Introduction
Conflict is one of the most common challenges that appear in interpersonal relationships. Every day humans engage in communication with relatives, friends, and strangers, and these interactions often require dealing with various issues and finding a compromise. While every individual has their view of the world and possesses different personality characteristics, the emergence of conflicts is inevitable. Bevan (2020) explained conflict as an argument or a misunderstanding between two or more interdependent people who hold distinct opinions. Since this concept is sophisticated and consists of specific elements, the following paper will discuss one interpersonal conflict from a movie and apply conflict resolution strategies to it.
Main body
The movie Erin Brockovich includes several scenes with arguments between the characters. One of them is a situation when Erin comes to the office of Mr. Masry in an attempt to receive a job. The woman is angry at the lawyer because he has not returned her calls and lied. She does not accept this attitude towards her; therefore, she screams at the man and demands a job. The woman says, “I am smart, I am hardworking, and I am not leaving anywhere without a job” (Soderbergh, 2000). Once Erin notices that everyone in the office pays attention to their conversation, she lowers her voice and begs Mr. Masry to accept her.
This particular scene from Erin Brockovich meets the criteria for interpersonal conflict since it incorporates all its necessary elements. Bevan (2020) mentioned that for a specific situation to be considered conflicting, there has to be an expressed struggle and participation of two or more interdependent parties. In addition, individuals should have incompatible goals, scarce resources, or interference (Bevan, 2020). Thus, the following scene can be described as a conflict since both people engage in the interaction verbally, are professionally connected, and Erin has an objective that is incompatible with the lawyer’s desires and abilities.
The main reason why this misunderstanding was not solved effectively is the fact that the characters used different conflict styles. Erin’s temper made her cross the boundaries and engage in aggressive behavior which is typical for the competitive conflict style (Bevan, 2020). At the same time, the lawyer had a concern for Erin because he understood her situation. He wanted to create a solution that would be appropriate for her, and this behavior is described as the accommodation conflict style (Bevan, 2020). Thus, Erin got what she wanted while not taking into consideration the desires of Mr. Masry.
One of the conflict resolution strategies that Erin used in this situation is expressing personal thoughts and emotions. She tried to highlight her feelings and expectations from the relationship; nevertheless, she could not stop judging and blaming the other party (Bevan, 2020). Furthermore, as noted, Mr. Masry tried to find a common ground and prevent himself from replying disrespectfully to Erin’s comments (Bevan, 2020). This technique helped the woman understand her mistake and pressured her to lower her voice.
A better outcome could be achieved if Erin used more “I” statements and found another time and place for the conversation. Instead of blaming the lawyer for lying and ignoring, she could express her emotion more and, as a result, make the communication constructive (Bevan, 2020). Moreover, determining a more acceptable time and place for this interaction would help. While the whole conversation happened in front of many people, it would be better to have it privately without judgmental looks from others (Bevan, 2020). Consequently, these two strategies would contribute to a positive outcome of the situation.
Conclusion
Overall, the emergence of misunderstandings and arguments is impossible in contemporary human interactions. The discussed scene from Erin Brockovich is an excellent example of interpersonal conflict. It shows the viewers that conflict is a sophisticated concept that includes many elements. Hence, the presented essay analyzed this scene in more detail and applied specific conflict resolution strategies to it.
References
Bevan, J. L. (2020). Making connections: Understanding interpersonal communication (3rd ed.). Zovio Inc.
Soderbergh, S. (2000). Erin Brockovich [Film]. Universal Pictures.