Violation of Nonverbal Codes in 17 Again

For this paper I will be talking about the violation of the nonverbal communication code of haptics, in a clip from the movie 17 Again. The movie is about a family with two kids where the mom and dad are getting a divorce except the dad magically becomes 17 again. The dad takes this opportunity and goes back to high school and ends up reconnecting with his family and getting his life back. Nonverbal communication codes are different ways to transmit information nonverbally (McCornack, 2010, p. 223). Breaking one of the codes can cause awkward situations and affect your interpersonal relationships.

Although many different nonverbal communication codes are violated in the clip I am analyzing, I will only be talking about one code known as haptics. Haptics is the code associated with the tactile sense of touch. According to the text, "Touch can vary based on its duration, part of the body being touched, and strength of contact, and these varieties influence how we interpret the physical contact" (McCornack, 2010, p. 230). Some examples of violating haptics include stepping in someone's personal bubble, putting your arm around someone who you are not close with, or moving the hair out of someone's face that you don't have a strong enough relationship with.

The clip I will be analyzing involves three characters which are Ned, Mark, and Principal Jane Masterson. Mike O'Donnell is the dad who turns into the teenager and then goes by the name Mark. In the scene Ned is pretending to be Mark's dad and they go into the Principal's office so they can enroll Mark in school. When Ned see's the Principal he instantly is in awe, falls in love, and thinks she is one attractive woman. He is speechless and barely can utter the word hello. Ned reaches out and shakes Jane's hand but instead of letting go like a normal handshake he holds on tightly. This makes Jane very uncomfortable. She keeps saying, "Ok, ok" trying to get him to let go while she is pulling her hand back. She eventually gets her hand free causing her to stumble backwards and lose her balance. A few minutes later when they are done with the meeting, Ned reaches out to shake Jane's hand again but she refuses to shake it. Then Ned raises his hand and waits for Jane to call on him. When she does he leans forward and says another inappropriate comment.

When Ned was in high school he was a nerd and socially awkward, therefore; was picked on a lot. He told himself after he graduated that he would never step foot in that school again, so the fact that he was there made him very uneasy and on edge. When Ned walks into the office he doesn't know how to act towards the principal because he does not have experience with interacting with attractive woman. Ned violates haptics at the moment when he won't let go of Jane's hand. He feels such a strong desirability towards her that he defies the normal handshake