talking about interpersonal relationships got me thinking of the recent troubles brewing between the newly-minted President of the United States & the country itself. Let’s apply Knapp’s Model of Relational Development
INITIATING – Barack Obama first made his grand entrance into the Presidential Elections in 2008.
He was black for starters, which already showed stimulus discrimination (Thanks to his color compared to previous presidents) coupled with stimulus generalisation i.e having matching educational qualifications & campaigns like previous elections were.
Through the elections, Duck’s filtering theory can be applied as the nation “sussed out” Obama by the number of times he had airtime on TV and on print ads to showcase his capabilities and promises should he be voted president.
PS: check this out, Obama knew how to get the votes of the younger generation by getting Popular pop band, Black Eyed Peas to publicise his speech through a music video and onto global phenomenon, Youtube.
However, things aren’t so peachy keen now, after the Intensifying (prior to election results), Integrating (winning the election) & Bonding (Swearing in as President – a ritual). The real work starts.
The Obama Administration has been under fire for its approach to the US Health Plan (http://www.barackobama.com/) . In a gist, the promises he made earlier during the happier times (i.e Integrating & Bonding) have not been met yet. This shows a DIFFERENCE IN PERCEPTION / Expectations have not been met.
However, the US has been split on this, some extremists (http://www.theobamafile.com/ObamaLatest.htm) have already been starting a movement to have a re-election, showing that the Conflict has been diffused into other issues, while the more merciful ones have focused and concentrated on the Health Plan problem and are giving the Obama Administration more time to solve them.
Should the Obama Administration, fail to recoup the losses so far, they might go down the Bush Administration route.
Seeing the political and verbal blunders Bush has had throughout his 2 cycles in the White House, has garnered me way more confidence that Barack can fill in the shoes and turn around the land of opportunities to the land of greater opportunities.
Though it will take time, but just like any other interpersonal relationship, It needs to have a, like Duck’s Model of Relational Dissolution mentions, a Dyadic Process where President meets his countrymen and discuss the situation. Let’s not forget that Obama also meets his administrative team i.e Social Process and seek advise from the respective heads.
For now, the fate of the US is a process of time & much important decision making
October 4, 2009 at 5:07 pm |
Smart boy, employing what we’ve learnt in class. You know what i think, the people are expecting so much from Barack , but yet they are not allowing policies to take place, and for policies to take place it take time. Just like Singapore, policies implemented but even though face with disagreement, they worked. People ought to be more thinking.
October 11, 2009 at 4:43 pm |
Hey Isaac!
You have chosen an interesting way to illustrate interpersonal relationships! Normally, the majority would choose the typical boy and girl interpersonal relationship.. so kudod on that!
Anyway, I do not really follow the Obama news thingy because there is just too much to follow but I definitely see your point in pointing out the different stages of the relationship between Obama and the rest of the citizens!
Like all relationships, people progress or digress (??) to cetain stages but one thing is for sure: communication is crucial!! Communication, or the lack of it, is often one of the main factors in causing the relationship to progress to a different stage.
Having said all that, I just hope Obama does a better job as US President than Bush!!!(:
October 19, 2009 at 3:07 pm |
Hey bro. Well I dont know why but the US citizens appear to be a little impatient and pushy with this President ya? Even though these are desperate times for them, but there’s only so much a man can do.
Its obvious that amidst everything that he has assumed after becoming president, he’s struggling to appease the people with their health benefit improvements, whilst attempting to recover the economy from the recent market crash, and the people dont really seem to be helping much.
Obama stepped in at a time where things are really trying, and its really King or Corpse for him depending on whether he pulls the nation out of the rut they’re in.
November 4, 2009 at 2:58 am |
Great perspectives from someone on the way up on someone who’s already at the top.
Thought provoking in that I did not attend your class and could not relate to the parameters for analysis.
What’s important is that readers like me could enjoy reading the evenhanded analysis and possibly appreciate the research done.
Keep up the the commentary for bad times when things are not going so good for Obama and perhaps see the people turn their backs on the President.
November 5, 2009 at 4:16 pm |
heya!
when Obama came into picture, everyone was slightly biased towards him, like you mentioned, his skin colour.
this could also be why, America is expecting ALOT from him and the change that he has been saying since election days.
i guess its up to him to fulfil his promises.
November 5, 2009 at 4:21 pm |
That’s indeed a really unconventional way of illustrating Knapp’s Model of Interpersonal Relationships!
Is Obama really that great as the first black president?
I guess we still can’t make a definitive conclusion to this question at this point of time. It’s definitely too early to judge whether he really is capable of bringing about the change he mentioned during the elections.
But I’m really confused as to why exactly he received the Nobel Prize. The policies which he introduced into the US do not seem to be all that great till now afterall since many companies in the US are still not being saved and that the unemployed remain unemployed over there.
However, I felt that Obama effectively used new media to garner his votes! Really innovative I would say! Through the video games and such!
