Interpersonal communication is a theme of the film On Golden Pond, and the interplay of characters evokes a wide variety of communications behaviors. An analysis of the behaviors exhibited in the film illustrates different communication behaviors, both verbal and non-verbal, differences in communication according to such factors as gender and age, methods of conflict management, and communications problems experienced by human beings for a variety of reasons. Observing communications behavior in a fictional film involves a double layer of such behaviors. On the one hand we may observe a representation of the way human beings communicate their feelings and attitudes through verbal and non-verbal behaviors and interactions on various levels. On the other, we know we are seeing actors who are using specific cues to convey these representations to us, making selections from what they know of human behavior and using specific behaviors to communicate what they want us to see and think about the characters they portray. In as film, a third level of communication is attained by the camera, which conveys both cognitive and affective meaning by movement, placement, and selection of what we are to see. In On Golden Pond, these different levels produce the final impression we receive of the lives of the characters in the film and of the way they interact with one another and exhibit meaning in their behaviors.
The film is based on a play and divides into neat sections much like the acts or scenes in the original play. We see different behaviors in these sections as different characters are introduced and interact. In the first section, Norman and his wife demonstrate certain behaviors developed over a long lifetime together. Many of the behaviors they exhibit seem to be related to their age and to the long history they have together, and others might be seen as gender-related behaviors. Norman has developed an aggressive manner which...