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Interpersonal Communication within the Movie Hitch
Leanne Almon
COM200: Interpersonal Communication
Professor Bonnie Stiemke
November 5, 2014

Interpersonal Communication within the Movie Hitch
We encounter interpersonal communication in our everyday lives. Even in the movies that we watch for entertainment, we can see conflicts within the communication between characters. In the movie Hitch, which stars Will Smith, as Hitch and Eva Mendes as Sara, there are several examples of conflict when it comes to interpersonal communication. The one conflict that was most prominent within the movie was when Sara found the man responsible for the heartbreak of her best friend.
When Sara investigates the “Date Doctor” to find the man responsible for her best friend getting hurt as the result of a one night stand, she is enraged when she discovers that the man that she has been seeing and getting close to, is the same man as the “Date Doctor”. She can’t believe that the man that she has fallen in love with is the same man that is ultimately responsible for her best friend’s misery. As a result of this, Sara gives Hitch the cold shoulder. She avoids him at all costs, she doesn’t return his phone calls, and she will not talk to him at all. She refuses to hear his side of the story because she has no interest in hearing his side of the story. Her behavior is called the “demand-withdraw” pattern and is when one person tries to talk to the other and is dismissed or indifferent. According to researchers at the Texas Christian University say “It’s the most common pattern of conflict in marriage, or a committed, established romantic relationship” (The Sunday Mail, 2014, para. 2). Couples that display this pattern have been known to have a lower sense of satisfaction, little or no intimacy and absolutely no communication between parties. Everybody that has studied interpersonal communication can agree on one thing: the silent treatment is a relationship killer.
This is a movie, so the writers have to show conflict somewhere to get the audience to continue to watch their movies, however, this is not how a disagreement or fight should be handled in real life. The silent treatment can be considered a type of psychological abuse. “When a person is ignored, ostracized, or excluded from a group, or treated as if they do not exist, the results can be psychologically and emotionally devastating” (Sole, 2011, Section 9.1). This situation could have and should have been handled differently.
First of all, when a person is that upset, it is important to tell the other person involved that you are extremely upset and need to “cool off” before talking about it. Words can be hurtful and chance are if you try to talk while you are upset, you and your partner will say things that you later will regret. Once they come out of our mouth, the words are out there and cannot be taken back. Instead of giving Hitch the silent treatment, Sara should have said something like “I am very upset right now, but after some time to calm down, I would really like to hear your side of the story.” This gives both parties a chance to choose their words carefully so that they do not hurt or offend the other person.
Now that both parties have had the chance to think about the chance to “cool off”, Sara should have went to Hitch and told him that she was ready to listen. As he told his story, it is important for Sara to listen, really listen to what Hitch had to say and not interrupt. It can easily become a heated discussion. After he had finished explaining, then Sara could have asked questions if she was still upset to try and resolve the conflict.
Interpersonal communications in a relationship can sometimes be the most difficult thing you will ever have to do. But resulting to the silent treatment can only damage the relationship even more. Prolonged silence will only deepen the conflict and could make the relationship irreparable. It is important to remember that talking about a problem is the only way to resolve it. Give the parties time to “cool off” and think about the situation and then take the time to sit down and talk about it. This way you are not putting distance between you that the silent treatment is bound to do.

References
Mordaunt, W., Tadross, M. (Executive Producers), &Tennant, A. (Director). (2005). Hitch [Film]. Los Angeles: Sony Pictures.
Sole, K. (2011). Making connections: Understanding interpersonal communication. (Section 9.1). Retrieved on November 8, 2014 from https://content.ashford.edu/books/AUCOM200.11.1
The Sunday Mail. (12 October 2014). Silent treatment is a relationship killer. (Paragraph 2). Retrieved on November 5, 2014 from http://infoweb.newsbank.com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/

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