Words Really Do Tell the Story!

This assignment was interesting!  I chose a new television show called “The New Normal”. The show aired on NBC on Tuesday evening.  The characters were two men in their 30’s- Bryan and David, a woman who appears to be a little younger- Goldie, her daughter about 10 years old- Shania and another woman in her 50’s who is not named.        (The ages are estimated!) As I watched it without the sound, it seemed to be a first meeting between the 2 men.  It took place in a night club of some sort.  Initially it seemed like two guys becoming friends.  As the storyline continued it became obvious that they were gay and they were actually flashing back to how they met.  The younger woman at first seemed like she was in a romantic relationship with David. They all seemed to be avoiding the grandmother. The plot seemed to be centered on Goldie and Shania moving into a new house.  Shania seemed dressed oddly for a child her age and had some difficulties when she started a new school. The show ended with David answering the telephone and making an announcement to Bryan and Goldie.  Throughout the show, there seemed to be an obvious friendship between Bryan, David and Goldie.  Bryan had numerous conversations with Shania.  The grandmother seemed to be plotting something.

                When I watched it with the sound, the story was somewhat different!  Bryan and David were in a stable, romantic relationship and had decided they wanted a family. Both were successful in their fields and well off financially.  Goldie had just ended her marriage and was struggling to make ends meet financially and had hopes of going to law school.  Bryan and David meet with Goldie to discuss her becoming a surrogate mother for David and Bryan.  The grandmother it turns out is very bigoted against gays and is appalled that Goldie would even consider this.   Bryan and Shania share a lot of things as he tells her what growing up was like for him because he knew he was different at an early age.  They had a special friendship by the end of the show.  The telephone call at the end of the show was in fact the call from the Doctor’s office announcing a positive pregnancy test.

                I totally missed the part of the plot concerning Goldie becoming the surrogate without the conversation.  Initially, I assumed that Bryan and David were straight.  With the sound on, it was obvious from the very beginning that they were gay.  Their character traits were stereotypical for gay men. The grandmother’s part in the story was not at all evident without the sound because the nonverbal signals made it seem that she was friendly to everyone.  It was the commentary made in her “thoughts” in her head that helped me understand how she felt about gays and their becoming parents.

                Had I been watching a show I was familiar with, I would have had some previous knowledge of the relationships among the characters.  Since it was a brand new show, I had no prior knowledge of the relationships or the plot. This made the exercise really interesting and fun. The assignment helped me understand more clearly that communication is not always straight forward and things are not always what they seem to be making it important to always be open to all that is going on when communicating with others including the context in which the interaction occurs.