Societal pressures affect the human condition and can lead to destructive behaviours. Introduction Every society in the world has many unwritten rules and expectations that guide or act upon its members. These include cultural norms, peer influence, and manners. They are invisible, but powerful enough to shape our identity and existence, as well as the decisions we make throughout our lives. However, this pressure affects each person in different ways. On the one hand, they can be useful in maintaining peace and harmony in society while motivating individuals for their personal growth and success. On the other hand, for some people, the weight of this pressure can be overwhelming, causing them to feel stressed, anxious and inadequate. When people are forced to conform to unrealistic or rigid standards, it can lead to many destructive behaviours such as excessive use of drugs or alcohol and …show more content…
Additionally, these social pressures can stifle original character and creativity, forcing people into predefined roles that limit their potential. This is because fear of social isolation, rejection, or punishment can prevent individuals from expressing dissenting opinions or following unconventional paths, reinforcing a cycle of conformity that stifles diversity and innovation. I chose to look in depth at these texts, the novel American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis, the novel Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk, the short story The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, and the film A Clockwork Orange by Stanley Kubrick, which share similarities in themes that focus on the dark aspects of human nature and social norms and structure, anti-heroic characters who defy traditional notions of heroism, and a dark and dystopian mood that evokes feelings of unease, tension, and disillusionment with society. They highlight the profound effects of social pressure on the human soul. Within these texts, I will explore the
In the Film “Fight Club” the setting was set during the postmodern period. When the term postmodern is mentioned it is a bit of a contradiction. Modern means the here and now, the present. While post means subsequent to or after. It is the same as saying after the present. That is the contradiction! No one knows what is after the present. Maybe postmodernism means before it’s time. Many argue that this movie was before its time, some even believe that people would begin to mimic this behavior. Although no one has a clear on the definition of postmodernism there are many terms that correlate to postmodernism. In the film “Fight Club” there are words that resemble the postmodernism ideation such as consumerism, nihilism, and liberation.
Society often pressures individuals within it to conform to different ideals and norms. This stems from the fact that individuals in a society are expected to act in a certain way. If a person or group of people do not satisfy society’s expectations, they are looked down upon by others. This can lead to individuals isolating themselves from others, or being isolated from others, because they are considered as outcasts. The emotional turmoil that can result from this, as well as the internal conflict of whether or not to conform, can transform an individual into a completely different person. This transformation can either be beneficial or harmful to the individual as well as those around them. The individual can become an improved version of himself or herself but conversely, they can become violent, rebellious and destructive. The novels Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk and A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess both explore the negative effects experienced by individuals living within the confines of society’s narrow-mindedness. In A Clockwork Orange, protagonist Alex was the leader of a small group of teenage criminals. He did not have a healthy relationship with either one of his parents or with others around him. Instead he spent most of his time alone during the day and at night roamed the streets in search of victims he could mug or rape. In Fight Club the unnamed protagonist was an outcast in his community. He chose to distance and isolate himself from others and as a result had no friends, with the exception of Tyler Durden and Marla Singer. Due to his isolation, he often participated in nightly fights that took place in Fight Club so that he could relieve his anxiety and stress. In this way, Alex and the unnamed protagoni...
Fight Club is a psychological drama directed by David Fincher. The movie was distributed in 1999 by 20th Century Fox and stars Ed Norton, Brad Pitt, and Helena Bonham Carter (IMDB). The film itself is like a roller coaster ride, it provokes the eye to pay attention to what is on screen. Not only is the plot innovative but the use camera techniques, editing and color schematics pushed boundaries for its era. I think the film delves into the historical influences of Film Noir due to its classic dark visual elements and subject matter(Wk7Ftv5107) and Germanic Expressionism The film was produced by three different
David Fincher’s 1999 noir film Fight Club combines both thematic and stylistic devices to maintain a psychotic uncertainty for both the protagonists and the spectator. Furthermore, the devices shatter certain barriers which overall support the psychotic theme of the film. This constant theme in the film is also presented in Jack’s alter ego who later reveals himself to be the narrators “nemesis trope”. These devices tie into the expressed ideas against the consumerist society and societies inevitable doom due to the belief that the things you own, end up owning you.
Adaptation is an essential part of the motion picture industry, with a majority of films based on literature and other forms of source material coming out of Hollywood every day. One of the most controversial examples of adaptation, at the time, was the great Stanley Kubrick’s 1971 dystopian drama A Clockwork Orange, based on the novel by Anthony Burgess. In a futuristic society ruled by gangs, corruption, and “ultra-violence,” psychotic teen Alex (wonderfully portrayed by Malcolm McDowell) volunteers for a government-regulated experimental treatment to rid himself of his wrongdoings after committing an act of murder. Through the film, we follow this tragic anti-hero’s journey to discover the central theme of fate - whether the government controls human order, or if there is a freedom of choice. Although the film was originally blasted by critics for its excessive use of violence and sexuality, it has since become recognized as one of the most psychologically captivating pieces in cinema, earning its place among AFI’s “100 Years...100 Movies” list. Clockwork Orange’s fascinating mise-en-scène (staging, lighting, costuming), cinematography, music selection, use of voice-over-narration, and narrative structure brilliantly establish the novel’s realistic satire of the dystopian future, making the film one of Kubrick’s most successful adaptations.
