In sociology we have learned about the three major sociological perspectives which are; symbolic interactionism, functionalism, or conflict theory. Conflict theory is my favorite topic that I learned about this year. Conflict theory was founded by Karl Marx that claims society is in a state of perpetual conflict due to competition for limited resources. Conflict theory holds that social order is maintained by domination and power, rather than consensus and conformity. The main elements in social conflict are that society is created in ways to benefit the higher class, and factors such as race, sex, class, and age are likely to experience social inequality. To a social conflict theorist, it is all about dominant group vs. minority group relations. Karl Marx is considered the 'father ' of social conflict theory. The movie “The Hunger Games” shows many examples of social conflict throughout the whole movie.
One of the major sociological perspectives is Functionalism. Functionalism is centered around the work of Herbert Spencer, Emile Durkheim, and Robert Merton. Functionalism is described as a system of connected parts that are designed to achieve
There are three main types of sociological perspectives in which you can perceive different sociological issues and concepts; structural-functional, symbolic-interaction, and social conflict. Structural-functional looks at society as a whole and how it works together. Symbolic-interaction is how different symbols spark particular thoughts and emotions by examining the meanings that people impose on objects, events and behaviors. Social conflict studies how power and coercion affect social order. Based off these types of perspectives, an analysis on teen depression and suicide can be evaluated from a sociological standpoint.
Throughout a series of books, and now movies known as Divergent they hit a lot of points as to what is believed as a “good society”. In the series, Divergent all must conform and fall into a certain category Dauntless, Abnegation, Erudite, Candor, or Amity . If one fails to do so, and falls into all of the categories they are known as “Divergent," and must be killed for failing to conform to traditional society standards and rules. This relates to Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau, because he talks about humans not needing a form of structure set by a hierarchy, such as a government. A good society according to Thoreau, is one with little to no government involvement, one that respects laws to a certain extent, and one that follows
In Chapters six and seven of Shared Beginnings, Divergent Lives by John Laub and Robert Sampson, the lives of numerous men are shared and analyzed. The authors use life history interviews as well as crime history to help explain their theory. They interviewed these men various times throughout their lives, from a very young age up until age seventy. In Chapter six, Laub and Sampson mention the lives of a few men who have turned to desistance, or stopping, in committing crime. There were two subgroups, “nonviolent desisters” and “violent desisters”. These men had tough upbringings, living in deteriorated homes in Boston. Their parents were not supportive and showed little interest in parenting. Throughout the chapter, the men mentioned various turning points that occurred in their lives in which turned them to becoming desistant to crime. The Glueck’s analyzed and interviewed three men. Leon, Henry, and Bruno were the men. Leon’s turning point for his desistance was his marriage. Henry’s turning point stemmed from his decision to enlist in the Marine Corps when he was eighteen. And for Bruno, he said that his turning point was attending The Lyman School for Boys. While the men stressed one specific turning point for them, all three mentioned how all three factors (marriage, the military, as
This author believes that humans strive to maintain goodness but our prideful desire for power leads us to take the shortest route to gratification. Divergent demonstrates both our ability to do right and our inability to sustain goodness without strong restraints on our desires. This is why societies must maintain rules and punishments in order to try to sustain our goodness for as long as possible.
Divergent is a #1 best-selling New York Times book. In 2012, it reached #1 for paperback best sellers. It is one of the best books I have ever read. Here is a quote from the New York Times website: “Divergent holds its own genre, with brisk pacing, lavish flights of imagination, and writing that occasionally startles with fine detail.”
The Sociologist and the Movie Man Gerry Garibaldi, a high school teacher, and Michael Kimmel, a professor of sociology, both explain how the consequences of the feminist movement are harming boys in school and later in life. Kimmel and Garibaldi present their views on the gender education problems in their articles “How Schools Shortchange Boys” and “A War Against Boys”. Both make passionate arguments and prove that boys are at a disadvantage in modern feminized classrooms. Kimmel’s arguments about the problems boys face in the American educational system are more convincing than Garibaldi’s, because his style of argumentation is more objective, supported by more statistics, and provides an unbiased restatement of opposing views. Garibaldi shares his professional experience in order to prove that boys are the ones who are being short changed in schools today.
...ignorant decisions. If society wasn’t demanding on others to keep up with the different trends and the way people should act people, they would just help and not even think twice about our future. It’s an effortless, but drastic change that would be made if everyone could just pitch in, instead of being seduced by society’s idiotic aspect. Everybody has the chance to make change they just need the volition to get through it. Clearly, the world should have better places to live for the children of the future.
