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Nellanalysis

Nell is a film that explores linguistic and kinesic anthropology through the story of a woman named Nell who was raised in isolation in the woods of North Carolina. When found by Dr. Jerome Lovell after her mother's death, Nell speaks in a broken form of English and behaves unusually, as she has never experienced civilization. There is disagreement over how to help Nell adjust, with some viewing her as an experiment and others like Dr. Lovell wanting to understand her perspective. Nell communicates largely through body language and facial expressions rather than words. The film provides insights into how language and physical cues shape intercultural understanding.

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157 views2 pages

Nellanalysis

Nell is a film that explores linguistic and kinesic anthropology through the story of a woman named Nell who was raised in isolation in the woods of North Carolina. When found by Dr. Jerome Lovell after her mother's death, Nell speaks in a broken form of English and behaves unusually, as she has never experienced civilization. There is disagreement over how to help Nell adjust, with some viewing her as an experiment and others like Dr. Lovell wanting to understand her perspective. Nell communicates largely through body language and facial expressions rather than words. The film provides insights into how language and physical cues shape intercultural understanding.

Uploaded by

api-302650839
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Nell Reflection

Zach Butler
Anthropology 1010
The movie Nell is a film that is really intriguing and rich in kinesics and Linguistic
Anthropology.This setting of this film is in the mountains of North Carolina. Nell is a woman who
is found by Dr. Jerome Lovell after Nells mom passed away in her home. Dr. Lovell quickly
realizes that this isnt a usual woman. Nell has been sheltered and secluded out in the woods
her whole life and hasnt ever seen civilization. Dr. Lovell and the Sheriff have completely
different reactions to finding Nell. The sheriff is spooked by Nell and doesnt even think she is
human calling her a wild woman while Dr. Lovell being a doctor reads Nells kinesics to realize
that she is scared, sad and out of her comfort zone as well. Dr. Lovell is very fascinated by Nell
and wants to help her. I would like to focus on few points that stuck out to me in the film, the
judgements, the language, and the kinesics.
First, the judgements. From the time of finding Nell there were disagreements in what do with
Nell. The Psychologists wanted to take Nell to a laboratory and slowly introduce her to the world
while being observed and sheltered. Dr. Lovell on the other hand thinks that Nell should stay in
familiar surroundings out in the woods and they can slowly introduce the world to her in her own
environment and surroundings. Which would be better for Nell? What would Nell want? Does
Nell deserve to have a say? These are all questions that Dr. Lovell used to prove his point. I
also found it very interesting how the psychologists treated her like an experiment not like a
human being just because she was enculturated in a different culture then they were. Dr. Lovell
really had a desire to acculturate himself to Nells culture while everyone else wanted Nell to
change and become like them. I think this a small form of ethnocentrism, the psychologists think
that their culture is the best and the only way to live. Nell breaks many social norms in our
culture. One of those that sticks out to me is Nell being afraid of going outside during the
daytime. This is odd at first because in our lives we are always scared of going outside in dark
because we cant see, but Nell only goes outside during the night time. We can find this very
strange but we learn later that Nells mother was raped during the day so to stay safe her mom
taught her to only go outside at night when no one could see her.
Second, the language. The language that Nell speaks plays a big role in the movie. Nell does
speak english but its very broken and condensed. There are a few reasons for this. Nell's
mother had some strokes in her life and it caused her to not have very good speech. Another
reason for Nells broken English is that Nell had a twin sister that passed away quite a few years
back. Whats interesting is that when you spend so much time with someone who is similar to
you, the two of you start to have words or phrases that mean something to the two of you but no
one else can understand. They call this twin speech You start to create your own words and
your own language. I have found this relevant in my own life, a few houses down I have 2
friends who are twins. While I am with them often times they say something that I dont
understand but they both understand each other and will start laughing. They have their own
dialect sometimes. Ultimately Dr. Lovell and Paula the Psychologist learn to understand Nells

language and are able to communicate with her. What a fantastic example of Linguistic
Anthropology.
Lastly, the kinesics. Throughout the video Dr. Lovell uses Nells body movements, facial
expressions, and tone of voice to try to understand Nell and what is going on in her world and
her mind. One great example is when Nell goes in front of the mirror and uses her arms like
she is pulling someone towards her. Dr. Lovell can see that she is remembering something and
what she is doing is something that brings her comfort. Nell does a great job of expressing
herself nonverbally. Throughout the whole movie you can understand how Nell is feeling
because of the way she expresses herself. The language isnt there but you feel a great sense
of whats going through her mind through the arm movements and facial expressions.
In the end there are many examples in this movie that show how big of a role kinesics play in
understanding how someone is feeling. The impact that language can play in our lives. I gained
a greater sense of gratitude and tolerance for people who have grown up in a different culture.
Nell is a great example of how someone can change their culture without changing themselves.

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