In Allan Moyle’s movie Pump Up the Volume (1990), the protagonist of the movie, Mark Hunter, hosts an anonymous radio talk show that addresses the various flaws within the educational system. Though, Mark had not understood how large of an impact his talk show had upon the student body at Hubert Humphrey High School, student’s respond to the suggestions of action that Mark imposes, leading to a social movement against the school.
In the beginning of the movie viewers witness the first followers of Mark’s talk show, as a few students’ from Hubert Humphrey High School gather in a baseball field to listen to the show on the radio (Pump Up the Volume). Though, Mark does not know if anyone is actually listening to his radio show, the few followers displayed in the beginning of the movie represent the first followers. First followers are people that primarily follow the leader of a preconceived social movement displaying how easy to follow a social movement can be. In light of this, the followers that are displayed in the baseball field display how Marks ideas and opinions of the school are easy to follow as he keeps his talk show relatable to the students highlighting the start of a social movement (youtube.com). Mark also displays his leadership as he does not make the social movement about himself but the student body as a whole as displayed in the beginning of the movie when Mark decides to call the school vice Principal Mr. Desky on behalf of Cheryl Briggs expulsion due to her pregnancy (Pump Up the Volume). By calling the vice principal during the talk show, it provides followers with the idea that the leader will treat the followers as equals, thus, making it about “them” instead of “him.”
As Mark’s show begins to gai...
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...en easy to follow and promoted the social movements view of “being equal” among members.
In the movie Pump Up the Volume, viewers witness the creation of a social movement against the educational system as a teenager named Mark Humphrey, leads Hubert Humphrey High Schools student body into a social phenomenon. The teenagers collective action against the school results in the arrest of Mark and the creation of many more teenage talk shows as he displayed to teenagers how easy it was to be able to speak their minds and make their movements easy to follow, leading to a fully developed social movement.
Works Cited
"Motivational Speech From Pump Up The Volume." YouTube. Pump Up the Volume, 14 Nov. 2008. Web. 24 Nov. 2013.
Brym, Robert J., and John Lie. Sociology: Pop Culture to Social Structure. Australia: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2013. Print.
The documentary “Sixties: Years that Shaped a Generation” illustrates a period in United States history defined by cultural movement. Several citizen led campaigns were developed to challenge long established American institutions and traditions. This age of defiance, cultivated a counter culture which stood against social injustice, racial inequalities, and the war in Vietnam.
Kendall, D., Linden, R., & Murray, J. L. (2008). Sociology in our times: The essentials (4th Cdn
The 1955 film, Rebel Without a Cause is a seminal film for its period, not for its cinematic or literary excellence, but for what it conveyed to post-war adolescents embarking on a trajectory of shifting social mores, namely a paean for emotional expression and acceptance of social outcasts. The story fearlessly exposes elements of the dreaded rebellious adolescent; an age group alienated by parents and family, seeking greater meaning and value through questionable means, lacking confidence, and only acquiring validation and acceptance from peers. The writer/director of the film seems to take the point of view of a juvenile delinquent, constructing a sympathetic portrait of maladjusted youth rather than that of standard 1950’s middle class adults. The story does not condemn nor promote the wild behavior it depicts, but rather holds it up to an ambilivent kind of scrutiny. Subjected to widespread censorship, the film was daring for its time for failing to uphold production code standards in its representation of criminal behaviors that go unpunished. More importantly, Rebel Without a Cause struck a chord for many teenagers who were moved by honest depictions of irreverent adolescents empowered to stand up against the hypocrisy of an older generation. The story models a level of compassion and sensitivity for the human condition that allows the viewer to question social prejudices of the time and the moral courage it takes to face down those prejudices.
Malcolm shares his dream job with the class and his teacher, Mr. Ostrowski. Mr. Ostrowski told him “Malcolm, one of life’s first needs is for us to be realistic. Don’t misunderstand me, now. We all here like you, you know that. But you’ve got to be realistic about being a nigger.”(Page 38) and this makes Malcolm realize that Mr. Ostrowski has supported and encouraged his peers but not him. The teacher heartened the other students not because they were performing better than Malcolm but because they were white. This event develops the idea of of systemic oppression and racial tensions. Malcolm isn’t allowed to say what he wants to be because of the color of his complexion and because of this event, he comes to adapt the ideal of integration vs separation later in his life.
