Friday, April 11, 2008
The Spiral of Silence - Everybody Loves Raymond
In this clip, anne's parents come to the Barone house for Easter weekend. When Anne's father asks about going to a Presbyterian church, Marie tells him that they should all go to their Catholic church. It is clear that Anne's parents are uncofortable with going to the Catholic church however they decide to not voice so. Her mother says that they suppose they can go to the Catholic church with uncertainty in her voice. Her father stays quiet about it but it is obvious that he doesnt agree with his later comments about going.
I chose this clip because while it doesnt involve the media, it does involve a situation where people with the minority opinion (the Presbyterians in a Catholic household) make the choice to stay silent in fear of isolation. Instead of saying that they do not agree with going to the Catholic church or suggesting that they all go to their church, one changes her opinion and the other stays quiet. The room has a tense feel to it to begin with since they are meeting each other for the first time, therefore the fear of being isolated in a room of unfamiliar faces seems to be high.
In any situation, whether the media has created it or not, people will fear having the minority opinion and choose to not speak out. They would rather go along with the crowd, even if it means going against beliefs. Anne's parents, while making small comments that show their disapproval of the situation, never stand up for themselves and speak out about what they believe in. In turn, the room gets more uncomfortable and everyone tries to change the subject.
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8 comments:
While the video is not currently working, the description seems to accurately show a good example of the spiral of silence theory. Anne's parents stay silent because they are meeting the rest of the people for the first time and want to make a good impression. A good impression is more easily attainable when everyone shares the same or similar opinions. Anne's parents think they are in the minority, but perhaps if they would have spoken up they would have realized Anne would have accompanied them to a Presbyterian church. The clip shows they are definitely not part of the "hard-core" minority.
I think this is a very good clip to illustrate the spiral of silence. It's funny that making a good impression means sharing the same opinions. Why does this have to be the case? Couldn't you get along with someone even if you disagree on some issues?
Religion is always a very touchy subject. It is rather controversial so people tend to not want to argue about it. That may be why Anne's parents chose to remain silent.
I think this clip clearly shows the spiral of silence in two different instances. The first example is in reference to going to church. Amy's parents do not want to go to the Barones' Catholic church, however they remain silent and do not stand up for themselves.
Another example of the spiral of silence is when Amy's mother decides that everyone should do a puzzle. No one else wanted to, however they all went along with it and did not speak out against her, just simply remained silent.
Religion is definitely a touchy subject. It's no easier when there are two different types in one room, as I myself have experienced in my life. Giving into someone else's ideas and suggestions can often times be hard for you because you don't want to, but the fear of rejection is much worse. The correct way to solve this problem would be to go to their preferred churches, and meet back afterwards. But that's not always the case, and since this was their first meeting, confrontation was something that needed to be adverted. This is why The Spiral of Silence is so wrong, because a majority can silent a minority and even make them change their own opinions at times.
This clip is definitely a good, and real-life example of what happens when people get tangled up in the spiral of silence. I'm sure everyone can recall instances similar to this one in which they felt they couldn't really speak their opinion and felt obligated to do something that they felt uncomfortable with. I also think this clip is good because the couple does try to speak out a little which doesn't really usually happen in the spiral of silence.
I think this clip was a good example of the spiral of silence in real life situations. Its the first time Anne's parents are meeting the rest of the family and once they realize that will be going to a Catholic church for Easter they stay quiet upon the issue, atleast for a short time. Therefore, the public (meaning Anne's parents) behavior is affected by the public assessment of the others who are Catholic.
Clearly the deviant individuals are Amy's parents, who are not Catholic. They fear isolation so they conform their preferences to the Barones; they decide to go to a Catholic Mass. They sacrifice their comfortability for practicality. They do this for everyone's convenience eventhough theu are clearly unhappy, they verbally do not communicate their dislike.
This is a good example of spiral of silence because even when Anne's parents knew that everyone attends a Catholic church their public opinion and attitudes did not change. Anne's parents made their opinions about attending a catholic church perfectly clear and was hard-core.
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