Communications and Media Posted: April 12th, 2014
Each student will individually write a paper about the group dynamic in one of the chosen movies below. Only the movies listed below may be used. These movies can be either checked out of your public library, rented at your local video store or viewed online.
Movies You Can Use (along with a brief description):
12 Angry Men – A dissenting juror in a murder trial slowly manages to convince the others that the
case is not as obviously clear as it seemed in court.
Akeelah and the Bee -A young girl from South Los Angeles tries to make it to the National Spelling Bee.
Apollo 13 – True story of the moon-bound mission that developed severe trouble and the men who rescued it
The Blind Side – The story of Michael Oher, a homeless and traumatized boy who became a first round NFL draft pick with the help of a caring woman and her family
The Color Purple – The life and trials of a young African American Woman
Little Miss Sunshine – A family determined to get their young daughter into the finals of a beauty pageant take a cross-country trip in their VW bus.
Oceans 11- Danny Ocean and his ten accomplices plan to rob three Las Vegas casinos simultaneously.
My Sister’s Keeper – Anna Fitzgerald looks to earn medical emancipation from her parents who until now have relied on their youngest child to help their leukemia-stricken daughter Kate remain alive.
Stand by Me – After the death of a friend, a writer recounts a boyhood journey to find a body of a missing boy.
Steel Magnolias – This 80s movie is about how a group of women maintain strong lifetime bonds.
The goal of this paper is to demonstrate your understanding of the group process and dynamic. By using one of the chosen movies, you will analyze the major characters and their behavior in a group.
The body of your paper must cover the following four areas, as outlined in the bullet points below.
It may help you to divide your paper into sections with headers.
-Describe the group roles of each of the main characters demonstrated in the movie, providing one example of that role in action. Beware, often people play more than one role at a time. If a person’s role changes during the movie, explain what motivated this change. Use this website to help you label and describe these roles. Use the character’s names (not the actor’s names) in your
paper.
-What stages of group development did you witness throughout the movie and how did you know the group was going through each stage? Provide at least one example for each stage of group development the group goes through in the movie. Use this website to help you understand the five stages and describe them. You will want to talk about the group as a whole, not what stage each individual character moved through – remember, these are stages of GROUP development, not individual development.
-Describe 2-3 communication strengths demonstrated by the group. Each description should include one example.
-Describe 2-3 communication weaknesses demonstrated by the group. Each description should include one example.
