Communication Behavior In Boomerang And Quayamat Se Quayamat Tak Essay, Research Paper

In this paper I will attempt to discover how cultural differences affect communication in two movies of differing cultures. I will keep the names of the characters formal for both movies and for the Indian movie I will translate their lines to English directly. The first movie is of the Indian culture entitled Quayamat Se Quayamat Tak, which roughly translates to “From Armageddon Till Armageddon.” This has a classic Romeo and Juliet theme. I will focus on what I consider are the three main relationships in this movie: 1) Raj, the main male character, and Reshmi, the main female character, 2) Raj and his family, and 3) Reshmi and her family. The second movie is of the African American culture entitled Boomerang. This is in essence about a lady’s man who is in search for a perfect woman. Along the way to finding Miss Right he romances other women and as soon as he finds who he believes is the right one, she romances him. I’ve chosen three main relationships from this movie as well: 1) Marcus, the main male character, and Angela, the women he ends up falling in love with, 2) Marcus and Jacqueline, the female he believes is the perfect women, and 3) Marcus and his friends Gerard and Tyler. This essay will discuss how the friends of each movie communicate with each other, what good and bad communication behaviors they have, compare and contrast the relationships depicted in the movies, talk about how the theories of friendship in the course text apply to the friendships in the movies, converse about how each film portrays the culture of the characters, and lastly discuss what each film says about the communication habits of their respective cultures.

Both movies have similar means by which the characters communicate with each other. In Quayamat Se Quayamat Tak Raj and Reshmi begin their relationship with Reshmi taking pictures of Raj jogging. He notices her taking the pictures and hides, and then he comes up behind her and scares her. When he realizes who was taking the pictures he strikes up a conversation. He apologizes for scaring her and refers to his thoughts by asking, “Do you always take pictures of people jogging (Khan, 1988)?” In this first encounter neither of the characters disclose their names to each other, yet Raj asks Reshmi to meet him at the same place at the same time the next day. In Boomerang Marcus first strikes his conversation with Jacqueline by running up to her and saying, “Excuse me, sorry to bother you, but I just had to come over and say something to you, you’re breathtaking (Hudling, 1992).” Marcus’s approach was to refer to her physically whereas Raj’s approach was to refer to his thoughts, yet they both strike the first conversation. The nonverbal techniques of communication such as eye contact, touching, hand movement, and facial expressions are used all through both films. For example, Reshmi in Quayamat Se Quayamat Tak uses an upset facial expression when she meets Raj after he does not show up where he said he would. By doing so Reshmi is getting the message across that she has been disappointed. Angela in Boomerang uses a betrayed facial expression when she finds out Marcus slept with Jacqueline while her and Marcus’s relationship was just beginning. This facial expression suggests that an explanation is in order.

I will now focus on the good and bad communication behaviors in both movies. Good communication behaviors are found throughout each movie. In Quayamat Se Quayamat Tak Raj’s brother used the skill of speaking descriptively on many occasions. By speaking descriptively, I mean stating what is seen or heard in objective language (pp. 191, Verderber). At one point in the movie, Raj decided to run away from home. When he was leaving, his brother came to him and said, “I don’t agree with you running away to be with Reshmi, but I can’t run your life. Please take this money and use it for providing for Reshmi and yourself in the initial stages of your new life together (Khan, 1988).” By saying this he shows that he cares for Raj’s life and doesn’t want to see him fail. Another good communication behavior was that Raj and Reshmi had collaborated to run away together. This shows that they both felt like they needed to solve a problem together to achieve mutual benefits. In this case the only benefit was that they got a chance to be with one another without being tormented by their respective families. The fact that Raj and Reshmi mainly had a one-to-one disclose to feedback ratio on an intimate level also shows good communication actions. This illustrates that they both shared their personal ideas and feelings on serious and important matters. In Boomerang good communication is evident as true thoughts and ideas are expressed between friends. For example, Gerard is furious when he finds out that Marcus has slept with Angela whom Gerard feels is a sweet girl. Gerard and Marcus eventually make up when Marcus apologizes and declares his actions as sincere. Afterwards they hug which demonstrates affection nonverbally. An example of good disclosure and feedback between characters is when Marcus disclosed to Angela that he was a “Trekie” and she provided feedback by saying she was one too. As for bad communication, in Quayamat Se Quayamat Tak Reshmi and her family cannot speak openly about Raj and Reshmi’s relationship. By speaking openly I am referring to conversation that shares true thoughts or feelings without resorting to manipulation (pp. 191, Verderber). Of course, with this movie being based on Romeo and Juliet, Reshmi’s family does not have anything good to say about her bond with Raj. This is evident when Reshmi’s mother tells her, “Don’t you understand what you are doing? You are making us all very upset (Khan, 1988).” In saying this, Reshmi’s mother is trying to manipulate her to stop seeing Raj for the family’s name. Withdrawal is obvious when both Raj and Reshmi decide to run away due to the major conflict between their families. In this case they chose to remove themselves physically from whatever was causing the disturbance. Withdrawal was also seen in Boomerang. For example, during the initial stages of Marcus and Angela’s relationship Marcus gets a phone call from Jacqueline while Angela is in the room. While on the phone Jacqueline asks why Angela is in the apartment and he replies, “she just stopped by for a second (Hudling, 1992),” where in reality she had been there all night. Angela hears this and withdraws by acting as if she didn’t pay attention to it although it did very well bother her. In this case she has withdrawn psychologically. Interpersonal conflict is another communication problem visible in Boomerang. Interpersonal conflict is a situation in which the needs or ideas of one person are perceived to be in opposition to the needs or ideas of another (pp. 197, Verderber). When Marcus decides Jacqueline is the one for him he begins to show her affection, yet when he asks her when the next time they’ll meet she tells him, “I don’t know. I’m kinda busy right now. . . I’ll get back to you (Hudling, 1992).” At this point Jacqueline is not interested in continuing the relationship to deeper levels, as Marcus is intent on doing. So, although both movies are entertaining and demonstrate good communication behaviors they also have some bad ones that I feel are intentionally prepared to make their plots more appealing.

