Comparative Analysis "You've Got Mail"

Essay by skylercarricoCollege, UndergraduateA, May 2013

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Comparative Analysis Final Draft

Communicating meaningfully is becoming more difficult than ever before. As advancements in technology are creating an ever-increasing number of ways to communicate rapidly over great distances, many people are becoming so well insulated and protected by their devices that they are losing the skills and abilities of communicating in the most influential way - face-to-face. In You've Got Mail, a film directed by three-time Academy Award nominee Nora Ephron, main characters played by Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan unknowingly develop a strong cyber-relationship as they become more and more interested in each other through a series of secretive e-mails. The relationship between Hanks and Ryan develops entirely online, and a confusion surfaces when the two meet in person, unaware of the fact that they have already met on the internet. Hanks and Ryan take comfort under the protection of the internet. This growing comfort being taken in internet communication can prove as a threat, because an inadequacy in social skills may surface due to a lack of face-to-face communication.

As this lack of face-to-face communication continues to grow, people will become so socially inadequate that the continuation of humans as a species may eventually be in jeopardy.

Tweets, text messages, and e-mails transmit words over distances so they can be received without the sender's presence. The human element and context are completely absent. There is no instantaneous interaction that allows the person to understand the tone, inflection, or emotion that is carried within the words. Communicating with influence is not simply about what is being said, but also how it is being said. During face-to-face interactions, one can observe and experience the message being delivered, and actively listen and engage in ones interests to build the relationship. With e-mail or text messaging, there are...