Kai Ting
http://commmediadiscourse.wordpress.com
I’m really looking forward to seeing what else Obama does to attempt to improve those touchy issues in his country.
November 6, 2009 at 8:03 am |
By now, after Obama has been in Presidency for almost a year (I would say), I think alot of faults are beginning to show. One of the most important issues he would have to deal with (and is still dealing with) political and probably economic problems with Afghanistan. That aside, we all know that Obama is a fluent and eloquent speaker; by being able to relate to every specific type of audience through the means of mass media and strong speech, he has successfully garnered enough votes to win. It is really interesting to see how you’ve used the Knapp Model to illustrate his different stages, no one would have thought of that so great job! Keep on being awesome
November 6, 2009 at 8:34 am |
Hmm.. relationships !? Politics ?
Anyway any kind of relationship is base on the chemistry between 2 people may it be lovers, friends, families or even strangers. Treasure that time u had because you never know where it might lead to or end up.
November 6, 2009 at 5:02 pm |
Obama has a lot to live up to. The amount of hype he created for himself is starting to take away his credibility.
You have to realise, Obama is taking over a country that has a tonne of problems left behind by it’s previous administration. An ongoing war in Afghanistan is still being waged (yes it’s still going on and it’s not good), and a broken Iraq that is heavily reliant on US aid and support in order to keep it afloat. Let’s not forget that ailing world economy. It’s just a huge mess.
Kai Ting, many people have joked to say that the Nobel Peace Prize was given to him as sort of like an advanced deterrent to starting another war. Haha! Something like, giving you a sweet so that you would keep quiet and be good. I mean, it would be ludicrous if Obama announced he will be going on the offensive against another country (IRAN) if he has the Nobel Peace prize!
November 6, 2009 at 5:55 pm |
About the Nobel Peace Prize…I’ve got no clue! If Obama has been given that for whatever reasons, we should STOP FOCUSING ON THAT! haha! Personally, I feel that the move to create a big HOO HAAAH! on such an issue is really quite unnecssary. ALL TALK NO ACTION: as good as what we are doing now!
However, if we want to look at it from a theoretical point of view, perhaps the media was trying to invoke postive sentiments in the Americans and world viewers regardless of how they portray him. A Nobel Peace prize is a very prestigious award and there is a positive meaning attached to it. I believe that if we were to be shaped by this occurence, we have failed to view Obama’s efforts in simultaneously buildng what is tearing itself down.
We need objectivity.
November 6, 2009 at 8:16 pm |
I guess there is really a lot on Obama’s shoulders right now. The huge mess that the Bush administration has left behind doesn’t just go away in a day and people are expecting too much from him just because he is black.
They expect immediate change which is impossible because they are rejecting some of the changes he is making, so technically, nothing can be done. I suppose, I really do pity this guy, no one likes to clear up a mountain of shit that your previous person in charge has left. No one would even fathom clearing it up. Keep it up Obama, hopefully, time will tell.
November 7, 2009 at 5:38 pm |
Hi Isaac!
What an interesting application of the Knapp’s Model of Relational Development! Obama does have the weight of the world on his shoulders right from the beginning because of people’s exceeding expectations of him following George Bush’s leaving. However, could the disengagement process also be applied in this case? Could negative reports on Obama be seen as differentiating or circumscribing? It would be interesting if you could apply those stages to his time in office as well!
November 8, 2009 at 1:53 am |
LOL Relation Development between Obama and the US.
Anyway, I think people are quick to judge him because he did promise a lot, and because there are many people who are prejudiced against him, they are just waiting for him to slip up so they can swoop in on it and chew him out for it. Apparently, the hype around USA’s first Black president is dying off, and people are waiting for him to deliver on the promises he made, which has not happened in full yet.
Still, he can’t be as bad as Bush; everyone still remembers the colossal mess he left. Robin Williams once commented on what Bush could do after his term ended, saying that “he cannot go on a speaking tour, that’s a given”. And yet, that’s exactly what he’s going to do! Wonder what the turnout will be like at his speeches.
November 8, 2009 at 4:05 am |
Hi Isaac,
I truly believe that Obama is a good change for the American people. However, i think the American people are a bit too impatient with their newly instated president. Yes, Obama has made many promises, but these promises that he has made are very complex and monumental promises that cannot simply happen over night. The American people, having voted for him by the majority, needs to have more faith that they made the right choice, that their president will lead them to greatness instead of doubting him.
Chin-out!
November 8, 2009 at 5:59 pm |
Interesting break down of Obama’s love story!
I think that Obama’s charisma really won over the Americans during the elections and only time will tell if he’ll do a good job.
I openly admit to be totally influenced by the cultural backing that obama has behind him (Jay-Z, Lil Wayne and like 4500 rappers rapping about him, street artists painting his picture) to think that he’ll eventually pull through.
Seriously though, he’s in a difficult position cleaning up someone’s royal mess. Give the dude some time.