"Sociology: Pop Culture to Social Structure [Paperback]." Sociology: Pop Culture to Social Structure: Robert J. Brym, John Lie: 9781111833862: Amazon.com: Books. Wadsworth, n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2013. .
Kendall, Diana. 2012. Sociology in Our Times: The Essentials, Edited by M. Kerr. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
And Still We Rise was written by Miles Corwin, a long time reporter for the Los Angeles Times, with the intention of shining a light upon the highs and lows of inner city students as they journey through their treacherous young adulthood. The novel portrays the lives of twelve high school seniors who are motivated to rise out of the slums of South Central in order to obtain a successful future, with education being the only option. Throughout their lives, they’ve had to endure the hardships of living in the gang riddled neighborhoods where drug use and homicides were common occurrences and now, without the help of affirmative action. This book is intended for an audience who might be in the same situation as our students; having the odds stacked
1950’s culture revolved around predetermined roles in society that caused numerous issues, both within an individual and within the society. The stringent society caused teenagers and parents to act a certain way, and if they did not, they were viewed with suspicion. Conforming to the society was challenging for many, and if one did not conform, he or she would be face mental issues or societal issues. In Rebel Without a Cause, Nicholas Ray depicted the culture of the 1950’s by showing the type of dating, juvenile delinquency, and parenting that took place during those times and showed its effect on not only that decade, but how it would shape the future years.
Teenage films are often thought of films focused on issues such as teen angst, conflict with parents, coming of age, and most notably rebellion. Nicholas Ray’s Rebel Without a Cause(1955) is one of the first films that could be classified as such. In today’s times, many films that fall into this genre follow the same structure as Rebel without a Cause in that perceptions and activities of youth defy what is considered to be a seemingly more stable adult life. Prior to Rebel Without a Cause, there wasn’t a film that challenged the ideas of masculinity in society and the struggles that teenagers endured in that era, so it is no surprise that the film is considered to be the poster child of youth rebellion in the 1950’s. Ray brings to light a
By analyzing these functions, one can gain a better understanding of the problem at hand. In a school community the function of production is fulfilled by the teachers who produce scholars. Next is distribution. The teachers distribute grades to the students, the school distributes paychecks to the teachers, and the state distributes money to the school based on performance on national tests. Third comes consumption. The students consume knowledge through books, technology, etc. One example that schools contribute to socialization, is through the formation of cliques, which may alienate some students as well as affect their learning. The function of social control is fulfilled in the fact that the school’s funding is based on performance. This falls in line with the notion that public school teachers teach the test as opposed to the course’s actually curriculum. They [the teacher’s] know that if the school does not perform well on the test that it could not only cost the school it’s funding, but that they could also potentially lose their job. In this scenario, the function of social participation is fulfilled by the teachers banning together and staging a ‘sickout.’ Students and parents alike helped to fulfill the function of mutual support. According to The Detroit News (2015), Students carried signs with messages such as, “Cure to Snyder Flu: A strike to win,” “Stop Snyder’s Plan to Destroy Detroit Public Education” and “Stop Snyder’s Plan to Destroy Detroit Public Schools.” Parent Donya Scott, whose two daughters attend Detroit School of Arts said she supported the teachers. “I think it’s pretty cool and I give them a thumb’s up,” she said. “We need DPS because this is where it all started. I don’t think
Delaney, Tim. "Pop Culture: An Overview." Philosophy Now. Philosophy Now, 2007. Web. 21 Feb. 2014.
Now more than ever, Canadian society along with every other society is heavily influenced by popular culture. “Modern popular culture transmitted via the mass media and aimed particularly at younger people” (Ratha, 2017). Media not only influences individuals, but impacts the formation of their social identity. Academic study is devoting time to expand the knowledge of a preferred subject. Pop culture has a large-scale social impact on individuals, therefore it would become a sociological study. Pop culture deserves academic study because of socialization, being one of the largest shapers of society as a whole, and creating social interaction.
Murray, Jane Lothian, Linden, Rick and Kendall, Diane. (2011). SOCIOLOGY IN OUR TIMES, Fifth Canadian Edition by Nelson Education Limited, Published by Thomson Wadsworth, USA.
Newman, David M. Sociology: Exploring the Architecture of Everyday Life. 8 ed. Los Angeles: Pine Forge Press, 2010. Print.
...Henslin, James M. "Social Structure and Social Interaction." Essentials of Sociology: A down to Earth Approach. 10th Ed. 10th ed. Pearson, 2013. 112. Print.