For this project, I observed individuals at the Towne East Square Mall, located at 7700 E. Kellogg Drive, in Wichita, Kansas. By spending approximately two hours in various parts of the mall, I was able to ensure that I had the best variety of subjects to survey. I witnessed people of different genders, ethnic backgrounds, and social class. At the beginning of the process, I was concerned that there would not be enough information gained from the experience to incorporate all three sociological theoretical approaches, but after careful thought and analysis those worries vanished. The Structural-Functionalism, Marxism, and Symbolic-Interactionism theoretical approaches were all visible when I took the time to look a little closer. Although …show more content…
Everything from the building materials used to create the department store to the type of consumers who frequented them. For instance, when you walk into Von Maur there is an upscale feel to it, as opposed to the more budget friendly feel you get when entering J.C. Penny. There are signs everywhere in Penny’s that would suggest that everything in the store is on sale. Because of this, it attracts more disadvantaged consumers. Von Maur also had a strikingly different customer base than places like J. C. Penny. The people looked to be of a higher social standing than those at other stores. There was a well to do woman in her mid-forties exiting Von Maur; she looked slim and fit, with well-manicured nails, and there was not a hair on her head out of place. She carried herself with confidence as she walked with a friend that appeared to have the same well-groomed appearance. They scoffed at a less fortunate woman passing by who was pushing a stroller with a crying baby while trying to wrangle her toddler that was running amok. At the make-up and perfume counters in Dillard’s there generally are employees standing out attempting to entice passersby into making a purchase. There were two women walking in at the same time. One of them looked very average, there was nothing that made her stand out; she was well groomed, but was not flashy in any way. The other woman entering was also well-groomed, sporting a nice pair of heels, pencil skirt, button up blouse, and a high-end Yves Saint Laurent handbag. I was beyond disheartened when I watched the employee make a bee-line for the obviously well to do customer, while completely ignoring the other. Inequalities were ever present when walking past the Royal Spa nail salon. Many customers seemed completely disconnected from the experience; most were talking or texting on their phones instead of conversing with the technicians. Although
Many stores have policies. One is usually “No Shoes, No Shirts, No Service.”. This is one of the reasons why the manager, Lengel, approached the girls. Many people take the term “decently dressed” in different ways, but an average person thinks shirts, shorts, and sandals are to be worn when entering store. The girls argued that what they were wearing, which was just bikinis, was being decently dressed.
Sociology is the study of society and the interactions that occur within society itself. There are numerous methods of analyzing societies and the way the function, nonetheless, most methods fall in micro and macro level theories. Micro level theories allow sociologist to study smaller relationships such as individual or compact groups of people. On the other hand, macro level studies permit for larger scale investigations to take place. With both of these theories there are three theoretical perspectives used in sociology. Micro level theories include symbolic interactionism which focuses in interactions done with language and gestures and the means which allow such interactions to take place. Macro level theories include structural functionalism
In “The man behind Abercrombie and Fitch.” An interview conducted by Benoit Denizet-Lewis displays a glimpse into the life of Mike Jeffries and his views of his company only hiring “good-looking” people and targeting “good-looking” people to wear his clothes. This has been done in order to force his audience to recognize that the issue of acceptance one’s peers and exclusion of a community mentioned by Mike Jeffries, is a result of cultural perceptions and individual self-image. Denizet-Lewis skillfully shows that while Jeffries remarks of not wanting the “not-so-popular” kids to shop in his stores, it poses a question to consumers asking what change in our attitudes will come or if there will be any change at all. Thus comes the issue of how consumers today have a shift in the reasoning behind why one buys clothing and the motivating factors that influence one to buy certain clothing. Denizet-Lewis also demonstrates the different messages that controversial advertisements and statements affect different groups of people and how what they project is really what people desire, though deemed by many people as unacceptable or inappropriate. The author also examines how in the news media, the image has become more important than the message and how images have taken precedent over actual issues and character. As a result of this, various communities have formed by the construct of selling to “beautiful people” and how popular appeal has become an extension of a person.
First, the customers are compared to sheep which further pushes the message of Sammy’s boring life. Sammy reinforces this when he describes the customers, “All this while, the customers had been showing up with their carts but, you know, sheep, seeing a scene, they had all bunched up on Stokesie, who shook open a paper bag as gently as peeling a peach, not wanting to miss a word.” This quote compares the monotonous customers to sheep who are gawking at what’s going on but not commenting on anything. Second, the clothing symbolizes the difference between dull, the customers, and fresh, the girls. The typical A&P customer is “A few house-slaves in pin curlers” and dressed in “baggy gray pants,” while the girl have a “good tan” and “long white prima donna legs.” The girls not only appeal to Sammy’s male hormones but also to his yearning for something
There are many examples of cities reforming itself over time, one significant example is Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. More than a hundred years after the discovery of gold that drew thousands of migrants to Vancouver, the city has changed a lot, and so does one of its oldest community: Downtown Eastside. Began as a small town for workers that migrants frequently, after these workers moved away with all the money they have made, Downtown Eastside faced many hardships and changes. As a city, Vancouver gave much support to improve the area’s living quality and economics, known as a process called gentrification. But is this process really benefiting everyone living in Downtown Eastside? The answer is no. Gentrification towards DTES(Downtown Eastside) did not benefit the all the inhabitants of the area. Reasons are the new rent price of the area is much higher than before the gentrification, new businesses are not community-minded, and the old culture and lifestyle of the DTES is getting erased by the new residents.