I will now compare and contrast the relationships depicted in the movies. The most observable comparison in relationships would be Raj and Reshmi with Marcus and Angela. Both of these relations entail true love and affection. There is a difference with how each of the relations was formed. With Raj and Reshmi they knew from the beginning that their relationship would mature, exactly as if love at first sight. With Marcus and Angela love was blind. They didn’t realize they had strong feelings about each other until they lost everything they had. After a small break they repaired and ultimately rebuilt their relationship. In both pairs of associations collaboration had the effects of helping the relationship because both sides are heard and it is a win/win situation, as both parties feel satisfied with the process of working together (pp. 203, Verderber). With Raj and his family in addition to Reshmi and her family there is not much to compare with Marcus and his friends along with Marcus and Jacqueline. It can be said that Raj and Reshmi have an analogous relationship with their families. Both of them love their family yet love each other even more. They love each other so much that they physically left their families behind to further their intimate relationship. Marcus and his friends can only be compared to Raj and his brother. Both relations have a special bond which only men share. Marcus treats his friends as equals and does what he can to protect the relationship. Raj and his brother also treat each other as equals and although Raj physically withdraws from his family, he doesn’t psychologically withdraw from his brother. This proves he wants to keep his association with his brother intact. Marcus and Jacqueline do not have a meaningful relationship. It is based on a shallow level with no substance and cannot be compared to any other relationship. Although Marcus wanted to have the connection develop into something significant, Jacqueline was not willing to do so.

As depicted in the movies, I will reveal how friends in one culture differ from those in another. It is important to bear in mind that Quayamat Se Quayamat Tak is a tragedy and Boomerang is a comedy. Therefore, not only are the movies of differing culture but also of differing sort. Raj and Reshmi have a tight bond with their family, which is common in Indian culture. It would take a major disagreement with very strong magnitude to break that bond. Being as it is a movie, the producer felt that breaking that bond would be taboo. In Boomerang family is not mentioned, instead the focus is on Marcus, his friends, and the people he meets. Marcus and his friends have a casual yet strong relationship that involves much disclosure and feedback. I believe this is common in African American culture. Raj and his brother also have a similar relationship in their Indian culture. Since Marcus and his friends along with Marcus and Jacqueline have friendships I feel are the same in African American culture as they would be in Indian culture I will describe Raj and Reshmi and contrast them with Marcus and Angela. Raj and Reshmi’s friendship entails a very emotional attachment. The two are ready and willing to die for what they believe in. In the movie they truly believe they belong together and that was shown from the very beginning. No matter what hurdles came their way, they overcame them with the strength from their love. For example, when they first ran away together they needed shelter to live in. Being a major task to accomplish, Raj and Reshmi worked together to build their own shelter. With Marcus and Angela their relationship is one that starts off slow and gradually moves toward stability and intimacy. By exploring each other’s thoughts and ideas and through sharing feelings, they got to understand each other little by little. There was no need to completely immerse themselves into each other until they felt they were meant to be together.

