The Sociological Imagination and Media: Full House

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The Sociological Imagination and Media
Media has become a huge part of our lives and society by impacting our life every day, whether it be with social networking, news or television.Television has become a predominant factor today, by just checking what’s going on in the world or catching your favorite show. Many shows may not seem like there’s a broader meaning behind it, but if you look you can find one. C. Wright Mills describes the sociological imagination as the ability to see and understand the connection between individual lives and events and larger social forces. One television show that is a good example of the sociological imagination is Full House. This show is a good example because it has characters that express different views on parenting or on how to live; the sociological concepts tie well with what Danny is believing and how he views the world. Also, C. Wright Mills’ perception of this theory is how Danny is acting towards the situation he is in.
Full House is a show about a single dad who takes care of his three daughters with help of his brother-in-law and best friend. In this episode, D.J and Stephanie are determined to make their father date Stephanie’s dance teacher, Karen. But every time Danny begins seeing someone, he finds any flaw he can and ends up not dating them. He does not realize this until Joey (his best friend) and Jesse (brother-in-law) tell him, and so he starts dating Karen out of spite to prove he doesn’t do that. The reason behind this is because Danny once had a “perfect” girl to which he lost to a drunk driver. Ever since then, Danny is unable to date or find another, to him what seems like, the perfect girl. He then meets Stephanie’s dance teacher, Karen, who seems like the one, but whe...

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...rfect and not always in a nuclear family structure. Danny was able to realize that every woman he decides to date will have a few flaws, but he must see past it so he can add a mother figure to his family. C. Wright Mills perceived the world with “the way of thinking” in a sociological perspective. He believes that the factors which we face throughout our life are what shape us. Our biography, social structure and history interconnect with our life and shape our life and views on the world. This theory proves that many households may be different, but everyone is still cared for and loved in the same way. Media has become a large part of today’s generations, with it showing different shows with different cultures, family structures, social classes, sexual orientation, and race, all of which are concepts of the sociological imagination and has helped formed everyone.

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