How do you Communicate?
Honestly, multimodality across different platforms has never really been something that I thought about; I never noticed it in TV or movies, I just consumed what I liked. But taking the time to consider where it comes up in our everyday lives has made me realize that it is everywhere. One of my favorite tv shows has been, for a long time, Grey’s Anatomy. This show uses all 5 modes of communication to tell their stories. The most obvious two modes that this show utilizes are linguistic and visual; we can obviously see everyone and hear them talk while on screen. However the aural, gestural, and spacial modes are ones that I hadn’t really picked up on until I thought about it. They’re there, but I haven’t really thought of them a as a mode of communication until now. Occasionally I’ll appreciate a song that I really like on a show; on this show I know the mood is about to change when I hear a certain song. In this show, that song is a “How to Save a Life” by the Fray; when that song comes, I know something big is about to happen. Now I know that they are using aural communication to signal to me and the rest of their audience that something is going to happen. Sometimes, I recognize a really great actor by not only the way they deliver their words, but the way the use their body language in a scene; that’s gestural. The special mode goes hand in hand with gestural, especially when watching people interact because their body language and proximity to each other usually correlates and is an indicator of their relationship. Since our discussions in class, I have a newfound appreciation for all the work that goes into making things that is subconscious. My favorite show wouldn’t be the same without them.