Every culture or group has a certain degree of expectations (norms) for its members, which is not all equally achievable by its members, especially the innate features
In modern society, people take pride on being unique. Despite the fact that people strive to be individuals, our country is structured around social norms. In the instance of these essays, the classification of social issues act as umbrella term and can be used in a variety of different situations. The essays “Why We Crave Horror Movies”, “The Tipping Point”, and “On Self Respect” all analyze different social issues. Steven King evaluates people’s mental health and how it effects their desire to watch horror movies. “The Tipping Point”, by Malcom Gladwell studies different social issues and what made them topple to the point of being classified as epidemics. In “On Self Respect”, Joan Didion analyzes self-respect, how we obtain it, and the process of it diminishing over time. All of these essays cover different topics, but all have the same common theme of redefining social norms.
There comes a point in everyone’s life when they are pressurized by society’s demands. One is given the option to either conform or challenge these social norms in order to suit one’s life.
In each day students are not only challenged with the studies of classwork but the social conflicts of societies ever changing fashions. The peer pressures of grade school can be provoking to the point of conforming to certain behaviors; this can have either an optimistic or pessimistic outcome on the well-being of any student. Adolescents attending grade school must take a stand to decide who and what they want to become in life. Every decision that is made in each moment will affect the outcome of one’s life. Conformity is a type of social influence involving a change in belief or behavior in order to fit in with a group. (McLeod) Therefore, being conformed shaped and molded by certain behaviors in society and choosing to rebel against the peer pressures of humane will define what type of character a man will have.
When you were a kid, your parents most likely told you things like “hold the door open for the person behind you” or “chew with your mouth closed”. Have you ever wondered why you had to do these things? Phrases like these are considered to be social norms. Norms are rules or behaviors that are found acceptable by a society. People should be aware of the norms within their society because there are often sanctions associated with them. If someone follows a norm, they are likely to receive a positive sanction, such as a compliment or a smile. If someone breaks a norm, they could receive a frown or be publicly humiliated. These norms vary among different societies and cultures and can lead to conflict when these different
Conformity is defined as the occurrence of people yielding to social pressures as a result of pressure from a group of their peers; when faced by the pressure to conform, people will alter their behaviour and actions to fit the norm demonstrated by their peers (Lilienfield et al., 2012). Conformity is studied so that is can be understood and used in society to facilitate positive outcomes, and help avoid situations where peoples’ predisposition to conform leads to negative consequences (Lilienfield et al., 2012). By understanding conformity and other social processes society as a whole is able to understand themselves better and motivates them to work on improving as a whole (Lilienfield et al., 2012).
“Conformity is a form of social influence that involves a change in behavior or belief so that one can fit in with a certain group” (McLeod). Such a change is a response to imagined (which involves the pressure of expectations or social norms) or real (which involves the presence of others) group pressure. Another definition of conformity can be “yielding to group pressures”. Group pressure can take many forms, for example persuasion, teasing, bullying, criticism etc. Conformity is also referred to as group pressure or majority influence. The term conformity is mostly used to show an agreement to the position of the majority, and this is brought about by either by the desire to be liked or to fit in, or just to match a social role. The aim of this paper is to argue that conformity is among people because they always live in groups-work groups, family, political, religious and social groups. At the same instance, they are adjusted to obey authority. A conformist mentality makes it easy for people to be influenced by others.
Social norm is a way of dressing, talking, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors. Most people in this world define themselves through their clothing, hairstyles, and experiences. Each person has a different behavior, which is due to the differences in traditions, cultures, education and experiences. The environment and social norms directly affect the person’s behavior. The way we behave is not right or wrong, but only what our society allows us to. In our society, we have a number of society norms that we accept. For example, the way we should behave in public, it is important for us to move away from strangers, and respect our elders. The family is one of the first avenues by which children begin to form their understanding of social norms. Parents are constantly teaching their children what is appropriate and what is not appropriate.
Our group collectively decided to choose the movie Fight Club as the movie to review for this case study. Fight Club was released on October 15, 1999 and is based off the novel written by Chuck Palahniuk in 1996. The movie was directed by David Fincher and featured several outstanding actors such as Brad Pitt and Edward Norton. We settled on reviewing Fight Club due to the films’ psychologically thrilling nature.
On a daily basis, people are being influenced by the people around them, whether it is directly or indirectly. A person’s thoughts, feelings and actions can influence and be influenced by society. These social interactions provide enough opportunity for the presence of people to influence and change behavior, views, and attitudes of an individual. There are several forms of social influences, such as conformity, which I will be discussing. Why we conform has been a topic of considerable interest to social psychologists in particular such as he classic and well-known studies of Muzafer Sherif and Solomon Asch. In addition to researching why we conform, there’s also the question of whether conformity is good or bad.