Please or Register to create posts and topics.

How to Tell That the Laughter is Dismissive in this Scene from the Movie Beautiful Girls?

Lucio advised that this laughter is dismissive in the movie Beautiful Girls:

However, I find this instance quite challenging to discern.

How do you tell if it is

  1. A genuine laughter
  2. A dismissive laughter
  3. A submissive laughter
Mathieu has reacted to this post.
Mathieu

Sounds like the perfect question for "social intuition".

Check the forum guidelines for effective communication.
---
(Book a call) for personalized & private feedback

To answer it in more analytical terms, I should think about it more deeply.

But this is exactly what emotional/social intelligence addresses.

Check the forum guidelines for effective communication.
---
(Book a call) for personalized & private feedback

My Recent Example

I encountered laughter from a woman recently when collecting my repaired laptop at the counter.
I wasn't sure what kind of laughter it was.

Her: (looks at name on paper)
(struggles to pronounce name)

Me: Matthew

Her: Just needed to turn the paper around to see the name properly

Me: I can't expect you to pronounce everyone's names correctly
(I wanted to say something like she sees hundreds of people a day so it's not even fair to expect her to pronounce all names correctly)

Her: (laughs)
Thank you for your understanding.

Then, I wasn't sure whether the laughter was friendly or dismissive.
Definitely not submissive in my opinion.

Beautiful Girls Example

Him: So what part of Chicago are you from?

Her: Do you know Chicago?

Him: (stumbles upon the answer) Yeah, I know like Soldier's field.

Her: That's a football field. (laughs)

I think her tone is a bit judgemental and sarcastic when she said "That's a football field.".
The elongated syllabuses and upward inflections on the words.
And she had the big-eye, incredulous look on her face.

A bit like the look Stephen Colbert gave Barrack Obama.

Lucio Buffalmano and Mathieu have reacted to this post.
Lucio BuffalmanoMathieu

I'm thinking that one way to possibly help people recognize which is which is to think:

What words could have one used to replace that laughter?

In this case, words that go along well with Thurman's laughter, could have been:

Are you serious? That's a football field

Or:

That's a football field, what are you talking about?

Or:

That's a football people, people don't usually live inside football fields you know?

Matthew Whitewood has reacted to this post.
Matthew Whitewood
Check the forum guidelines for effective communication.
---
(Book a call) for personalized & private feedback

I think that helps a lot!

I'm also thinking if one can tell purely from the sound of the laughter.
Never analysed laughter before so brainstorming here:

Sarcastic, Dismissive, Snarky Laughter: Expelling a big puff of air or sneering sound

Social Blunder: Laught at the Wrong Times - 3 Examples

Dominant Laughter: Laughs loudly without restrain like Elon Musk against reporter's question on competitor BYD

Or Jeff Bezos during interviews

Submissive Laughter: Sounds stifled like the man against Judge Judy

Genuine Laughter: High-pitched "hahahaha", usually easiest to tell from facial expression

Lucio Buffalmano has reacted to this post.
Lucio Buffalmano

I think that social intuition product is going to be amazing 🙂

Mist1102 has reacted to this post.
Mist1102
Check the forum guidelines for effective communication.
---
(Book a call) for personalized & private feedback

In large part to your examples and analyses! Thanks a lot 🙂

Mist1102 has reacted to this post.
Mist1102
Processing...
Scroll to Top