Communicating Thoughts

After a week of holidays (where did all that time disappear too?) because of CNY (Chinese New Year), I'm back to blog using more concepts I've acquired from lessons 3,4,5 & 6 of COM101.

CNY is a festive period where Chinese go visiting with the popular greeting, "Gong Xi Fa Cai", exchanged generously. Gong Xi Fa Cai, loosely translates to "wishing you get rich", so is getting rich so important to the Chinese that we go round wishing that others strike it rich as well?
Well, some of the "traditions", or activities, of CNY includes gambling- from ban lak(black jack), Tai Tee, Mahjong, and even now the yearly $10 million Toto draw (darn, no luck this year...)! So, it appears that a lot of people are always in hope of that quick buck, and gambling is definitely one of the most dangerous way to adhere to.

My subject for this entry is a television commercial that struck me on the weeks leading up to and during CNY. It was constantly aired during the commercials (and even on tv mobile!) and came in two languages, English and Mandarin, but why not in Tamil and Malay?

The issue I'd like to raise in this entry is, have you watched this video before and if so, has it left an impact on you? Would it be effective in getting gamblers or family members to call the helpline number right at the end of it?

If you have not watched it, I've embedded the video into this entry, please take a look at it and comment!
Below are the two videos taken from youtube for your reference,
English verison:


Chinese version


This is the transcript of the videos in English:

"You know me,
I know what I'm doing,
I can win it all back.
My luck is changing,
I'm going to strike the big one.
Imagine what we can do.
One more try,
this will be my last...
I promise I'll give it back to you"

The high frequency of this message definitely caught my attention and the communication through the use of the mass media by the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) has been effective in letting the public know of its existence as well as creating awareness on the problem of gambling that plagues many families.

According to Seiler & Beall,

"Perception is the process of selecting, organizing and interpreting information in order to give personal meaning to the communication we receive."(1999)

So, with that in mind, the message the video is trying to convey also requires us (as receivers) to select, organise and interpret the information and give personal meaning to.

This video has four specific qualities to aid my selection of information:

1. Frequency - as mentioned earlier, this commercial was constantly aired on channel 5, 8 and TV mobile, leaving an impression on me.
2. Contrast - The contrast between the desperateness of the father asking for money and the the fear and sense of hopelessness from the daughter highlights the problem gamblers could induce into families.
   
3. Intensity - The intensity portrayed by the actor with his speech being broken down into short sentences amplifies the message from each sentence.
4. Novel Stimuli - There's two here, the words from the father is typical of a gambling addict, always believing that his "luck is changing" and he just wants "one more try" and it would be "my last". At the end, a young girl, supposedly his daughter, is portrayed clutching onto her "piggy bank", oh my, how much could that be for his father to take from to gamble away?

From the above, I gather that the man is desperate enough for him to ask his little girl for money, a terrible situation that some families face. How I could relate to this commercial is that from my past experience, when I'm gambling, I'd usually go for it and if I lose, I'll try to get back what I lost... Thankfully, I never had to lose much to begin with :x Influence from my social network includes my parents, who are avid gamblers who live in hope of "striking the big one". Again, fortunately for me, they gamble only within their means, and not gambling more than they could afford.

This video also makes use of two organizational principles, figure and ground, and closure.

1. Figure and ground - did you realize that all the shots focuses only on the characters, and after that it highlights the message it intends to send out captivatingly in text , "often, the people who suffer from problem gambling aren't the gamblers."
2. Closure - not much information was provided, but I was still able to come to conclusion with what the whole situation the family could be facing...
   

Within the video itself you could also see the verbal communication between the father and the daughter. The father was trying to persuade his daughter to part with her money by appealing to her with reason and emotions (logos and pathos) in trying to convince her that his luck is changing and to imagine what they could do with it. The language used was also symbolic using words such as "you know me" and "this will be my last", suggesting that he has already tried many times and also taken his daughter's money before. The daughter's reply was non-verbal as she clutched onto her piggy bank obviously not trusting her father's words any more.

The non-verbal communication in this video is normative and idiosyncratic in interpretation as the way the father talks and the daughter's non-verbal reply is typical of a Chinese family where children are usually taught not to rebuff their parents requests. The piggy bank the girl was holding on to was an objectics or artifact to symbolize the girls savings, as the piggy bank is usually where children keep all their money in. Also observe the the facial expression of the father when he's talking to his daughter, and notice the tremor in his body (kinesics) actions and voice (paralinguistic) when he says "one more try", showing that he is even nervous (maybe ashamed?) about asking his daughter for money. Also note his eyes (oculesics) throughout the video, how in instances when he felt ashamed he would look down, and when he mentions "imagine what we could do", his eyes lit up.

Overall, this video is effective in its use of language (simple and concise) and non-verbal cues to accentuate its emotions and meaning. With CNY come and about to be gone, plus the casinos in sentosa and marina resort coming up in Singapore, what better time will there be in arousing public awareness of such an problem and the avenue for help should families need it.

I think this video also has an implied message to all viewers, and the message is for people to think twice before gambling and getting addicted to it, because you won't be the only one suffering...

Overall, I feel that although this advertisement could have been useful in creating awareness of such a problem existing in families, it might not be as impactful in getting people to actually call the helpline.

I have my doubts,
what do you think?

References:
Lecture notes
Seiler & Beall, communication making connection, 1999:31
http://www.upperstorey.com/ncpg3/index.html

P.S. for those of you out there who are facing a similar situation, please do not hesitate to call the helpline,
Problem gambling hotline: 1800-6-668-668