My Sassy Girl

http://www.crunchyroll.com/group/CRSeries_-_My_Sassy_Girl_-_Movie

My Sassy Girl, based on a true story posted by Ho-sik Kim on the Internet describing his relationship with his girlfriend, it describes a single Korean college student meeting an extremely beautiful girl, who is completely drunk, on the way home one night. Because of circumstances, he had no other choice but to help the girl. He decides to leave her in a motel, since he doesn't know where she lives. After a series of incidents, the two become good friends and as the relationship progresses, we will discover the how crazy and wacky this girl could be. These were later transformed into a best-selling book and the movie follows the book closely.

I cannot really recall why I went to watch the movie ‘My Sassy Girl’ in the first place. It was probably because of the free tickets my girlfriend got from some radio station. I never really look forward to watching romantic movies. In my opinion, they are generally boring and predictable unlike the Shakespeare’s tragedy (e.g R & J). Also, romantic movies in theatres always have very predictable endings and stages such as
Stage 1: Initiating
Stage 2: Experimenting
Stage 3: Intensifying
Stage 4: Integrating
Stage 5: Bonding
However, on the visual aspect, the movie was interesting for viewers to follow. Transitions between some of the events were precise and also the usage of music to fit into certain scenes was quite appealing to me. There were lots of comical situations and some unexpected surprises but the humor was always right on time and easy to understand despite being a Korean movie. There was not much about the Korean culture, therefore even if you are not familiar with the culture, you will not have any problems understanding the types of humor in the film.

I was also online browsing some of the related articles and I thought this would quite interesting to comment on.
The article below tells us about the ancient Chinese marriages.

http://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/social_customs/marriage/

Unlike modern relationships, the ancient Chinese customs ignore the ‘stages of coming together’ and bond the couples before allowing them to explore/ experience the other stages. Marriages aren’t decided by love; instead it was decided by parents’ desires. I recalled what my grandparents told me about their wedding arrangements. Apparently, my paternal grandparents’ relationship did not work out very well. I have no recollection of two of them sitting or talking to one another. In fact, they lived in separate places. However, my maternal grandparents were exactly the opposite. For me, I still cannot make up my mind if it’s a good or bad. Well, but I guess today most of us appreciate the freedom to choose our partners, don’t we?

Crimewatch

http://www.spf.gov.sg/crimewatch/2008episode03.htm

“Sleight of Hand Two Pakistani tricksters employed sleight of hand at various shops and hotels island wide last year to steal money from unknowing cashiers. One of them would take money from the cashier using an excuse while the other distracted the cashier. The money would then be returned to the cashier but with some cash missing. They would leave the shop before the cashier could finish counting the notes.” Extracted from the Singapore police force

These two Pakistani managed to pass through the customs without being detected. As seen from the re-enactment, both were very smartly dressed, cultured n refined. One would make up an excuse to take money from the cashier while the other distracts the cashier. They employed the same technique to many unsuspecting cashiers over a very short period of time. However, the two were eventually arrested at the Causeway.

All victims described the tricksters as smartly dressed. In my opinion, these tricksters were indeed intelligent. Everything was well planned and probably well rehearsed before execution. They were able to allow their victims lower their guard by creating a perception of a genuine tourist and collector and convince the victims in handing over the cash. The same technique was employed repeatedly after realizing that it was workable (Pragmatic approach). The success of the tricksters also lies in the use of nonverbal cues. Mainly Paralinguistics and Oculesics. For instance, calm, soothing and steady voice (Paralinguistics) as well as constantly maintaining suitable eye contact (Oculesics). Amazingly, communication is not only an extremely vital tool in the public relation industry but also in committing crimes.

If I were in the culprits’ shoes, I would have applied a different approach. I wouldn’t have maintained the same appearance or the same outfit for the subsequent crimes. Most importantly, I would not even have driven a car. A car will definitely leave traces and that is as good as turning myself in.

I know what is on your mind, do not change your perception of me; I’m not a thief! Even though I think the life of a thief is certainly more enriching and exciting as compared to a regular policeman. But I must admit that I do use these ‘arsenals of weapon’ sometimes. And I think you’re not much different from me, correct me if I’m wrong, we do rely on these ‘weapons’ in some point in our lives to get what we desire, don’t we?

Non verbal comms

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html

This clips is Amy Tan talking on creativity. Born in the US to immigrant parents from China, failing her mother's expectations that she become a doctor and concert pianist. She chose to write fiction instead and her much-loved, best-selling novels have been translated into 35 languages.

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/96

This is a clips by Tony Robbins, an inspirational life coach, shown in one of my classes. The motivational speaker has attracted a wide swath of high performing professionals ranging from heads of state to world-class athletes looking for help in reaching their fullest potential. This clips is a discussion talk: Why we do what we do, and how we can do it better.

I enjoy watching talks by professional speakers and I long to be one of them one day. I have always wished that I could have the power to influence and change people’s lives. I’ve been watching talks on TED for the past couple of hours and these clips, by Amy and Tony, are one of my favourites. Both are excellent speakers. Apart from unloading some of their knowledge, I was actually spotting the types of non-verbal cues, I learnt in class, applied by these speakers.

Types of Nonverbal Communications
- kinesics
- paralinguistic
- chronemics
- objectics or artifacts
- Oculesics
- haptics
- Proxemics
- Physical appearance

After watching both clips I noticed the importance and the heavy usage of Kinesics (emblems, illustrator, regulators, adaptors), Paralinguistics (quality of voice, vocalics, non-fluencies) and Oculesics (eye contact). Try to imagine a talk without the aid of these nonverbal cues. Monotone, low volume, out of pitch and the absence of Kinesics, wouldn’t it be terrifying? Comparing the two clips, I find myself more attracted and attentive to Tony’s. The high energy, strong voice (Paralinguistics) in particular and the use of regulators, adaptors(kinesics) , I think, held my attention 100% for the entire 20 minutes.