How does communication ethics play out in the film?
The most obvious way that communication ethics is portrayed in the film is through the various shifts in power and position (i.e. who has power and who does not), and how status, power, and position all effect the way individuals communicate with one another.
I was going to touch upon the relationship that power plays between Jean and Javert throughout the film, but that has already been talked about, so I thought I'd look at power through a slightly different lens.
Other interesting places communication ethics can be seen are in Fantine's storyline. An argument could be made that the reason for Fantine's horrible predicament stem from the fact that she is utterly powerless. She was fired from her job due to her co-worker's betrayal and the foreman's desire to "put her in her place." She is forced to turn to immoral work (prostitution) to support Cosette, despite the fact that she clearly desired to maintain her respectable job at Jean's business. When Javert discovers her, he dismisses her pleas about Cosette, which echo the way others have interacted with her, either to dismiss her or to strip her of any control she may have had. Almost everyone has power over her in some way. The foreman had the power to fire her, the men she sleeps with have the power to provide her with the income she needs to support Cosette, Jean has the power to decide her fate when Javert tries to "bring her to justice" after an altercation with a client. In Fantine's storyline thus far we see communication that is used to dominate, which clearly defies ethics.
Caitlin,
ReplyDeleteThe situation with Fantine is definitely worth discussing. There are a lot of communication ethics that can be analyzed. Fantine's secret had been revealed to the factory and they suggest that she will be nothing but trouble because of the secret she has kept about her illegitimate child. I wondered why her friend would betray her, however, I feel like it may have been the fact that she saw the foreman flirting with Fantine a little. The factory workers then created a huge fiasco about the issue then causing for the foreman to fire Fantine, making it seem like she was the root of all the trouble and ruckus. There is a shared knowledge that maybe those with illegitimate children are perceived as promiscuous and doesn't have any morals or respect for themselves. That which results in others communicating to Fantine in a disrespectful way; even though she may be of the same social status as those she worked with.
It definitely doesn't get any better once she gets out on the streets and has to sell herself. No one has sympathy for her and uses harsh communication to submit power over Fantine. The mayor is the only one showing sympathy because of the lesson he had learned from the priest when he was stuck in a bad situation.
Social status and power plays an important dynamic in the communication ethics used in Les Miserables.