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Snack Attack
Tianna Major
Wilmington University
Introduction to Critical Thinking, PHI 100
Prof. Lauren Sickler
September 8, 2024
In the short film “Snack Attack” we are introduced to an old woman who is trying to get
a box of cookies out of a vending machine. She struggles to retrieve the snack as the machine
jams and the cookies are not released. Eventually, after getting the cookies out the machine and
in her bag the old lady made her way outside where she sat on a bench. Next to her was a young
man who she immediately stereotyped based on his appearance and the loud music coming from
his headphones. However, she proceeds to eat what she believes to be her pack of cookies and as
she is eating them the young man also begins to eat them. She is once again outraged and starts
to yell at the young man who is smiling back at her. As they start fighting for the last cookie the
young man decides to split it in half but the old lady is not interested in sharing what she thinks
is hers. After boarding her train and discovering that her pack of cookies are still in her bag, the
old lady began to show signs of regret and remorse for treating the young man the way that she
did.
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The intention of both the old lady and the man was misinterpreted due to the fact that she thought
it was her pack of cookies on the bench when in actuality it belonged to the young man. This
confusion created unintentional aggressive, passive- aggressive and passive communications
between the young man and the old lady. The young man displayed passive communication by
continuing to smile even when the old lady was screaming in his face. He also used passive
communication when he decided to share the last cookie with her despite the tension between
them. On the other hand, the old lady used passive aggressive communications by moving the
pack of cookies to her lap in order to keep them away from the young man. In addition she also
displayed signs of being an aggressive communicator by removing the young man's headphones
in order to get his attention. However, in the end the old lady was able to show that she held the
characteristics of a good critical thinker by changing her perspective on the young man. She was
able to recognize that she was the cause of the problem and the young man was being
accommodating regardless of her behavior.
One instance that I have seen another nonverbal situation similar to this is at my workplace. A
former coworker, Jared, suspected another one of our colleagues, Ben, of taking his lunches.
Jared began communicating aggressively through sly remarks or rude comments directed at Ben.
However, Ben would remain passive and laugh or smile at the comments and not ask Jared why
he was upset with him. This situation went on for quite some time and created tension
throughout the entire office. After finally catching the actual person who was taking his lunch
Jared realized that he acted poorly towards Ben and judged him without having all the
information first. He immediately took actions to correct his behavior towards Ben. Intentions
can very easily be misconstrued through nonverbal language. It is up to us to apply our critical
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thinking skills such as problem-solving and mindfulness to every situation before assuming
answers or it will lead us to make bad choices.
