Longmire

What do you think the characters’ relationships are based on the ways in which they are communicating?

I watched a new show called Longmire.  It was a western/cop show/ drama.  I thought that the older sheriff was very commanding of the other officers.  His facial expressions were very stoic and he did not smile very often.  I thought there was a romantic interest between the sheriff and the one female officer.  The episode I watched showed scenes where the sheriff was interviewing young children. When he talked to them his face changed and his body language was more open and concerned.  In one scene he was drinking in a bar with Lou Diamond Phillips, who plays a bartender. It appeared that there was a history between the two men, I couldn’t tell if they were friends but they were much more comfortable with each other that the sheriff appeared with other characters.

What are they feeling and expressing based on the nonverbal behavior you are observing?

The main sheriff appears angry or disgruntled about his job.  He appears to e uncomfortable with the other younger people in the office.  The one female officer is very flirty, playing with her long hair and resting her hand on the sheriff’s shoulder or arm as they talk.  When the sheriff and the bar tender talk, the bartender appears concerned and angry about something and the sheriff appears upset and confused.

What assumptions did you make about the characters and plot based on the ways in which you interpreted the communication you observed?

I assumed the sheriff was unhappy in his job. That he did not really like the people he worked with.  I felt that there was a friendship or at least history between the sheriff and the bartender based on their comfort level with each other.  I thought that the female sheriff had a romantic interest in the sheriff.

Would your assumptions have been more correct if you had been watching a show you know well?

  If I had seen this show before I might have had context for the relationships between the people.  When I watched it with the sound on, I realized that one of the deputies was running against the sheriff in an election and that is why there is so much tension in their body language.  I was correct about the relationship between the sheriff and the bartender, there were friends but found themselves on opposite sides of the case they were trying to solve.