In the short story “A&P” by John Updike, a young store clerk named Sammy observes three young girls walking into the store, and in great detail describes the appearance of each girl. He obsesses over these girl’s every move throughout the story. Eventually the girls go to cash out only to be halted by the manager who tells them they need to be “decently dressed” when shopping at his store. After Sammy rings the three girls up he tells the manager he quits in order to impress the girls. Unfortunately they don’t notice and when he leaves the store he realizes the girls are gone, and that he has made mistake. The author paints the protagonist as an individual who despises his job, and as a very cynical person who loathes the average customer at
People are consumed with their own reality that they didn’t even acknowledge me sitting at a table watching them. Each person seemed to have their own stories different from everyone else’s. For the most part, the employees seemed to have similar interests in wanted to produce the best customer service. The customers had the same goal of wanting to try a new popular restaurant they might have been unfamiliar with. Overall, the general consensus was that a majority of people wanted to get on with their day with as little human interaction as
Sammy is the cashier at the store, he has been for quite some time now, long enough where he has a memorized “the punches, 4, 9, GROC, TOT” ( 602 ) and has created a song for himself “"Hello (bing) there, you (gung) hap-py pee-pul (splat)"” ( 602 ). Showing his contempt for conformity and consumerism to the everyday life of the store Sammy joins the shoppers or as he calls them the “sheep” ( 600 ) of the store who can never be out of the spell of their daily routines. The location and the layout of the store is also tediously described by Sammy when he is describing the surroundings to the readers where he is located “between the checkouts and the Special bins” ( 599 ). He also does this when he describes the girls going up and down the isles of items “the cat-and-dog-food-breakfast-cereal-macaroni-rice-raisins-seasonings-spreads-spaghetti-soft-drinks-crackers-and-cookies aisle” ( 600 ). With all of these tedious descriptions of details of Sammy’s surrounding we slowly start to see him getting more and more frustrated and appalled at the conformity of the society that he lives in, and the difficulty of breaking the social formalities that he must deal with on a daily basis.
The story explained how the appearance of the girls affects the community. “The sheep pushing their carts down the aisle – the girls were walking against the usual traffic (not that we have one-way signs or anything) – were pretty hilarious. You could see them, when Queenie 's white shoulders dawned on them, kind of jerk, or hop, or hiccup, but their eyes snapped back to their own baskets and on they pushed. (Updike, A&P) This shows that in the small town that if you dressed outside of what society deems socially acceptable you would draw unwanted attention. The regular shoppers were all the same and the girls coming in created a disruption that was not normal in this part of town. It added a sense of rebellion and took away the perpetuating cycle of boredom and lack of excitement that Sammy and all the customers were used to at the A&P. This is still relevant in today’s society. Although society as a whole is more accepting of less modest clothes, it finds certain appearances with a unique kind of awareness.
Pahl, Jon. (2003). The Mall as Sacred Space. In Behrens Laurence & Rosen Leonard (Eds.),
Goss argues that developers and designers of the built environment, specifically shopping centers and malls, use the power of place and understanding the structural layout of the space to boost consumption of the retail profits. Shopping centers are separated from the downtown area of shopping, either by distance and/or design. These establishments emerge for many to be the new heart and location for public and social life. In his article The "Magic of the Mall": An Analysis of Form, Function, and Meaning in the Contemporary Retail Built Environment, Goss also argues that the regulation of the spaces within the mall creates an atmosphere of "community" rather than one that is "public". This article’s main argument is that developers manufacture an illusion of doing more than just shopping when designing malls and shopping centers.
no time for customers. They acted as if it was a burden for them to stop and
“We have new arrivals for spring season. What about this new style checked sweater? This sweater is vastly popular nowadays because many popular actresses are wearing this in several TV dramas. I think this sweater would be great for you because it matches with your sky-blue skirt. Also we are making an allowance of 40% for this item. It would be good for you, ma’am.” You can often see this situation in every shop, but this shop assistant gives prominence to that new style sweater by saying that it is a low risk of trend style, considering guest’s figure, and also letting guest know that it’s on sale. Even if the guest does not buy that sweater, this shop assistant is proficient in selling. Because she knows exactly what guests want.
Sociologists employ three major theoretical perspectives in sociology today. They are the structural-functionalist perspective, the conflict perspective, and the symbolic interactionism. The structural-functionalist perspective is done at a macro level and its focus is on the relationships between the parts of society. The Conflict perspective is done at a macro level and its main focus is on how the wealthy controls the poor and weak. Symbolic Interactionism is done at a micro and it focuses on the use of symbols and face to face interactions.
Using your sociological imagination you are able conceptualize how a person’s macro level, which consists of the larger aspects of life such as family and government, and their micro level, (which is the individual itself) combine in order form the person they are. Using my sociological imagination I decided to observe the library through the use of symbolic interactionism, one of four sociological perspectives. The others included are the conflict theory, ethno methodology, feminism and structural functionalist.