This is an analysis of the various principles of leadership discussed in Communications 510 and the impact those principles had on the film Paradise Road. The group of women the film is based on leave Singapore during World War II (Paradise Road, 1997). As they depart, their boat is attacked and destroyed. Following the destruction of the boat, they are captured and taken to a POW camp. The prisoners are brutally punished for any and everything their captors dislike. Eventually the women decide to form a singing group and find comfort in one another and the artform. There are various important forms of leadership displayed throughout the film that are impactful to the story and reality as a whole.
There are three main characters in the film, Adrienne Pargiter, Rosemary Leighton-Jones, and Susan Macarthy. After the ship is destroyed they swim to shore. They safely make it to the shoreline. They are then captured and placed in a prison camp. The rest of the women and children from the boat are already in the camp when they arrive.
It becomes clear early on that Adrienne Pargiter, who is played by Glenn Close, is the natural leader within the group. Though there are many leadership traits, skills, and themes in the film, she has the most obvious and recognizable impact. The Japanese soldiers are brutal and inhuman in their treatment of the women. They consider the women and their nationalities to be inferior. In what is portrayed as both a coping mechanism, and an act of defiance, they begin to perform in their own vocal orchestra. The orchestra is put on by Adrienne Pargiter.
As the orchestra begins to perform, the women rally around Adrienne and feed off of her energy and her confidence. The brutality rate of the soldiers seems to decrease as well, as they feed off of the energy of the group. The organizational communication becomes clearly bright and positive and is summed up in typical Hollywood fashion at the end of the film. An orchestra sings as the soundbite to the scene as the Japanese forces walk out of the camp and the women celebrate. The final few lines of dialogue succinctly show how all of the relationships have finished their development and put the stance of the remaining main characters on display to one another. Every crisis situation has lessons to lend to professionals in the modern era (Frandsen, F., & Johansen, 2020). It’s interesting to ponder how the same situation would be regarded in this day and age. Would the rest of the world stand by and watch as these things went on?
Organizational culture is largely influenced by transformational leadership and organizational communication. There is powerful organizational communication between the women in this film. They share a common series of traits and struggles, which is a key building block for any organization (Aryani & Widodo, 2020). Throughout the film one can observe these traits and struggles become more apparent to the characters on screen. As a result of these shared issues and traits the women grow closer and increase the effectiveness and frequency of their organizational communication.
In an ever changing and globalized world, connecting with and understanding various cultures can have a critical and powerful impact on a situation (Marsen, 2020). In this case the organization of female prisoners connected interculturally successfully. This led to an overall healthier experience for the group and opened the gates to the orchestra.
The film is based off of the true story of the orchestra. This is exceptional, as it is noted within the film that many of the women remain alive and have continued the important bonds and friendships they held during their internment into the day when the film was released. This shows that the organization had enough close relationships that many of them endured the test of time and remained active into the modern era.
One could, and perhaps should, interpret the early aggression of Adrienne as leadership. When picked up by the Japanese Captain in the opening minutes of the film, she fearlessly reminds him of the Geneva Convention, and the rights of her and those around her. The Captain does not handle this well. He is very upset and aggressive. It is the first sign of hostility in person-to-person communication in the film.
Many researchers imply that there are situational explanations for leadership. The research implies that the strategy for effectively leading some group can be very different from the strategy for effectively leading others (Hackman & Johnson, 2013, p. 77). These differences in leadership might be attributed to the issues facing the group and the relational structure of each different group.
Adrienne was able to recognize the need for, adapt to help create, and then even maintain cultural synergy. Hackman and Johnson argue that successful leaders recognize and respond to cultural differences (Hackman & Johnson, 2013, p. 348). They even believe that these leaders adapt their behaviors to meet cultural expectations of their followers. In the film, Adrienne strives for cultural synergy. This is the leadership trait that Hackman & Johnson say bridges the gap between the cultures and indicates an effective cross-cultural leader.
There are certainly themes related to the obstacles to diversity within the film as well Hackman & Johnson indicate effective leaders identify and overcome these obstacles. Obviously the Japanese soldiers would not be overcoming these obstacles. There are several shortcomings that are in the form of violence (Hackman & Johnson, 2013, pg. 248). Adrienne Pargiter, Rosemary Leighton-Jones, and Susan Macarthy overcome diversity and these obstacles within their own group several times, therefore showing their ability to lead said group.
One of the reasons these women are so successful in this film is a lack of common obstacles to women in leadership roles. Hackamn & Johnson believe some of these modern day obstacles include denying women experience in important business functions like operations, manufacturing, or marketing; failure to receive mentoring and performance-based feedback; family demands; fear of powerful women; old boy networks that exclude women; discrimination against females; social isolation; and sterotyping (Hackman & Johnson, 2013, p. 324). The lack of these obstacles, due to the lack of the presence of men, allows Adrienne, Rosemary, and Susan to be highly successful in their roles as group leaders.
The women in the film appear to be charismatic leaders. These are considered high profile successes that usually come about in times of crisis (Hackman & Johnson, 2013, p. 117). These successes are usually short lived. They use their charisma and the abilities that come along with it to motivate their followers and navigate a seemingly hopeless and impossible situation.
All of the women have the opportunity to give feedback and voice their opinion on the situation and how it will impact the group as a whole. A good leader often will believe that everyone impacted should have some sort of involvement in the decision-making process (Honeycutt & Smith, 2015). In situations of crisis particularly, leaders must not only embrace change, but understand how to bring about that change through their efforts.
War has undergone a disturbing and dark change in the modern era. The way that nations across the world wage war has drastically shifted in a direction that is considered wildly immoral by the standard of most members of civil society. The casualties of civilians were at one time considered a sad and unintended result of armed conflicts. Military forces, beginning in world war one, now deliberately and systematically target civilians. The United States government has pledged to take a leadership role in preventing as many of these atrocities as possible (Avery, 2005). This is an important takeaway for other leaders. Those with great power and leadership ability should take responsibility for those around them when possible.
The women in this film overcame many obstacles, but they specifically turned these obstacles into opportunities. In a recent essay submitted to Forbes, Carol Goman shared some of her favorite quotes from other female leaders she had interviewed. A few of the things she felt were impactful can be directly linked to the film and themes in the film. Melissa Ruiz discussed developing and empowering those around in the write-up (Goman, 2020). That is certainly one of the more important takeaways from the film. A great leader will push those around them towards the future and into the arms of success.
This analysis has clearly displayed that many of the principles of leadership discussed in Communications 510 are present within the film Paradise Road. The group of women the film is based on have many important elements of leadership. Throughout the ordeal they endure the challenges and come through with an overall positive outlook. The prisoners continue to persevere and push towards their own survival and the future. There are various important forms of leadership displayed throughout the film that are impactful to the story and reality as a whole.
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