Being there
Figure-Ground: Indefinite amount of reality depending on what you make figure or ground. We see the world through figure-ground. What can be background can be figure. What can be figure can be background. Figure is what one pays attention to, while ground is what one blocks out. An example of this is when two people are together and talking between themselves. One person brings up something about an object, but the other person thinks the first person is talking about something other than the object. The first person does not give sufficient information about what he is talking about, so the second person guesses, or fills in from his own interpretation, what the first person is talking about. In the film, there are a few scenes where we see figure-ground take place. One is when Chance is being escorted around the Rand house because of his injured leg. Chance is in a wheelchair being escorted up to his room by a Rand servant. The Rand mansion is so huge that elevators are required, especially for Mr. Rand who is so ill. While in the elevator, Chance says, "I've never been in one of these before." Chance hears this and asks the servant
When then the president hears this, he turns and gazes at Chance as if in awe. He has probably never been called Bobby since being president, especially not from a person he just met and knows little about. The president and other leaders are usually termed with names that represent power and leadership, not their real names that show no respect. Throughout the movie Chance portrayed some of the characteristics Goffman studied. Chance would never stare at a person or give crude or even happy facial expressions. He seemed emotionless and not interactive towards people, but in certain instances he spoke, but spoke and gestured inappropriately. A bigger example of Chance portraying an idiot is when Eve wants to have sex with Chance. Instead of having that one thing that all men crave, he watches television. When Eve asks him what's wrong, he responds, Ambiguity: More unclear the situation, the more information you have to bring to it. You have to interpret a lot more. Based on little information, you have to make huge assumptions. An ambiguous man projects very little of himself. The person doesn't give out to much, he just gives us little aspects and we usually fill in the rest. When Chance says that he has never been in one of these, he means that he has never been in an elevator before. For his entire life, he has been stuck in a house that has no elevator. He was never allowed to venture out into the world, so he never came into contact with one. It was not in his experience. The servant in the scene thinks he is referring to never having been in a wheelchair before. Therefore, he goes along on his own thinking and tells Chance that Mr. Rand has two of them, meaning two wheelchairs. Chance then asks the guy if they have any televisions. He means do any of the elevators have televisions, but the servant thinks he is making a joke about the wheel chair having a television. The servant starts laughing at Chance's question because it isn't everyday that you hear someone asking if a wheelchair has a television on it.
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 3576
Approximate Pages = 14 (250 words per page double spaced)
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