Running head: RELATIONSHIPS

Almost Famous William Miller and the Effects of Mother/Son Relationships, as well as an
Addition to the Development of Peer Friendships in the Workplace
Georgiana Terzoglou
Bryant University

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Abstract

This paper explores the communication concepts of mother/son relationships and

friendships in the workplace. The research is applied to the film, Almost Famous, focusing on the
main character, William Miller, and his journey on tour with Stillwater. It connects the findings
of the research in the scholarly articles to Williams relationship with his mother, as well as the
close relationships he has made while on tour.

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In the film, Almost Famous, a young boy named William Miller finds himself inspired by
the rock and roll music of the 1970s and the journalism that surrounds it. He begins writing for
underground newspapers, as well as achieving being able to contribute to the ever-so-famous,
Creem Magazine. The magazine happens to be edited by one of his idols, Lester Bangs. Bangs is
able to offer young William advice about the journalism side to rock and roll. William continues
on his ambitious ways and is able to get an intimate look at the band, Stillwater. The band invites
him on tour and William realizes he is about to experience the chance of a lifetime, being able to
do a story for Rolling Stone Magazine on a major rock and roll band at the age of fifteen.
Williams experiences through going on tour with Stillwater can relate to present-day
communication concepts discussed within scholars today. William and Elaine explore different
stages of stress and progression in their mother/son relationship through the tour, as well as
William developing close relationships with people in the workplace, such as Stillwater and their
groupies.
Prior to going on tour with Stillwater, William and his mothers relationship becomes
briefly unstable. He is still upset with her for lying to him about his age and advancing him two
grades without his knowledge. William believes his mothers thoughts and actions are too
overbearing and controlling. His mother treats him as if still unable to make choices for himself.
She is not happy with the thought of William missing school to tour with a rock and roll band,
especially since she does not stand for them and their values.
In a study conducted of closeness in a mother/son relationship, researchers found that,
mothers not only wield considerable influence over their children, but the interpersonal quality
of the mother/child relationship is also truly consequential (Morman & Whitely 2012). Elaine
has an amicable amount of influence over William and the decisions he makes. He is starting to

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find himself and do what he is passionate about, even though his mother does not completely
agree. Researchers also found that, compared to fathers, mothers develop closer and more
emotional relationships with their children and engage in more mutual self-disclosure (Morman
& Whitely 2012). Since William does not have a father-figure to help guide him along the way,
his mother is one of the only adult figures in his life that can help send him on his way to be the
best he can be. Elaine is only looking out for his best interest and wants what is best, even if
William cannot see that right now.
A study conducted by Morman and Whitely examined what kind of critical incidents
mothers and sons perceive to have affected closeness in their relationship with one another. To
test their theories, the researchers recruited 139 sons and 68 mothers. The sons were chosen from
an introductory level public speaking class at a private university in the south of the United
States. The men ranged from 18 to 23 years old. The mothers were required to have at least one
son that is currently living and one that is at least 18 years of age.
After the participants were set and gave their consent, researchers gave the sons a simple
questionnaire to complete. The son participants were asked to answer the following open-ended
question:
Think about a memorable time or event that you and your mother shared which changed
the closeness of your relationship. Maybe after the event you both became closer, making
your relationship stronger, or perhaps you became more distant, making your relationship
weaker. In the space provided below, please describe the event and its effect on the level
of closeness shared between you and your mother (Morman & Whitely 2012).

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The mothers in the experiment were also given the same question to answer, except answering it
pertaining to the relationship with their son, rather than themselves. When all the data was
collected at the end of the research process, Most of the sons only reported one critical incident;
others reported multiple events, yet others did not identify any specific critical experiences at all,
claiming they had always been close to their mother (Morman & Whitely 2012). After
consulting with all the data, Morman and Whitely were able to identify six different major
categories that the sons described of critical incidents of closeness to their mothers. The six
categories included social support, family crisis, physical distance, son maturing, parents
divorce, and conflict.
William and his mother Elaines relationship compares to the major categories of
physical distance and conflict. Described in the physical distance category, it pertained to any
kind of increased geographical distance between mother and son. Most sons claimed that the
distance made them even closer to their mother and/or strengthened their relationship. Most sons,
identified a changed perspective that lead to a higher value for their mother or valuing their time
together more (Morman & Whitely 2012). Sons stated that they appreciated their mothers more
when they were away and claim, you dont know what you have until its gone (Morman &
Whitely 2012). In the conflict category, the critical incidents identified with, arguments, fights,
and/or disagreements between mother and son (Morman & Whitely 2012). After analyzing the
researcher, they were able to conclude that, other sons pointed to an immediate drop in
perceived closeness after the argument or disagreement, but later noted an increase in intimacy as
the sons gained a different perspective on the situation (Morman & Whitely 2012).
William leaves home for a significant amount of time to travel with Stillwater and
observe their typical days on tour so he can write his article for Rolling Stone. Elaine becomes

