Spiral of Silence: Mean Girls
In a world where we are strongly invested in our public image, we often feel we are unable to speak up and express our true opinions. When we disagree or hold an unpopular view, we avoid voicing an opinion in fear of rejection or judgement. We live in a society where we have freedom of speech protections, yet people still often don’t say what they think. However, if we think an opinion is popular we won’t hesitate to show we think the same as others. This observation can be described by the Spiral of Silence theory, developed by German researcher Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann in the 1960s (Communication Theory).
We see the spiral of silence in many occasions. In workplace meetings, a particular opinion dominates a discussion and pushes others out of the way. The supporting group may be loud, while other members may be met with criticism and/or frowned upon. One major incident when spiral of silence is noticed is in politics. In differences between political views and the outcome of voting. This has been greatly affected by the media and public opinion.
Lastly, we can see the spiral of silence in the film arts. A popular movie Mean Girls is a classic example of the theory. Where everyone in the school is afraid to stand up against the majority group “The Plastics”. An important scene when all of the girls in the high school are asked to gather at an assembly on bullying. They are to close their eyes and then raise their arms when asked specific questions. When asked to open their eyes while their arms are risen, all the girls look around and immediately put their hands down in fear of rejection or judgment. This is a prime example of this theory, if they were asked to keep their eyes open, they would have most likely answered dishonestly or not at all. Eventually though, the movie ends peacefully after everyone realizes their feelings are similar and they aren't alone in the minority.
However, this is not the case in real life. We unfortunately can’t put everyone in assembly line and hash out our differences. I feel as though people now aren’t afraid to speak up and say their true opinions towards the majority group and others are joining in. However, there are still some cases in which this theory is still happening.
Warren Davis Lectures 2021
Communication Theory: The Spiral of Silence Theory: https://www.communicationtheory.org/the-spiral-of-silence-theory/
