The Relationship Between Individuality and Group Influence in Films and TV Commercials - Dissertation Example

? The Relationship between Individuality and Group Influence in Films and TV Commercials: A Research Proposal. Introduction There are numerous theories on the linkage between individual behaviour and group behaviour. Traditionally, this is the preserve of the fields of psychology and sociology. However, the practical application of the linkage between individualism and collectivism is pervasive in the society. One of the areas that this seems to have a significance is in the area of film and the visual arts. There are critical questions about how a person will behave in relation to other people on the set or in some kind of art which requires some degree of group cohesion in order to attain a stated objective. This proposal provides the exegesis to study the issue of individual and group behaviour in relation to an art or group activity. The point of reference is the film industry in general and marketing commercials in particular. Zimbardo (2010) argues that people often have a profound effect on others. This effect tends to make people on the wider scale tend to behave along lines that are similar to them (Ariely, 2009). In this wise, we can examine the role of directors and important stage managers who get others in a larger crowd to go in a given direction. Knippeberd and Baaren (2009) identify that one of the biggest ways that people tend to influence groups of people is though mimicry. They define mimicry as the process of consciously or unconsciously doing what other people do in a given society. Mimicking is one of the ways people learn and also gain social acceptance. Thus, for instance, we might want to check the impact of an important star in a film or TV commercial on the wider audience. Will the audiences mimic him or her? Or will their countenance and activities change to suit their presence. This provides a basis for studies of the relationship between individuals and the wider group. The primary research question for this paper is, what is the individual's behaviour in reaction to other people when they are being filmed in a group scene? In order to attain this, the research will try to examine the importance of an individual's identity to the group's main operations and activities. Does the individual change or retain his distinctiveness. Secondly, what is the role of the crew and production authorities in creating herd behaviour amongst the group? How do the individuals blend into the bigger picture? Thirdly, does the presence of significant personalities in the group affect individuality amongst members of the group? The research questions above will be answered to provide a holistic picture of the main enquiry. To this end, we will want to test a single hypothesis. A hypothesis is a temporal statement made at the beginning of a research, which is tested for its truthfulness or falsity in the actual research (Kothari, 2005). The hypothesis is that “lesser known actors in groups lose their individuality in order to blend with the wider group”. Thus, the research will reconcile the primary research question with the sub-questions in order to identify whether less known actors and actresses keep their unique identity in films and commercials or they cede it to the group identity. The sub-questions will provide an exegesis of why the lesser known actors cede or retain their individuality in group scenes. Research Positioning This section of the proposal will examine the research report. The research approach will involve the application of significant and core concepts of individualism and group identity in the filming of movies and commercials. This heading will discuss important theories and a framework of cases that would be studied in the research. This will set the tone for the discussion of the three cases that would be examined to draw conclusions on the research questions and prove or disprove the hypothesis. The core concept that will be used in this research is the boiling point concept of Gladwell (2000). Gladwell sought to study the point off transition from individualism to group behaviour. In other words, he studied the exact point through which a person abandons his personal identity and picks up the group identity. Since the Gladwell model is grounded in concepts and ideas from psychology and sociology, the research will apply the theory to three main sets of cases. These cases relate to the behaviour of individuals on set and how they blended into the main framework of group operations to provide a synergistic contribution to the film. Gladwell's model identified the 'boiling' point as the turning point where the individual dropped his individual conception of himself or herself to become part of the group (Potter, 2009). This is stepped in the Pareto principle which asserts that 80% of results are based on 20% of the total inputs (Thompson, 2009). Thus, Gladwell comes up with the law of the few. A few actions influence the efficiency of the larger group on set. Thus, the research will examine what these tipping pointers are in the transition from individualism to collectivism. The second factor that Gladwell puts forward is the stickiness factor which involves the memorable impact that someone in the group makes on the wider group (Gladwell, 2000). This means that they include the actions that create retention and addiction which sustains people in a group as one united group and not single elements. Once there is a connection, the group develops a context which defines what is right and what is not right (Gladwell, 2000). This guides the group and creates the framework for acceptability and rejection. LeBron wrote an authoritative text on crowd behaviour which guides the conduct and operations of groups of people (1896). The concepts of LeBron stated that crowds foster anonymity. This implies that crowds always come to a consensus and this develops further emotions which guides the crowd. This is a kind of mental unity which keeps the group in motion. LeBron's concept came to be known as crowd herding, whereby huge group of people defined standards of morality, which became the fundamental ratio of everyone in the group. Amongst the practical application of this concept was the case of the Nazi party and the Fascist