COMMUNICATION THEORIES IN RUNAWAY JURY

GEIST:

To cut the story short, the plot of the film, Runaway Jury revolves around a case that involves a widow, Mrs. Woods who is filing a case against a gun manufacturer company because her husband was killed in an office massacre involving an easily-obtained weapon.

It took place mainly in the courtroom, hiring Mr. Wendell Rohr as her prosecutor and Mr. Durwood Cable as the prosecutor of the gun manufacturer company. It also followed the behind the scenes of a trial, where Mr. Rankin Fitch, the evil jury consultant, was standing in front of computer and television monitors, apparently able to see the secrets of all the prospective jurors.

But  one juror, Nicholas Easter, who gets on the panel, turned out to be involved in an arrangement with his girlfriend Marlee, to sell the decision of the jury to the highest bidder.

Application of Communication Theories:

 Runaway Jury has various communication theories applied in its script. From my observation, I was able to list down particularly the Interpersonal Deception Theory, Social Judgment Theory, Agenda- Setting Theory, Social Penetration Theory, Symbolic Interaction Theory and a little bit of Groupthink Theory.

           

Now, let me discuss the events within the film where communication theories were applied.

Social Judgment Theory

On the initial part of the story, Fitch said something like “Fat women are unsympathetic, tight- fisted”

Fitch instantly evaluated and perceived the woman’s attitude as unsympathetic and tight- fisted because of her physical attributes. Ontologically, this theory is deterministic in that an individual’s behavior can be predicted.

Rooted in judgment theory, which is concerned with the discrimination and categorization of stimuli, it attempts to explain how attitudes are expressed, judged, and modified. It defined attitudes as "the stands the individual upholds and cherishes about objects, issues, persons, groups, or institutions." The behavior can be in response to arranged or naturally occurring stimuli. And in society, specifically in America, they see “fat women” as such.

Another scene that was applied with the Social Judgment Theory is when Fitch’s assistant tried to determine the nature of the photo and letter sender wherein she said, “Syntax, handwriting, word choice- a woman did the note.”

It can also be explained as how an individual was being categorized; only the subject this time is a group or an institution of women population.

Another form of Social Judgment Theory was also present in the movie wherein  within the duration of the trial, Mr. Garland Jankle, the CEO of the Vicksburg Firearms stated that they will continue the operation as long as the Second Amendment stands and that it is not the company’s problem how their clients use their guns and it is the task of the government so they are not to blame. On the contrary, Mr. Rohr said with conviction that, the company should at least be liable for the widespread gun violence in order to avoid more senseless cause of death.

And as we all know the jury came with the verdict that favors on Mrs. Woods’ argument.

The Social Judgment theory was applied in this scenario states that you have a statement or message and you accept it or reject it based on your cognitive map.  You accept or reject a message based on one's own ego-involvement and if it falls within their latitude of acceptance.

In their case, they found the statements and reproofs of Mr. Rohr more acceptable than that of Mr. Jankle.

It was also shown that when people receive messages (verbal or nonverbal) they immediately judge where the message should be comparing the message with currently held views. And even when at that time, their law does not give gun companies liabilities on widespread gun violence, the juries were able to weigh and compare their currently held views with the prosecutors’ views.

Interpersonal Deception Theory

The film gave the audiences a lot of information regarding Interpersonal Deception Theory through the action units detected in prospective jurors and their meanings.

First, there was Mrs. Coleman. “..Shoulder shrug. She’s evaluating the person asking the question before she ever answers. I mean she’s telling Rohr exactly what he wants to hear,” Fitch’s assistant said.

The theory also states that humans are highly sensitive to body signals. Just like what Interpersonal deception theory is all about, Fitch’s assistant also attempted to explain the manner in which Mrs. Coleman’s nonverbal cues were detected.

Fitch replied that Mrs. Coleman doesn’t necessarily lying when she shrugged her shoulders.

Other scenes that tried to give explanation on human’s non verbal cues are when the assistant assessed their actions where he said, “Tone of voice, body language. She’s got an open mind. She’s going to be fair and sympathetic to Mrs. Wood.”

