Aspects of Nonverbal Communication in Mildred Okwo and Rita Dominic’s The Meeting

Abstract

Since one of the factors that contribute to the success of a film is the 
ability of the actors and actresses to have a thorough interpretation of 
the script/story to appear as real as possible, this study aims to 
describe the aspects of nonverbal communication in the film –The 
Meeting (2012) by Mildred Okwo and Rita Dominic. This paper 
analyses the aspects of nonverbal communication in conveying 
intercultural meaning. It argues that aside the transfer of cultural 
meanings, nonverbal communication aspects perform specific 
functions which strengthen and lend greater significance to conveying 
meaning to other characters. In addition to this, nonverbal 
communication cues abound in the Nigerian film industry productions, 
informally called Nollywood. The aim of a film has continued to be 
how to creatively bring the script/story to life through different 
communication channels that would elicit viewers’ emotions. The 
major aspects of nonverbal communication in the film are physical 
appearance, kinesics, vocal behaviour and cultural sign. The data for 
this study are some purposively selected sampled scenes in the minister 
of Lands office which was also a major setting in the film. The scenes 
were studied and analyzed. The results imply that nonverbal 
communication in the movie functions as a powerful tool to add depth 
and authenticity to the story, enabling viewers to relate to the 
characters more deeply. It should be noted that aspects of nonverbal communication can create an air of confusion when the receiver of a 
message fails to understand it as seen in some scenes in The Meeting