Gods Must Be Crazy Functionalism

Xi the Bushmen has a very interesting plotline which is explained perfectly through structural functionalism. Structural functionalism is based on social institutions one of them being family. The family is an important social institution as it is the child's first. In the movie The Gods Must Be Crazy, the Bushmen are living in peace and harmony in the Kalahari where the adults are teaching the new generation where to get food and water, teaching those games etc. with responsibility on everyone for something specific. The family gives an individual a sense of belonging and imbibes cultural values into the new generation. That is exactly what seen in the movie. Xi’s family is harmonious with no anger, conflict, lust, or greed, everyone shares with everyone, and no one has a sense of ownership over anything.

Thus, it is easier to understand Xi’s society through structural functionalism. Structural functionalism studies on a macro level instead of a micro level. Macro-level research focuses on the structure of society rather than interpersonal relationships and the study is structured (same questions asked for everyone). In the movie, Xi kills a goat and jailed. No one looked at his background as to why he killed the goat and refused to acknowledge his tribal ways when Steyn and Mpudi tell them about it. The judge or the police look at Xi’s case as a common case of violation rather than going on a deeper level to understand his reasons. The law enforcements acted on a macro level on Xi’s case. As there is no institution for law or justice in Xi’s tribe, Xi is unaware of the laws and thus has injustice done to him but Steyn and Mpudi help him. If the law enforcement looked at Xi’s case closer, Xi could have continued his mission. Thus, this scene shows structural functionalist point of