This assessment is also included in this theory. People were able to read others because of the concept of Leakage. In deception, it is manifested most overtly in nonverbal signals. Some studies indicate over 90% of emotional meaning is communicated non-verbally. Though in the film, the woman wasn’t trying to deceive anyone, but still her emotions were able to leak what she actually feels at that particular moment because of her body signals.

Another scene is when the assistant detected more action cues. He said, “The way he’s hunched over and his fingers are interlaced. He’s trying too hard not to be too obvious.” The guy that the assistant was referring to was trying to conceal something or deceive someone.

When the sender is trying to deceive the receiver, often, communication is ambivalent: people communicate one thing verbally and the opposite non-verbally. Leakage refers to communicative incidents in which nonverbal signals betray the true content of contradictory verbal messages. Examples of leakage in reality Facial expression are very hard to read. The use of FACS, or the Facial Action Coding System, is a much more accurate way to uncover deception. Small facial movements known as micro-expressions can be detected in this system using AU’s.

And the last scene where meanings were assigned to detected body language is when Fitch’s team is trying to figure out who is manipulating the jury. They saw signs where Fitch said, “Loreen Duke, tightens in on her left hand,” referring on Loreen, squeezing the hand of Nick by her side to comfort him which also led Fitch’s team to a conclusion that Nick has a hidden agenda.

Groupthink Theory

There was a part in the film where the jury had to elect for their head speaker when Frank, a marine veteran, volunteered for the position because nobody else tried to step up and get the position. Nick then nominated Mr. Grimes, a blind old man to be the jury’s speaker because he has knowledge on the law.

Frank tried to denounce him because the old man has a disability but Nick defended him saying that Mr. Grimes is blind as much as the law should be.

The majority of the jury finally voted for the blind man, and when Frank saw it, he half heartedly raised his hand to vote for the blind man as well.

This scenario perfectly portrays what Groupthink Theory is all about. The idea is that groupthink is a kind of thinking in which maintaining group cohesiveness and solidarity is more important than considering the facts in a realistic manner. Thus groupthink is a result of cohesiveness in groups.

Groupthink is most likely to occur when certain preconditions are met, such as when the group is highly cohesive, isolated from contrary opinions, and ruled by a directive leader who makes his or her wishes known. Just like what happened in the election, they all voted for Mr. Grimes because Nick got their sympathies.

Agenda- Setting Theory

As a member of the jury, Nick had his chance to manipulate the verdict by influencing others. If they win the case, new policy regarding gun violence will be made. And in the film, he was the one to raise the agenda on voting for Gun Manufacturer Company to be liable of growing cases of violence involving guns.

 Policymakers have been found to be more influential than the overall group of news sources because they often better understand journalists’ needs for reliable and predictable information and their definition of newsworthiness. The theory also claims that in order for an issue to attain agenda status, it must be supported by at least some of key decision makers as they act as guardians of the formal agenda. They also asserted that certain personages in the media can act as opinion leaders and bring media coverage to a particular issue.

In the film, when a new policy was made regarding gun violence issue, a lot of media people focused on the story because it is the first time that the jury supported a case like that of Mrs. Woods against a Gun Manufacturer Company, and again just like what Agenda- Setting Theory is trying to explain, the news media was able to influence the salience of topics on the public agenda on that part of the film.

Social Penetration Theory

               

There was a scene in the movie where Mille, the fat girl was crying because his husband was arrested. Nick tried to console her. She even disclosed to Nick her feelings about the possibility that her husband might be jailed for life if she will not vote in favor of the gun company.

         

It is showed in that scene that within the short period of time, the relationship between the jury developed. And in this case, Mille felt more comfortable in telling Nick her personal problem which is also highly confidential considering their situation.

It can be related to Social Penetration Theory because it is believed in this theory that this process occurs primarily throughself- disclosure and closeness develops if the participants proceed in a gradual and orderly fashion from superficial to intimate levels of exchange as a function of both immediate and forecast outcomes.

Also, that only through opening one's self to the main route to social penetration-self-disclosure-by becoming vulnerable to another person can a close relationship develop, which is what was exactly portrayed in that scene.