Communication is everywhere...

I have just realized that principles of communication is abundant in the world we live in. This also applies to japanese animations, or anime. Please enjoy a short clip from first episode of the series titled "Ouran High School Host Club" before you continue reading.



If you asked me, I would say the producers of this video cleverly uses communication techniques to draw the attention of the audience. First of all, the qualities of selections are applied appropriately. The line which informs the viewers about Ouran Academy and its host club is being repeated at the start of every subsequent episode. The high frequency of replaying that line shows that emphasis is placed on the host club which is made up of hosts and clients (both being students of the high school) from wealthy and prestigeous families. At 4:24, the character dressed in plain clothing (Fujioka Haruhi) is illustrated in grayscale, in contrast to the six hosts around her to show how stunned and shocked she was. Figure and ground also exists as Haruhi's casual home clothings is not appropriate for attending school, especially for such a high-end academy. She must have been easily spotted among other students who wore school uniform.

The six hosts of the club are victims of the Idols of the cave. Since Haruhi came from a poor family and depended on a scholarship to get into the academy, they downgraded her as their "dog" in order to pay off her debts. This proves that they are prejudiced against commoners and readily treat them as their slaves just because they are poor. Besides, being rich and gorgeous-looking has become personal contructs of the hosts who manipulates their good looks and earn profits from their clients. One gets accepted into the club as a host if only he fulfills those criteria. Contrary to the assumption of the hosts, Haruhi is actually a girl, which will be soon revealed in the following parts of the episode. The hosts simply assumed her for being a boy because she violates their prototypes of an average girl, normally seen in dresses and long hair. Meanwhile, honey-senpai who is supposed to be a high school senior appears to be petite in size and speaks in a high-pitched voice. Such unexpected twists in the storyline greatly entertains the audience, not forgetting the sense of humour of it.

The instant coffee scene implies that miscommunication occurs when people have different cultural backgrounds, in this case, the commoners and the high-status class. Those rich brats did not know what instant coffee powder is and even regarded it as novelty, fortunately, not despising it. Misunderstandings and misinterpretation could be avoided if the sender has the receiver in mind while passing on a message. Among the non-verbal cues found in this video, the most repeatedly used is the objectics. The elegant decor of the whole academy implies that students should behave with proper etiquette in that place. Antique furnishing of the club room mirrors their luxurious lifestyles and the profit they have made from club activities. Lastly the most important of all, the roses are seen to have appeared many times throughout the episode signifies the worship for beauty and grace.

Although so much have been said, there are many other non-verbal cues and whatnots which have not yet been pointed out. Most people would have watched through the whole series but not give much thought to the nitty-gritty principles applied in the making. It seems like the principles of communication exists everywhere, even where we least expected it to be. So, try to take note of your surroundings and explore more new and interesting forms of stimuli!