regime of the 1930s and 1940s. Hitler and Mussolini used the principles of crowd herding to get their people to unite against them to cause serious atrocities in the Second World War. In essence, the power of group identity also known in other circles as 'mobcracy', cannot be underestimated (Simpson, 2009). This is because it can make logical people lose their sense of good and evil and fall for the group goal (Zimbardo, 2010). Since acting and filming of large groups demands some degree of collective action, the concept of group belongingness over individualism is important. It produces the grounds for fundamental studies of concepts and ideas that could explain why some collective scenes seem more authentic and have a high sense of originality than others. Thus, in effect, this research will produce the basis for future studies and examination of individualism and collectivism. This will support further studies in this area. Another authoritative study of group psychology is the work of Professor Cialdini (2001) which studies the collective views of people and what makes people more interested in one brand ahead of another brand. First of all, for a brand or product to get collective acclaim and for groups of people to choose it, there must be reciprocity. The producers must present it as something that serves a genuine need of the society and users. This will present it as a valuable product worth buying and owning. In the filming industry, the individuals who form the group need to know how important the scenes they are filming are to the whole project and how well the scenes will go to promote their careers as individual actors and actresses. Secondly, the producers must show that they have a commitment to consistently support the users. There should be a strong connection between the people providing the service and the users. They should have a sense that the users are being cared for and the care must continue over a long period of time. In a film setting, the director needs to take steps to get actors and actresses to understand the importance of what is being done. This will bring out the symbiotic relationship and promote cooperation. This way, people acting in teams are more likely to put down their individualisms in favour of a group identity. The third factor that promotes group integration is the provision of social proof. People need to see what others are doing and they are likely to copy them. This is very true of the wider community which involves persons who look and copy from others. This is more or less applicable to the set since actors and actresses are likely to be influenced by peer actions and activities. The fourth factor involves authoritative power. People who do not know each other are likely to allow a figurehead, nominated as a leader to take charge of affairs. In the corporate sector, the use of brand ambassadors and public figures work pretty well. On the set though, it appears that the default authoritative personnel is the one employing the individual actors. Hence, group identity is likely to be initiated by the instructions of such a person. Another source of authority is a popular star who sets the stage for the film or commercial. Such an individual provides the yardstick for activities of the group and people are likely to define themselves in the group in relation to such a person. Liking is the fifth component of the Cialdini model. There is an unconscious influence of people who are admired. In most marketing drives, the use of popular figures build brand equity and promotes people to commit to certain activities and trends in favour of other trends. In a group setting, liking and admiration is likely to control group behaviour. Scarcity is another component that influences groups of people. Cialdini argues that scarcity generates demand. This means that on the set, scarcity can also have an influence on the actions and behaviour of people in the group. The paper will therefore use the concepts and theories of group and individual behaviour to assess the relationship between individualism and crowd belongingness in the film industry. In order to do this, I will examine three main cases that will provide answers to the research questions and prove or disprove the hypothesis. The first case will involve a critical analysis of a British classic movie. This will include the observation of the top actors of the film who were part of group scenes and actions. The main scope of the observation will be to assess important interviews and post movie speeches that give a good view of how the film was acted. The focus of the observation is to assess the statements made by the actors in relation to how they ceded their personal identity and became part of the group. Their descriptions of things done and thing that were not done will give valuable information of the variables under study. The second case will be a critical analysis of the 'behind-the-scenes' of two important movies to give an insight into individual and group identity. One movie from the United States and another movie from China will be assessed. This will be done through a critique of the genuine behaviours and actions of groups of people involved in acting. In this critique, the fundamental concepts of group identity and group cohesion of the 'behind-the-scenes' will be noticed. The findings will be collated and summarised in relation to the research question and hypothesis. This will provide the platform for conclusions and inferences. Again, specific films and tapes will be examined to this end. The final case will involve a field work. The fieldwork will be to go to go to a UK advertising company and interview one director of filming and two or three actors who have starred in commercials from the group. The interview with the director will draw into his or her experiences relating to individualism and collectivism on the set. With the answers, further questions will be thrown to the actual actors and actresses to ascertain they reacted to specific matters and situations. Case Study 1 For the first case study, I sought to get a film that was considered a classic on the world stage. Due to this, I settled on a film that is based on a popular theme which was also a great work of ingenuity. In therefore decided to undertake an analysis of the 1968 classic Oliver!. The