NONVERBAL FILMS

Motion pictures. Photographed or videotaped sequences, often accompanied by music, designed to show body motions, facial expressions, gestures, and other forms of human communication apart from words.

Usage: Films depict our nonverbal communication in a graphic medium, usually supplemented by printed words, verbal narration, and voice-over speech.

"I thought you might want to know that there are are some new developments in the University of California video series on nonverbal communication, person perception, cultural differences, and cross-cultural understanding.

"The videos in the University of California series are available from:

"The Univ. of California Extension Center for Media
2000 Center Street, Fourth Floor
Berkeley, California U.S.A. 94704
PHONE (510) 642-0460; FAX (510) 643-9271
EMAIL cmil@uclink.berkeley.edu
WEB site: http://nonverbal.ucsc.edu" --Dane Archer - archer@cats.UCSC.EDU (4/27/01 9:01:22 PM Pacific Daylight Time)

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This new video examines how and why different cultures differ

dramatically in the foods seen as "edible," "delicious," or

"disgusting." The work examines not only Western views of

non-Western foods, but also the reverse case--and the film

demonstrates that any cuisine (including of course our own)

can inspire horror and disgust in people from very different

cultures. "Diet diversity" is nothing less than remarkable,

and "A WORLD OF FOOD" presents a fascinating account of these

differences. (Now with new Instructor's Guide).

"PERSONAL SPACE: Exploring Human Proxemics"

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This new work examines the power of personal space in

our daily lives--including the importance of space in

public settings, powerful cultural differences in

the use of space, how space is often governed by

rigid rules (e.g., for table seating, restroom spacing,

etc.), the link between personal space and rank in

organizations, reactions to experimental "invasions" of

a person's space, and the architectural differences

between "favorite" and "failed" buildings. (Now with new

Instructor's Guide).

"THE HUMAN VOICE: Exploring Vocal Paralanguage"

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This video is about about language and vocal "paralanguage"--i.e.,

what is revealed about a person from the nuances of their

voice and speech? The video explores the important clues

embedded in our "vocal paralanguage." Each time we speak, we

may reveal what our first language was, how much education we

have had, where we grew up, and a long list of other items--e.g.,

our identity, age, emotions, charisma, dysfluencies, sarcasm,

lifestyle, etc. "THE HUMAN VOICE" also examines "standard"

and non-standard speech patterns, preferences and prejudices

for various accents, how people can try to change their own accents,

the universal nature of "parentese" (how adults speak to

children), the legal "theft" involved in commercial imitations

of "celebrity" voices, and important differences between human voices

and computer-generated voices. (Instructor's Guide)

"THE HUMAN FACE: Emotions, Identities and Masks"

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This video explores the kinds of information available in

our faces, and in the dynamic facial expressions we use

every time we interact with other people. Topics include the

differences between genuine emotions and pretend emotions;

the ways our faces are "identity documents;" differences

between friendly smiles and unfriendly smiles; how

police officers use facial details to locate suspects;

what pupil size reveals about a person's drug use;

facial decorations (piercings, tattoos, and scarification)

and the motives of those who adopt them; how facial clues

allow those closest to us to "know" our feelings; attractiveness

and what "plastic surgeons" try to change. (Instructor's Guide)

"THE HUMAN BODY: Appearance, Shape and Self-Image"

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This video explores our preferences and feelings about

our own bodies. Topics include bulimia and anorexia;

cosmetic surgery; interviews with "super-models" about

the effects such models have on the self-images of

young women; tattoos and body decoration; the prejudice and

effects of "weightism," etc. The video also presents powerful

evidence about cultural differences in beauty standards--e.g.,

the viewer meets people from cultures where larger women

are regarded as more beautiful, where women planning to

marry go on special diets to become as heavy as possible, etc.

In extremely powerful interviews, the video examines the onset,

destructiveness, and treatment of eating disorders. (Instructor's

Guide).

"A WORLD OF DIFFERENCES: Understanding Cross-Cultural Communication"

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This video is about the power and nuances of cross-cultural

communication. Topics include "culture shock," misunderstandings

and embarrassment, translation problems, emotions, and appropriate

etiquette. The viewer learns about when, what, and how to

eat in other cultures; whether greetings should include

handshakes, hugs, or kisses; how to use space and touch in

specific cultures; why one never offers food or touches someone

with the left hand in Islamic cultures; etc. This video is

designed to sensitize viewers to the "cultural baggage"

we ALL carry with us and--most important--how to prevent this

baggage from causing serious cross-cultural misunderstanding.

This video vividly teaches the power of culture, and the

importance (and excitement) of understanding the nature and richness

of cultural differences. (Instructor's Guide).

"A WORLD OF GESTURES: Culture and Nonverbal Communication"

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This video is a visual "tour" of the remarkable variation

in the hand gestures used in different cultures. People

from many different cultures show the viewer an extraordinary

range of hand gestures--friendly gestures, obscene gestures,

gestures for intelligence and stupidity, gestures about

love or sexual orientation, gestures from Culture A that

mean the opposite in Culture B, famous gestures, secret gestures,

problems when a visitor uses the wrong gesture, etc. The

video also shows the development of gestures in children,

the increasing fluency with age, and the danger of cross-cultural

misunderstandings. This video is humorous, outrageous, and

unforgettable--"A WORLD OF GESTURES" leaves viewers inspired by

the remarkable human diversity found on our planet.

(Instructor's Guide).

"THE INTERPERSONAL PERCEPTION TASK (IPT)" & "IPT-15"

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These two video "self-tests" enable viewers to see how accurately

they can "decode" nonverbal cues to interpret correctly something

the person or people shown in each IPT scene. The viewer is

asked to guess which of two women is the mother of the child;

which of two people won their basketball game; which of two

autobiographical statements is true and which is a lie; which of

two co-workers is the boss; whether a man and a woman are

strangers, siblings, or lovers; etc. Each IPT question has

an objectively correct answer--e.g., one of the women really

IS the mother; one of the two people DID win the basketball

game, etc. The IPT has 30 questions for viewers; the IPT-15

has 15 questions. (Instructor's Guide)

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