Poor Kids: A Sociological Analysis

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The poverty line has often been critiqued because of the way that it is applied without regard to other differences (Ferris & Stein 207). This episode entitled Poor Kids focused on the lives of three children battling poverty in America. The episode first began with 9-year-old Brittany Smith who lives with her 14-year-old brother Roger, her mother, and her father. The father has just lost his recent job, the family has no hot running water, and are on the verge of having their cable and internet turned off because of lack of payment. The family had to relocate after the father lost his job at Pitch Perfect and all of their belongings that they had put in storage were gone because they were unable to pay that to. Kaylie Hegwood is a 10-year-old …show more content…

They are more elevated for the elderly, disabled, and for those who are women, children, single-parent households, and for those who are foreigners (Ferris & Stein, 207). Then we are introduced to 13-year-old Johnny Davis who lives with his mother, father, and three younger siblings; sister Jasmine and two younger brothers. A sociological theme that can be applied to this episode is the American Dream. Owning your own home; finding a good job that you enjoy; being able to afford nice vacations; having a big-screen TV, or nice clothes (Ferries & Stein, 213). For most Americans and the people featured in this episode the dream means that inside if how humble their beginnings are they can succeed in whatever they set their sights …show more content…

Mainly because people will want to judge them. With regards to human nature people so desperately want to shift the blame onto other for everything transpiring in their lives except for themselves. People want to shift the blame onto the government, the parents, and everyone else except for the city that they are involved in. If the focus was shifted onto the parents as opposed to the children, people would exclaim that the parents are poor because they were to lazy to look for employment, of because they did not finish completing school. But with children being the focus of this episode people cannot say that. They cannot put the blame on children for the situations that they are facing. This then forces the viewers to listen. This episode allows the viewer to recall and connect with these children, to gather compassion for these children- and to recall Johnny whose aspiration is to play Football , Kaylie who wants to be a dancer, and Brittany, who gathers nutrition packs from her school. Because you could end up in the same predicament where one day things are fine and then you hit rock

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