Now I will examine how the theories of friendship in the course text apply to the friendships in the movies. As stated earlier the concepts of striking up a conversation, speaking descriptively, speaking openly, collaboration, disclosure-feedback, withdrawal, and interpersonal conflict are all used throughout the movies. In addition I have exposed that nonverbal cues are added to clarify verbal messages. When I used the word “affection” earlier I was using it in the context of the interpersonal needs theory. This theory proposes that whether or not a relationship is started, built, or maintained depends on how well people meet each other’s interpersonal needs for affection, inclusion, and control (pp. 18-20, Schutz). Since these are movies made for entertainment purposes problem-solving discussions are rare. In Boomerang Marcus and Angela have a discussion where both of them clarify their proper feelings to each other when Marcus tells Angela he loves her and can’t live without her. It is here where Angela defines the problem she has with Marcus and owns her feelings as she tells him she has been injured by his actions. Both of them collaborate to find the best possible solution. In this case the solution was to have a monogamous relationship. In Quayamat Se Quayamat Tak both Raj and Reshmi’s parents used forcing to separate the two. Forcing is attempting to satisfy your own needs or advance your own ideas through physical threats, verbal attacks, coercion, or manipulation (pp. 199, Verderber). In this movie the most dreadful of all ways that their parents used to try to achieve their needs was physical violence. Reshmi’s parents actually hired hit men to kill Raj. So in this example forcing was a last attempt to save the family name. This attempt was foiled as Reshmi blocks Raj from a bullet by one of the hit men and then Raj kills himself with the knife Reshmi gave him as a gift earlier in the film.

I will now discuss how each film portrays the culture of the characters. Raj and Reshmi are portrayed as having an unbreakable bond in the movie. This is implying that in Indian culture true love conquers all. I would say this is in accordance with the old fashioned Indian culture and somewhat with the current culture. Now a day, especially the Indians in America, people plan things out more and do not just act due to an instinct, yet it is still quite common to marry somebody after a matter of a few weeks. Raj and Reshmi’s relationship with their respective family are similar and depict a love-hate correlation. Both Raj and Reshmi have respect for their families and still choose to leave them. This action suggests that in Indian culture the family can be valued as long as they give space for ones independent decisions. Once that space has been violated the family no longer needs to be in the picture. I would have to partially agree with this depiction. By partially agreeing I mean that separation from family can occur, but the family is still in the picture out of respect. I feel this angle was deliberately taken in this film to add more emotional impact. Marcus and his friends are shown as being equals and treating each other with the respect they deserve. There are some ups and downs between the friends, but any issues are resolved in due course. This demonstrates that in African American culture friendships can be rocky, but problems that arise can be worked out in a matter of time. I feel this is an accurate representation of friendships in African American culture. Marcus and Angela are represented as having a very strong bond that can be broken, yet it is strong enough so that once broken can be mended. This implies that in African American culture strong, meaningful relationships can go awry and then be restored. This also seems feasible to occur in African American culture. Marcus and Jacqueline are rendered as having an unbalanced relationship where Marcus is trying hard to make it meaningful and Jacqueline is not trying enough. This is saying that in African American culture unbalanced relationships exist. I consider this to be accurate as well of African American culture.

I will discuss what each film says about the communication habits of their respective cultures. In Quayamat Se Quayamat Tak the film renders Indian culture as having minimal disclosure and ample feedback, but at the same time having a one-to-one disclosure-feedback ratio. The minimal disclosure can be seen as both Raj and Reshmi had to hide their relationship from their families. The ample feedback is shown by the many suggestions they received to not see each other when neither Raj nor Reshmi asked for advice. It was as if they got answers to questions they never asked. The one-to-one disclosure-feedback ratio is exercised by Raj and Reshmi’s relationship. Also, it represents the culture as not having very good problem solving skills. This is apparent as the two main characters die at the end due to an unsolved problem. Although the problem was introduced to all the members of each family, the conflict continued to due a forceful approach by the parents. In Boomerang the film shows African American culture as having withdrawal. This is shown with both Marcus and Gerard and Marcus and Angela. With Marcus and Gerard, Gerard withdraws physically when he finds out Marcus has slept with Angela. In the example of Marcus with Angela, Angela withdraws physically when she finds out Marcus has slept with Jacqueline. The film also characterizes African American culture as having good problem solving skills. In both instances of withdrawal the characters resolve their conflict through discussion.

In conclusion, I do not feel as if either of the cultures communication behaviors is completely exemplified by the films. The producers of each film had a vision and by design, for entertainment purposes, created the problems and the outcomes of the tribulations. They were accurate in whatever depictions they used for the type of movie they made. Since Quayamat Se Quayamat Tak is a tragedy, it is understandable that there will be malicious characters. And because Boomerang is a comedy, it is expected that the outcome of the movie be cheerful. Of course all cultures have good and bad communication conduct. The evidence that each movie provides for this conduct is suitable for its function of providing entertainment, but in reality the dynamic communication behaviors of each culture may tell a different story.

Quayamat Se Quayamat Tak. Dir. Mansoor Khan. RH Films, 1988.

Boomerang. Dir. Warren Hudling. Paramount Pictures, 1992.

Verderber, Rudolph F. Communicate!. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1999.

Schutz, W. The interpersonal underworld. Palo Alto, CA: Science and Behavior Books, 1966