Functionalism views society as the stability and assimilation of a range of forces that function within it. While society is a separate entity with a life of its own, there are individual elements contributing to that stability. Functionalism as a sociological theory emphasizes assimilation rather than the dissociation of society. Therefore, the society is seen as a whole that is compromised of parts which give one another their identity and their function. The part, whether that is education, such as a school, or sports, such as a football team, operates in relation to the other parts, and cannot be entirely understood in isolation from the other parts. All the parts are interrelated, and when there is a disturbance in any one of the parts, is when you can see the interdependence. But what is important about this theory is that “there will always be some reorganization and tendency to restore equilibrium” (Wallace and Wolf 17). Functionalist do not believe it’s crucial that the people involved in the society to be aware of this interconnectedness anymore than the brain and heart consciously realize that they work together as an organism.
Since social norms and rules are subject to change, there is a wide concept as to what deviance actually means. The concept of social deviance is explained as the transgression of socially established norms. For example, there is a wide variety in defining social deviance, but one might consider “sex before marriage” deviant, whereas in other places this practice is common. Also, killing someone might be considered deviant until we do further research. One might propose the question of self-defense, and this is where the “ABC’s of deviance” come to play. I was interested in social deviance because it filled a gap of ignorance for me. Often times I wondered why people performed deviant acts and what was their motive. By understanding social control I was able to fill that gap with knowledge.
I believe that the main point of the movie Girls Like Us was to show examples of how different lifestyles could have an impact on young girls growing up today. It actually showed these different girls at different important stages in their lives so we got to see how strong their goals were at the beginning, and how they changed with time and maturity. It showed how family history and ethnic diversity has an important role in the lives of young girls. It was a good way to show how lifestyles in general impacted each of these girls futures in so many ways. It takes four girls all with different families and different religious beliefs and asks them about their goals and lives when they are young. Then we see them again each year and it shows the changes in personality as well as in their beliefs and goals. In this movie Elements of structural functionalism were definately present. For example, each of these girls were from the same society, but all their religious and ethical backgrounds varied. Depending on their history and family each girl had a different view on topics like premarital sex or college goals. I feel that because Raelene's mom didn't care much about raelene or how well she did in school, neither did Raelen. This probably led her to the path of dropping out of school and teen pregnancy. Then we meet Anna Chau who tells us she would never have premarital sex because it's not allowed and she plans to someday go to college. Anna's father and her culture would be the functionalist because they stressed education and religion. Co...
Everyone knows about the geeks, the freaks, the jocks, the preps, and every other Hollywood idolized clique. Each person in the group donates their own similar attributes, which in turn come together to make the group what it is. In “Divergent”, different classes of people are split into ‘factions’, or, in other words, extreme cliques. These like-minded people have their opinions on how the world was corrupted. The group names and their faction missions are as follows: the Erudite (intelligence), the Dauntless (bravery), the Abnegation (selflessness), Amity (peacekeepers), and the Candor (the honest), all of which uphold their beliefs by exerting the upmost radicality of their manifestos. Each faction then contributes their own ideological products to help all of society. These groupings work “toward a better society and a better world” (pg.44), however, in the end, they are brutally, and massively abraised with the strong will of one lunatic faction member. Others may say that splitting us into groups of peers that we agree with is a good idea, yet it will not take long until the enemy lies and infiltrates our systems, becoming too powerful for our faction to overcome. This is why we all have to mingle, using our talents together for the betterment of society.
A utopian society represents a perfect, idealistic civilization, while a dystopian society describes an unpleasant environment for the individuals living within it. George Orwell’s 1984 portrays many characteristics of a dystopian society. Very similarly, Veronica Roth’s Divergent tells the story of a government that forcefully separates and controls its citizens. 1984 and Divergent both share the presence of harsh regulation and control from their respective governments. Orwell and Roth’s novels compare Ministries and Factions, conformity and obedience, Proles and the Factionless, and government regulation, in a similar, yet negative way.
My group chose the movie, The Hunger Games, because we felt like it represented clear differences between today’s society and the society in the movie. This movie offers different mindsets and ideas compared to today’s modern society. For instance, the concepts of socialization, politics, and government are different in the movies society. In addition, the United States also does not select two members to compete to the death, nor split up groups according to power and wealth. Our government also does not allow the deviance like the movie does. The social changes are a huge factor as well in the movie. These are just a few concepts of sociology that will be discussed by the group that touch upon major cultural differences.