Honestly this week really showed that lack of communication really causes so many unnecessary problems. I mean really misinterpret on thing and its all out war on humans.
Obviously this is precisely what happens in the film Arrival. One misinterpretation of a the actual meaning of a word leads into a full out declaration of war among. But should it really have lead to that? I feel like conclusions were jumped because of the skeptical nature of these extraterrestrial beings. You can definitely see that in the film because Dr. Banks goes out of her way to really try and figure out what they actually meant whereas all the nations are freaking out and prepare for some kind of war. It really does show how language can be shaped and molded by our environment and interactions. Dr. Banks had more interactions with the heptapods compared to everyone else which is why she couldn’t accept that this is actually what they meant which shows this concept of frame-shifting.
In this scene in particular Dr. Banks was able to really connect to the heptapods and from there slowly bring down their language barriers. It really shows how the body can connect us when our mind doesn’t. It shows an importance in the role of the body when it comes to understanding things. Something so simple can be a catalyst for greater knowledge which Dr. Banks and Ian were able to access because they connected using their bodies first. Which is also why they were able to shift their frames away from being skeptical and always on alert with the heptapods to really understanding the gift they were trying to bring.
Now for Star Trek…
I would just like to put it out there, I am not a huge Star Trek fan at all. So really after watching that really great movies this was kind of a let down. BUT IT’S OKAY!
Literally this was me the whole time. I won’t lie the episode was hard for me to really grasp but I know it really had to do with the fact that there was a huge language barrier the crew faced with the Tamarians. Picard does believe they can get past this but it will take patience and a little imagination. 
In this scene we really see Picard putting that to use. As he has spent more time with the Tamarian he begins to start to put things together until finally in this scene he realize what he is saying. “Temba, his arms wide” and throws the fire. Picard is able to put together that he is giving him this fire out of generosity. Picard essentially was able to to adapt their conceptual metaphor into his own based on his interaction with him. I mean it really just shows how our interactions and experiences and really mold and adapt our language and understanding of other languages. But again as Picard said it best it takes patience and imagination to get there.
I really did find it incredible how our body and interactions can really push us to understand when our minds can’t.
3 thoughts on “Sorry Can You Repeat that One More Time, Nope I Still Don’t Understand”
Hi Alesha,
I do agree that interpretation is everything! Just one misunderstood word can, as you stated, literally cause the world to go to war. I find it fascinating that Louise went the extra mile in this movie to communicate with the heptapods. In her profession as a linguist, she understands what most don’t, that language is not only verbal but can be conveyed through text and imagery or symbols like the ones heptapods used to communicate with her and Ian. I think, without sound to add to the context, it sometimes makes it difficult to understand what one means, which is how the army misunderstood tools for a weapon. With Star Trek, it is incredible how the Tamarians spoke in metaphor; when you think about it, like the professor stated in the lesson, we often speak in metaphor ourselves without realizing it!
cstiglianese
Hi Alesha,
Sorry that you didn’t enjoy the Star Trek episode—and just a warning that we’ll be watching two more the next two modules, so brace yourself.
I like the attention that you’re paying to the role of the body in communication. But remember, that 4-E cognition our minds and bodies are not separate things. So it’s not that our bodies can push us to understand what our minds don’t, but that our bodies are part of the cognitive system through which we make meaning. There is a lot of really interesting of gestures, for example, that argues that they aren’t just illustrating what we think, but that we use them to think.
In your discussion of Arrival, you mention the frame-shifting that occurs in the film. Can you say a bit more about that? How do we see cognitive frames at work in the episode?
I love the Supernatural gif that you included in your post, because that is the entire point of the essay. The barrier to communication was not necessarily the words being used. In Star Trek, the crew uses a universal translator, but there are aspects of the language and meaning that untranslatable. And even if the crew could understand the words, they don’t share the necessary context to make meaning. They don’t have the cultural background—don’t get the reference.
Jessica Hautsch
Hi Alesha,
I agree with your idea of frame shifting, which is what Banks used in order to communicate and comprehend what the Heptapods were symbolically displaying. It could be seen continuously as they made contact with each other. I like how you integrated the body and the idea of frame shifting together because the usage of bodies was a big part of communication with the Heptapods. With only words and no experience of the word, communication would be impossible. This episode of Star Trek was really hard to keep up with too and I agree it has to do with the language barrier. But I found myself trying to figure out the language of the Tamarians with Picard and a lot of the things I used was based on their body language as well. This was something I was unconsciously doing and I think that ties together the whole idea of cognition and language going hand in hand with each other. Without my prior knowledge of my own experiences, I could not possibly do this or connect back to my own understanding.
amyint