movie is a musical that was put together by Lionel Bart under the popular storyline of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist. Oliver is an ingenious mix if classical music, flawless choreography and the most advanced post-world War II cinematographic techniques. Image 1: Original Title Cover of Oliver! Oliver! is a masterpiece and it contains many dance choreographies which required a lot of group coordiation and techniques. Songs like Consider Yourself, Pick-a-Pocket or Two, Anything and Be Back Soon required a lot of collaboration and collective effort. The storyline involved the orphan Oliver, who sets off to London from a workhouse where he had been sold for asking for more food. Oliver joins a bad company of pickpockets led by the loveable Fagin who took him in and he got into trouble and was taken to court. In court, Oliver is acquitted and he moves on to join his Mr. Bronlow who is a successful man in London. Bronlow later realizes that Oliver was his niece's child, but Oliver was kidnapped by Fagin and Bill Sykes, a crook in Fagin's circles who believe Oliver might give out inside information which could lead to their arrest. Eventually, Sykes is shot and Oliver returns to Bronlow. Image 2: Extract from 'Consider Yourself' Bart distinguished himself as a world-class director and choreographer through the ability to tell significant portions of the story through songs and dances. The harmony in the dances, movement and actions shows that a lot of practice and group cohesion was huge. This makes Oliver! one of the biggest and most successful movies of its kind. The film was remade in 2008 to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the original cast. This DVD version cast the original video in high quality colour. This makes it an ideal and priceless classic that was given a new lease. As part of the 40th Anniversary, the only surviving main cast were interviewed extensively in the DVD – Mark Lester (Oliver Twist) and Ron Moody (Fagin) were interviewed. In the interview, they gave information about the acting and how the movie was done and the number of choreographies. From a quick view of the interviews, Ron Moody discusses how the participants were trained and how the film was captured. Mark Lester also gives insight into how he was chosen to play the lead role and how he got into the choreography as an 8-year old child. From the extensive information given by Ron Moody and Mark Lester in the 40th anniversary DVD, there is a lot of information that can be gathered in relation to the acting and the filming. Although the information is not very structured, it can be critiqued in relation to key concepts in group and individual identity. The methodology that will be employed to critique the movie and the interviews will be one that will involve a study of the movie. The research will examine each of the characters and their roles in the movie. This will provide a holistic picture of the movie and the pointers and actions that each person and group did. Ideally, after this point, there should have been an interview with the surviving lead actors. However, that is not very likely since Ron Moody is now very old almost 90 years and Mark Lester has opted for a very quiet and modest life. Thus, after a critique of the individual and group activities, there will be a critique of the interviews granted to Ron Moody and Mark Lester in the 40th anniversary DVD. I will note and summarize the findings and conclusions of the two interviewees on the DVD and connect it to the concepts of individualism and group identity. The summary of the interviews will be done with reference to the main theories of individual and group identity. This will be done to give a connection of one variable with another variable. The reconciliation would be done through an attempt to interpret each and every action that was described by the interviewees. This will provide us with some strong indicators of how group identity was created and enhanced by the actors in Oliver. Aside the fundamental interviews on the DVD, there will be an enquiry into other secondary sources about the making of the movie. This will be achieved by the search for journals and scholarly sources that describe the actions and activities of Oliver! and how it relates to the group and individual conduct and connections. From the secondary sources and the DVD interviews, conclusions will be drawn on how individualism and collectivism were both blended in the making of the film. Through the conclusion, inferences will be made in order to link it to the research question. First of all, we will sum up the actual reaction of the individuals to the filming processes of the movie. From the interviews and other secondary sources, it can be explained how each of the individuals in the movie worked so well to attain a perfect blend with the other actors or actresses. From there, it can be explained whether the practice, training or some other reason was responsible for the group success of all the scenes. We can also infer conclusions of how people ceded their distinctiveness and how they behaved to blend into the bigger picture. From there, we will factor in the observations into the wider sense to conclude on whether lesser know actors retain or lose their individuality or not to blend into group scenes. This inference will be one of the three main conclusions that will reconcile the other two conclusions that will be drawn in the other two cases below. Case Study 2 Case study 2 is going to be focused on two more contemporary films that depict popular themes which define the individual and collective reactions of actors on the set. The more modern movies will be chosen because there is the need to study a more modern and more successful film that will give this end that the research seeks to attain. Case Study 2 is going to be based on James Cameron's Titanic and Brett Ratner's Rush Hour. Both movies were released in the late 1990s and they both involved group activities and proper actions and Titanic was a great hit in its time and involved a lot of group cohesion in an unusual setting because there was the need to demonstrate the panic and horrors that came with the sinking of the original ship. Rush Hour was also a popular movie with strong connections to Hong Kong's Jackie Chan and the