A body language expert looked at one moment Prince Harry seemed to be “seeking approval” in the Netflix documentary Harry & Meghan. The expert also spotted some conflicting information presented when Harry made a claim about unconscious bias that “it’s no one’s fault.”
Prince Harry discussed unconscious bias in the Netflix documentary
At one point in the Netflix documentary, Prince Harry addressed unconscious bias, saying, “The thing with unconscious bias is it’s actually no one’s fault. But once it’s been pointed out, or identified within yourself, you then need to make it right.”
He added, “It’s education, it’s awareness. And it’s a constant work in progress for everybody, including me.”
In a video for The Behavioral Arts on YouTube, body language expert Spidey shared his analysis of the Netflix docuseries.
Spidey pointed out one contradictory blink-and-you-might-miss-it moment. “There’s a giant bit of irony… he starts off by saying ‘it’s no one’s fault,’” the expert explained. “But then in the second article that they chose to put in the documentary … under the big headline [that Harry was made aware of unconscious racial bias], it says, ‘Prince blames royal upbringing for prior lack of insight and calls on others to educate themselves.’”
Spidey continued, “So, if it’s no one’s fault, how are you blaming someone? Don’t we usually blame fault on someone?”
He added, “And it really contradicts what he’s saying because if you had unconscious bias, then it stands to reason that they all had unconscious bias. So how can you blame them for it if they’re unconscious of it? They didn’t know so how are they going to teach you?”
Prince Harry is ‘seeking approval,’ body language expert says
Spidey then looked at Prince Harry’s body language in the clip. He displayed an “open gesture” with his hands when he referenced “education” and “awareness.”
The expert explained, “Open is usually quite comfortable and, in this case, there’s almost this giving element to it and it’s not the first time he does this. And I believe that awareness is something he thinks it’s his moral duty to give to people.”
Harry showed an “eyebrow flash” at the same time as the hand gesture with his eyebrows going up and down. Spidey said an eyebrow flash has several meanings, including emphasis, social connection or approval, or surprise.
“In this case, I think it’s social approval,” the expert said. “He wants to give awareness and he’s seeking approval for this mission of his.”
At the end of the clip, Prince Harry displayed a “symphony of eye flutters,” which Spidey said, “happens when we’re trying to process information.”
He continued, “It’s also something we see when someone’s trying to process emotion.” And in Harry’s case, “you could see there’s quite a bit of passion behind this,” the expert noted.
Spidey added, “The way he’s talking about this, there’s a seriousness here and I think he’s just trying to sort through this emotion that he’s feeling when he talks about unconscious bias.”
Showbiz Cheat Sheet acknowledges conditions and cultures can impact body language and is sensitive to all backgrounds.
