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Body language

Edie-
In this episode Edie’s body language really reflects the two personalities that make up her character. She has just found out that Dave had been previously married and immediately rings her friends to share her ‘tragic’ story.

-She cries hysterically and whilst on the phone and uses big hand gestures to express herself. This reflects how she likes to exaggerate things in her life and is quite the drama queen. She calls over all the housewives for a good old gossip which shows how she likes to get noticed by others and likes to be centre of attention. She does not like it when Susan gets all the attention from the housewives and this is obvious when she widens her mouth and eyes. She doesn’t just stop there…

- When Susan comes to see her, Edie catwalks away which shows her arrogance. It also again shows how she over reacts. She does impressions of Susan which shows her confidence to speak up and how she thinks she is always right and therefore has the right to put others straight.

-She often stands with her hands on hips which reflects her over powering and authoritative personality. This is also reflected when she points her finger at Susan and says ‘no talking’ which is something a mother say do to her child. When she sits down she has quite a manly posture which fits in with her strong dominating nature. Her facial expression is usually serious or sarcastic but she sniggers whilst criticizing Susan which shows that she is quite harsh, blunt and open about the way she feels. When the two of them get locked in the garage, Edie shouts ‘Somebody help me’. Here although there are two of them, the word ‘me’ implies she is self-centred and doesn’t really care about others.

-On the other hand, when Edie is talking about her sad childhood and collection of horses, she has a childlike smile and stares into the distance as if she is fantasising about the past. This makes the audience sympathise with her character and like her much more. It reflects how although she tries to act hard, she has a very soft side deep within her. When Susan realises this side to her however, Edie quickly tries to cover it up by slapping her round the face in order to return to her overpowering image. This again reflects how she reacts to situations in an extreme and unnecessary manner. It also reflects her trouble-making personality and how she doesn’t like to get too close to anyone.

- In the end however, we get another glimpse of Edie’s genuine side when she is asking Dave to come back. Her sincerity can really be seen in her eyes which directly address Dave’s eyes as she speaks, showing that she really means what she says. She also looks down at times as opposed to her normal widened eyes full of anger which portrays her more emotional rather than dominant side.

Analysing the body language in this episode has really helped me understand Edie’s character much better. Before I wasn’t such a fan and I found her character quite annoying but I have come to like her very much now as although she comes across as rude and intimidating, she is really a softie at heart. I always assumed that she as a character had had quite a comfortable upbringing and was maybe quite a spoilt brat, but hearing her emotional story made me sympathise with her character.