African-American, Chris Tucker. As an action movie, there were various scenes of violence which involved some choreography and other coordinated scenes which demonstrated various social states of affairs like panic and a Chines market scene. Image 3: Rush Hour Cover The case study of individuality and group identification in these two movies will be done in the form of a focus group interview. In the interview, people from technical and non-technical backgrounds will be invited. They will be made to view the ''behind-the-scenes' of both movies. The researcher will act as moderator. Prior to the focus group interview, the parties will be briefed about the study at hand. They will be briefed of the activities at hand. This will involve an insight into some core components of group and individual theories and concepts. After that, they will be made to see the movie. When the movie is over, they will be given questionnaires to fill. The questionnaires will detail important requirements and expectations of the study and provide an exegesis into the topics for each one. In the questionnaire for Titanic, the participants will be asked if they feel the individuals looked convincing or not in their display of fear and panic. The participants will be about what they think of the role of Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Dawson. Did they seem to have any influence on the actors and actresses who played they role of passengers on the ship? The participants will be asked to give their thoughts of this. Image 4: Titanic Cover Also, about the narration of the “behind the scenes”, the participants will be asked to comment on what they think of James Cameron. They will be asked if they think Cameron played a significant role in the psychology of the actors and actresses and the authenticity. Also, the audiences' judgement off the professionalism of the actors and actresses in the group and its impact on their actions will be evaluated. After Titanic, there will be a brainstorming section where people will be asked questions in general and contributions from the participants in the focus group will be taken down. This will be followed by the second film, Rush Hour. The behind-the-scenes will be shown and then a sort questionnaire will be distributed afterwards for the views and contributions of the participants. In Rush Hour the focus will be on the needs of the group to cooperate and do things that are generally not humanly possible. The questions will therefore be on how easily the actors adapt to the combats and other forms of choreography as groups and not as individuals. Also, the multicultural nature of the actors and how they acted in the movie will be presented to the audience to judge whether it was individualistic or collective in nature. The nature of this study will include a critical analysis of the narration of how the film was acted. Hence, the participants of the focus group interview will be asked more about how natural the actors and actresses were and the key factors that played a role in the blending into the group mode. Another area of questioning will be possible influences of the main actors, Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan. Their role in stimulating the other actors to feel a part of the group and act as required of them will be examined in the questions that will be put before the participants of the focus group interview. After the questionnaires are filled, a brainstorming session will follow. This will be done through a general question on what they think helps the individuals to attain group cohesion and act as a single unit. I will ask questions about how people think about significant subjects and require the participants to make their contributions and suggestions. The high-point of this section of the study will involve the compilation of the findings. This process will be about how to collate all the findings of the questionnaires. The findings will be collated statistically and similar answers will be classified based on their frequency. From there, general trends will be identified and subjected to further studies. As part of the further studies, I will undertake further investigations through a critical assessment of journals and other secondary sources like books. This will give me an insight into trends and ideas that relate to the movies which were not show in the videos. This will be used to interpete the results further and provide guidelines and information for conclusions to be drawn in this phase. From the conclusions given in the focus group and the further readings, I will be able to draw inferences on the way people attain group cohesion on see. This part of the research will provide an explanation of what causes people to put down their identity and explain the role of the main stars in the respective movies. From there there can be an explanation of how commoners get influenced in movies. The conclusion will ascertain whether it was due to the popular actors or good directors or a skilled actor base. These variables as well as any other variables that would come up will be used to explain or reject the hypothesis. Case Study 3 This third case study will involve a field work that will consolidate all the research conducted in studies, 1 and 2. In this point, there will be the examination of a key component of the research which is the query of real and qualified directors and actors who can give solutions to direct questions on the subject that will be presented to them. The query will be in the form of a face-to-face interview which will involve questions relevant to individualism and group theory on the field. The research at this point will involve the director and actors/actresses of a small advertising filming company in the United Kingdom. This is chosen because there is the need for critical examination of the practical techniques involved in the transition from individualism to group identification. Thus, a small company with a less busy schedule is deemed to be more appropriate than a large company. Also, the less popular actors and actresses who have time on their hands can be approached and asked questions about who they are and how they switch from singleness to group membership. There will be a detailed interview with the director of filming in the company and a detailed interview