Blog 1 - Les Mis

There are a few dynamics of communication ethics that are going on in the movie Les Miserables. The communication between characters revolves heavily around social status. There are hierarchies in place which drives the way people communicate with each other.

I have not watched the whole movie, however Jean Valjean and Javert have an interesting relationship so far. They have a history however Javert is not quite sure of it when Valjean has become a new man, and the mayor of a small town. When Valjean was a prisoner, Javert treated him very poorly, like an animal, and couldn't look him in the eye. This goes for all prisoners and ex-prisoners. Cops and business owners would always ask to see their papers and have no sympathy for them. However, Valjean changes his life around after he meets a priest that changes his life. Instead of using communication ethics revolved around power and social status, the priest has more empathy and morals that he follows. He treats Valjean like a regular human being in hopes that he becomes in honest man. After receiving the sympathy and compassion from the priest, Valjean decides to turn his life around. Once Valjean is mayor, Javert completely does not recognize him at first. Although, he notices some similarities, Javert communicates with Valjean with respect because he is perceived to be of a higher social status than he once was.

Meanwhile, Fantine is a woman that works at Valjean's factory and is fired once everyone else finds out she has an illegitimate child. They think she will cause "trouble" in the future and she's kicked to the curb. The town they live in is quite poor and she results to selling everything she has, including herself. The red light district seems to become her new home and she does not like it. Everyone else treats her very poorly because of her current conditions and the way she sells herself. Others didn't respect her, thus leading her not to respect herself either. However, Valjean notices that she worked in his factory and has some sympathy. He does not let his social status cloud his thought of her being sick and treating her correctly at the hospital. He communicates with courage although everyone seemed to be against his decisions.  I find that he may have sympathy because he was once treated that way and knows that isn't right.