Interpersonal Communications in Sweet Home Alabama

In Interpersonal Communications, it is important to understand how stereotyping can affect close relationships. When an individual uses stereotyping in a negative way, this in return negatively affects the relationship. This can lead to major problems in the long run. In Sweet Home Alabama, it is easy to see that false stereotypes lead to judgments reflecting badly on relationships. The clip shown of Sweet Home Alabama starts off with Melanie Carmichael, a fashion designer who is about to have her first runway show. After the runway show she has to go with her boyfriend, Andrew, to an event involving his mother, the mayor of New York City. On the way, Andrew surprises her with an engagement proposal. Although she says yes, she asks to keep it a secret until she can visit her parents. He agrees to let her visit home by herself to break the good news to them, before letting it become a public announcement. This is until his mom notices the engagement ring on Melanie’s finger and freaks out. Pictures of the three of them spread to all of the tabloids saying they’re engaged! She takes the first plane back to Alabama. This is when we find out that she actually has a husband, Jake, who refuses to sign the divorce papers. Although she is determined to get him to sign the papers, he still turns her down. He calls the sheriff and Melanie gets sent to jail where she has to call her parents. Her dad picks her up, and she tells them about the engagement. Melanie’s parents do not seem to approve, as they have not seen her since she left Jake seven years ago. They still think that her and Jake should be together.
Many things can lead to a false judgment on another person. One term in particular that often leads to judgment and interpersonal communication problems is stereotyping. Stereotyping is to take a general characteristic of a certain group, and assume that every individual that belongs to that group takes on that characteristic. People stereotype because it