Functionalism In Second Stories: Honor Thy Father

When we look at society from a social functionalist perspective we gain insight into how all of its parts work together to preserve a state of balance for all. Functionalism is utilized in sociology as a method of creating a framework to characterize social order, how all parts are connected and how they add value to the constancy of the society. This viewpoint stresses how each part is linked and how they affect one another. It emphasizes that the practice and beliefs of a religious group cannot be examined without reviewing in the context of the society as a whole which encompasses it’s politics, education system and economy. This is a more holistic view that helps us to understand the full function of religion within a society. In contrast

Examining the film from a social functionalist approach demonstrates that religion is comprised of ceremonial customs of believers who gather together and form a bond. An example of this is the church shown at the beginning of the film that had been transformed and destroyed from a sacred native aboriginal space to a Christian Church. This space had previously been used by Gerald’s and his fellow Native Aboriginal’s to gather and form bonds through rituals scared to their religion. Another example consists of the very rituals and customs that bring them together to celebrate important life events such as birth, marriage and death on a religious level. Consequently when filmmaker, Gerald Auger’s father passed away, he was devastated. His father was to be buried on the property of the Anglican Church and as such the priest disallowed a traditional Cree burial symbolized with the drum and the smudge. Gerald felt offended by this and approached Church officials to get approval for a funeral fitting to honour his father in the traditional Cree custom. Gerald’s goal to uphold the ritual native burial customs so his father’s spirit can be set free is another example of a social functionalist perspective of this film. Looking from a functionalist perspective, it is evident that this is an important ritual that brings a society together and demonstrates how each part influences the other. Another example of a functionalist view of this film comes from the fact that one cannot function properly without the other. For instance, the family or native clan cannot function without the religious institution allowing them to perform the ritual in order to move on in the grieving process of the death of their father. Thus, from a functionalist view, religion works to bind members of society by encouraging them to regularly affirm