with three actors/actresses (it will be made available when the methodology of the research his put together). The actors will be asked about specific things relating to the topic in their recent roles and careers respectively. The director or field manager or head of crew will be asked a couple of important questions. First of all, he will be asked about how the concept of individualism and group belongingness becomes important in the filming on the ground. This will involve questions of how to diagnose when this need arises and how it manifests itself on the field. The director will be asked how he attains the transition from individualism to group identification. I will ask how he normally attains that end and how the process goes. This will be documented or recorded. We will ask how his team normally attains connection and how the group makes the connection work for all the people present in the group. This will be an important background for further analysis if the need arises. After that, the director will be asked about how he creates common crowd herding system that works for all the members of the group. He will be asked if the advertising company works better under the director or under a star that all the actors and actresses know and have some administration for. The interview will go on to ascertain how it works when the actors are all ordinary people and the director has to take full charge of affairs. After that, he will be asked how things go if a star comes to play and there is the need for adjustments. Further questions will involve what the challenges are when the director fails to get the full cooperation of the actors in the team. I might want to ask what he does when there are individual or cultural tensions between people in the group being filmed. This is because it will be vital to find out how difference are resolved and solutions are found to problems as and when they come up. Also, the way friendship, camaderie and understanding is attained will be done at this point of the research. After the director, I will interview some actors and actresses who have had experience on the set. I will find out if they notice the importance of group cohesion and crowd herding in groups or not. There will be standardised questions that will be posed to three different respondents in this category. Afterwards, I will want to find out the main factors that often open the floodgates for actors, sometimes from completely different backgrounds to work together and attain a given level of group cohesion. This will give me the idea of what the boiling point is on the ground. With that established, I will want to know the kind off factors that lead to stickiness and keep the group together as an authentically united set of people. I will want to know how crowd herding is attained. This will involve how a group that has cohesion builds up a culture and lay down norms and standards for the group to remain functional and operational. Another important set of questions will relate to the importance of stars and respected actors in creating and maintaining team cohesion. This will be used to provide an insight into the position of stars and other senior figures in ascertaining group cohesion. The results of the interview with the director and the interview with the actors and actresses will be summarised and presented in a format which shows their broad overview of things. Through this, there will be conclusions on the way things are done on the field and how individualism is bridged into collectivism on the field. The results will show how people behave in order to drop their individualism and take up a group identity instead of a singularity. The answers to the question of how things are done in the field will provide practical views of how individualism evolves to collective matters. The three different conclusions drawn in the steps above will be summarised and put together and integrated to form a universal solution. This will be done through the examination and integration of the different components of the study. This will provide a fair idea of how people put aside their individual identity and take up group identity. With this done, recommendations will be made that would provide future managers and actors and actresses a model of dealing with different needs to evolve from individual to group identity. The dynamics involved and other important factors will be examined in light of facts and figures which could be flexed in the future. References Ariely, D. (2009) Predictable Irrationality New York: HarperCollis Cameron, James (2006) Titanic Behind the Scenes [Video Online] Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TO1exMc7AeA Accessed: September 30, 2012. Cialdini, R. B. (2001) Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Gladwell, M. (2000) The Tipping Point New York: Little Brown Knippeberd, A. V. and Baaren, R. V. (2009) “Baboons, Brains, Babies & Bonding: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Mimicry” Bridging Social Psychology: Benefits of Transdisciplinary Approach London: Routledge Kothari, C. R. (2005) Research Methodology Delhi: New Age Publishing. LeBron, G. (1896) “The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind” Criminology Series Digitalized: 2008, University of Virginia Press Lester, Mark (2011) Mark Lester (Oliver) – Where are they Now? [Video Interview] Available online at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98jXf3ov0Ww [Accessed 30th September, 2012] McNitt, G. (2000) “Idea Epidemics” Salon.com [Online] Available at: http://www.salon.com/2000/03/17/gladwell/ [Accessed 30th September, 2012]. Moody, Ron, (2010) Ron Moody (Fagin) Funny Interview on Loose Women [Video Interview] Available online at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lN8ZDYLPZEU [Accessed 30th September, 2012] Potter, A. (2009) A Balanced Glance at Gladwell London: Mackers Ratner, Brett (2007) Rush Hour 1, 2 & 3 Behind the Scenes [Video Online] Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QITqucSKesw&feature=related Accessed: September 30, 2012 Simpson, J. (2009) Academic Enquiry into Legal Matters London; Sweet & Maxwell Thompson, C. (2009) “Is the Tipping Point Toast?” Fast Company February 2008. Zimbardo, P. (2010) The Lucifer Effect: How Good People Turn Evil New York: Random House Read More