Date: 15 September 2008
Source: The Straits Times
Title: Winning 4D ticket found in donation box
The purpose of this entry is to show how powerful nonverbal communication can be. Comic strips, a form of nonverbal communication can add more emphasis to the message you want to convey.
On 15 September 2008, I came across an article in The Straits Times. On its front cover, a small article titled “Winning 4D ticket found in donation box”. Beside the title, there is a 2 piece comic strips shown here. Below are my two interpretations of the comic strips before reading the article.
Interpretation 1:
As usual, Singapore, a “fine” city, with rubbish bins everywhere. The man, with a piece of paper on his hand is looking for a place to dispose his rubbish. As shown in the first box, his expression showed us that he is frantically looking for a bin to avoid getting fined. In the next slide, he was smiling happily. He managed to find a donation box and threw the 4D ticket inside. And sadly, this is what some Singaporeans did.
Interpretation 2:
After reading that article, I finally understood what it means. A man, with a winning 4D ticket, decided to “donate” this amount of money to help the needy. Instead of donating cash, he placed the winning ticket into the donation box as a form of donation. The comic strip managed to add more emphasis on the editor’s message. In addition to that, the strip managed to add a little humour to the article, making fun of Singapore as the “fine” city. At the same time, the man was glad to make that donation and was whistling.
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As we can see, both the interpretations are totally different, with two different objectives. One is to show the bad habits of Singaporeans, and the other to show the kind hearted side of Singaporeans. With the same frantic-looking eyes, and the “smile” in his eyes, we can have different interpretations. This clearly shows that nonverbal communication is subjective and has multiple channels. With the right verbal communication, nonverbal communication can work hand in hand to transmit the right message and make a greater impact. In this case, nonverbal messages both repeat and complement the verbal message.
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With Singapore being famous as a “fine” city, I feel that chronemics play an important role as well. From being a small city to a “fine” city, a series of change and events had occurred both individually and socially. What had happened in the past shaped our perception and hence we draw different conclusion from nonverbal communication. The oculesics, which is the study of nonverbal meaning associated with the eyes, play a role as well. Most of us would think that the frantic looking eyes seem to imply that he is busy searching for a bin so as to avoid getting fined. However, that was not the case.
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Hence, nonverbal communication can perform different functions as well. In this situation, to repeat and complement. Just like language, it is a powerful mode of communication as well. It can easily lead to misunderstandings, or better understandings among people.
10 comments:
hey there,
read your posts and comments. I think you and your readers havbe made this blog so so portfolio-alike. perhaps is the style you write your post.
other than just trying to find communication theories to support what you see, i suggest you to bring in more personal reviews to your observations, together with your theories.
for me, the post are well-written to the book context without much of your own experience. perhaps you want to try linking what the theories suggest and providing another personal experience?
i don't know what else to say already. the bottom lie, the entries are well written in terms of language, communication lessons, but it lacks a more personal style.
That's what i think of it and a possible improvement. you have the right to choose to ignore it or not though. Selective reading.
Yu Jun
Hi yi fen,
I do agree with drum-boarding as i was expecting to find your own view about the Singaporean donating the winning ticket.
Personally, I feel that this is a good comic in which we can apply the concept of perception as well. Just like the 2 cases your presented, it is all about a play of what people think of Singaporean. It is a kind act of the person to donate the winning ticket, but he could put it in an envelope to indicate that it is a ticket of worth rather than depending on what the person at the other end might perceive.
Hey guys, thanks for giving me your opinions. I will take that into account and improve on my subsequent entries. =)
hey,
i think what you have post is interesting. Comic strips can help us for voicing out our opinions in a funny way. (As i think Singaporean do not dare to say their opinion loud.)
However, i think different people will have different perception of the comic strips(as what you have mention)So different people may have different ideas and this can help to give people a topic to talk about it which is a form of exchanging information. and i think you are really good in giving communication theory .. haha !
and yi fen i am sorry to say, i agree to wad drum-boarding said. Anyway this comic strips are really funnY haaa !!
did some Singaporean really drop a winning ticket in a donation box? is it confirmed that this act was deliberate, and not just another unSingaporean Singaporean dumping litter as expressed in the comic?
the reason for my doubt is that we don't see such acts of philanthropy. especially not in this materialistic world we live in.
anyways, i found it quite interesting the attaching of this comic strip to the news article. the double meaning behind the comic is actually poking fun at the narcissistic world we live in. i feel that the comic is trying to say that this act might just be a blunder, as it is not possible to find a person with such intrinsic motivation anymore.
To zed ngoh: yeah there was indeed such a case whereby the winner actually dropped his winning ticket into a donation box.
Like what Yi Fen mentioned in her post, there are 2 ways of looking at it, mainly 1)littering or 2)generosity. However, considering that it was a consolation prize, its pretty hard to confirm whether or not its either 1 of it.
So could it really be a new and creative way of donating to charity?
Or just plain littering done by a person who's that lazy and inconsiderate or didn't see the point of collecting the prize?
My take for this? The odds are equal. No way of knowing unless an investigation is held to identify the person responsible for the act.
We can never rule out that possibility that it is an act of kindness ya? Personally, I would rather treat it as an act of kindness as there are always kind soul around. =)
Maybe that comic strip might strike "something" to those who really throw in REAL rubbish. Haha. I feel that it acts as a reminder too!
Off topic: Haha, yet again, Singaporeans never fail to show creativity in a 'different' sense.
On Topic: The comic is obviously trying to show that the main reason why the ticket is in the donation box is because its "ex-owner" was too lazy to find a litter bin and decided to dispose it there out of convenience.
Didn't have the chance to read the article, but based on the post, it seems as though means of donating has gone up another level. Hopefully in a good sense.
comics are excellent tools of non verbal communication. simple pictures accompanied with some words to bring forth the message the artist intends to deliver.
however, due to our different personal experiences that may affect our perception, an artist has to be very sensitive towards the perception of the majority in order for the comic strip to make sense.
so, i suppose there's more to a comic strip artist than just sitting at home drawing.
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