I had to look no further than one of my three favorite movies since childhood, “The ‘Burbs” (1989). In case you haven’t seen it (I fully recommend it), the basic plot of the movie is that regular suburbanite Ray Peterson, ex-soldier Mark Rumsfield, and glutton Art Weingartner suspect their new neighbors, The Klopeks, of being involved in murderous cult activity. Somewhat later in the movie, Ray and Rumsfield, along with their wives, finally go over and meet the Klopeks. Since Ray and company are on strange terms with the Klopeks and are already very suspicious of them, the whole scene they all feel very awkward, and it shows excellently through their body language. In fact, the very few moments of dialogue are meaningless points like, “Sure was damp today,” and are spoken merely to break the awkward silence. The Uncle, Reuben Klopek, is likewise suspicious of Ray Peterson, and this is clearly evident by how Reuben constantly stares at him. Ray, in turn, feels very nervous and awkward the whole time, which is shown through him avoiding all eye contact and looking toward the ground. When the son, Hans Klopek, serves snacks of pretzels and sardines, Mrs. Rumsfield clearly feels uneasy when she looks away after Hans asks her if she wants a sardine, and then proceeds to put them at an uncomfortable proximity with respect to her face. When Ray is asked, he looks at his wife, Carol, to which she gives a nod. The nod and look on her face is perfect, because you can imagine exactly what she is thinking without her saying a word. Basically, ‘I know you don’t want to, but you should probably take a sardine to be polite.” At the same time, Mr. Rumsfield is walking around the room, inspecting everything. As he is messing around with their wallpaper, he accidentally rips off a piece. He immediately looks over to the rest of the people in the room to see if they have noticed what he has done. That action, coupled with the shocked look on his face is the perfect body language for the scene, as he struggles franticly to put the wallpaper back on the wall.
Has anyone else incorporated The Burbs into their schoolwork?
To answer this question, rather than watch a movie in hopes of finding a great nonverbal communication scene, I tried to think of mostly nonverbal scenes which have stood out in my memory. Luckily for me, I had to look no further than one of my three favorite movies since childhood, “The ‘Burbs” (1989). In case you haven’t seen it (I fully recommend it), the basic plot of the movie is that regular suburbanite Ray Peterson, ex-soldier Mark Rumsfield, and glutton Art Weingartner suspect their new neighbors, The Klopeks, of being involved in murderous cult activity. Somewhat later in the movie, Ray and Rumsfield, along with their wives, finally go over and meet the Klopeks. Since Ray and company are on strange terms with the Klopeks and are already very suspicious of them, the whole scene they all feel very awkward, and it shows excellently through their body language. In fact, the very few moments of dialogue are meaningless points like, “Sure was damp today,” and are spoken merely to break the awkward silence. The Uncle, Reuben Klopek, is likewise suspicious of Ray Peterson, and this is clearly evident by how Reuben constantly stares at him. Ray, in turn, feels very nervous and awkward the whole time, which is shown through him avoiding all eye contact and looking toward the ground. When the son, Hans Klopek, serves snacks of pretzels and sardines, Mrs. Rumsfield clearly feels uneasy when she looks away after Hans asks her if she wants a sardine, and then proceeds to put them at an uncomfortable proximity with respect to her face. When Ray is asked, he looks at his wife, Carol, to which she gives a nod. The nod and look on her face is perfect, because you can imagine exactly what she is thinking without her saying a word. Basically, ‘I know you don’t want to, but you should probably take a sardine to be polite.” At the same time, Mr. Rumsfield is walking around the room, inspecting everything. As he is messing around with their wallpaper, he accidentally rips off a piece. He immediately looks over to the rest of the people in the room to see if they have noticed what he has done. That action, coupled with the shocked look on his face is the perfect body language for the scene, as he struggles franticly to put the wallpaper back on the wall.
Has anyone else incorporated The Burbs into their schoolwork?
Stupid high school students and their lack of interest in 80's movies. Now the seniors are gone and my class rules the school! HAHAHA! Sorry... I'm excited.