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even more worried about William than she already is. She was never a fan of the rock and roll
scene that William has developed a craving for, influenced by his sister, Anita. Elaine is always
calling to check on William whenever she has a free moment. William becomes angry and
annoyed with his mothers constant checking up on him. He does not understand why she will
not leave him alone. Her obsessiveness even starts meddling with her everyday life as she
becomes distracted, thinking about William constantly, while she is teaching at the college. As
the end of the tour starts to wind down, William begins to appreciate his quiet, simple life back
home with his mother, even if she seems to always be overbearing and controlling. Williams
thoughts and actions relate back to the research discovered by Morman and Whitely of the sons
not being appreciative of all their mothers do for them until they were on their own and had to do
everything for themselves. Being away from home for so long, especially trapped in an
unsuitable, unstable environment for a 15 year old high school student, William began to miss
his regular life back home. It also helped develop a stronger, closer, and more understanding
relationship with his mother. At the end of his trip, he was able to appreciate the things his
mother does for him and why she acts the way she does. It is all out of love for her son. When
William comes back from life on tour, he is able to develop a stable relationship with his mother
and live happily.
In research directed toward the development of relationships in the workplace, scholars,
have highlighted the importance of peer relationships which provide employees instrumental
and emotional support and alternatives to traditional mentoring sources. Peer relationships can
also provide a source of intrinsic reward for employees, can buffer job-related stress, and can
reduce job dissatisfaction and turnover (Sias & Cahill 1998). There are many different aspects
as to why it is important to have functional relationships in the workplace. Studies state that,

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friendships at work are part of institutional participation and personal career-building, serving
important purposes for both organizations and individuals (Sias & Cahill 1998). Relationships
in the workplace can also make work more enjoyable and enhance individual creativity (Sias
& Cahill 1998). Researchers found that friendship in the workplace is not something that can be
imposed on people. They are more of a choice between people, not a compulsion. Opposed to
peer relationships which rely on having civil relationships with the people you work with, peer
friends choose to spend time with one another beyond that expected by the formal role
relationship (Sias & Cahill 1998). Researchers also suggest that, friendship development is
influenced by both individual and contextual factors (Sias & Cahill 1998). The contextual
factors include, influences exerted by the context in which the friendship develops and the
importance of physical proximity to friendship development (Sias & Cahill 1998). The more
exposure someone gets of someone, the more it leads to positive evaluations of that specific
person, making it more likely that the two will eventually become friends (Sias & Cahill 1998).
In the experiment conducted by Sias and Cahill, 46 employed adults were recruited to
participate. All participates were interviewed for about 20 to 30 minutes, asking about the
different kinds of relationships they have created in their place of work. The data from the
interview was obtained using the Retrospective Interview Technique (RIT). It was used to
obtain information regarding factors, other than turning points, that respondents perceive
influence the development of a relationship (Sias & Cahill 1998). At the end of the experiment
process, researchers were able to conclude two different transitions that occurred when creating
relationships. The first transition refers to the point at which a coworker changed from being
perceived as an acquaintance to being a friend (Sias & Cahill 1998). The second transition
refers to the point at which a peer changed from being perceived as a close friend to being

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perceived as an almost best friend (Sias & Cahill 1998). Most causes for becoming close
friends was perceived by the participants to be caused primarily by contextual factors such as
proximity, shared tasks, and extra-organizational socializing (Sias & Cahill 1998).
William did not go on tour expecting to come out with two very close friendships (Penny
Lane and Russell). Relating back to the research, William is with Penny Lane, Russell, and the
rest of Stillwater all day, every day while on tour. They share an ample amount of time together,
working is close proximity, which makes it easier to develop a friendship in the workplace. They
all worked together to strengthen the image of Stillwater, another reason making it easier to
develop a relationship with one another. William, Penny Lane, and Russell all share a similarity
with their interest in rock and roll, which increases their perceptions of one another in a positive
manner. As the tour continued and William became more and more friendly with Penny Lane and
Russell, they began spending more time together off the music scene, such as going out for meals
and attending parties together. With all these factors involved in the workplace, it is easy for
William to develop close peer friendships with Penny Lane and Russell (his co-workers).
The film can be related to communication concepts such as relationships between mother
and son, as well as relationships in the workplace. The first experiment shows that when sons are
away from their mothers, they find their relationships strengthens as they begin to realize all their
mothers do for them. William appreciates all his mother does for him and being away makes the
two of them closer in the end. Having similarities and working in close proximity in the
workplace allows for a higher chance to creating peer friendships between one another. William
was able to discover a close with relationship with both Penny Lane and Russell.
Communication is happening everywhere and is always being applied to people worldwide every
day.

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References

Bryce, I., Crowe, C., (Producers), & Crowe, C., (Director). (2000). Almost famous [Motion
picture]. United States: Vinyl Films.
Morman, M. T., Whitely, M. (2012). An exploratory analysis of critical incidents of closeness in
the mother/son relationship. Journal of Family Communication, 12, 22-39.
Sias, P. M., Cahill, D. J. (1998). From coworkers to friends: the development of peer
relationships in the workplace. Western Journal of Communication, 62(3), 273-299.