Our sense of reality in society is not shaped by individuals, but rather shaped by all members of society working collectively. The more member’s society has to back up a topic considered abstract, the quicker and easier it becomes recognized as a social normality. This fact is demonstrated in two movies, “Lars and the Real Girl” and “Harold and Maude”. The party hosted by a Cindy from Larses office, in Lars and the Real Girl demonstrates how if everyone accepts something it becomes a standard. The multiple therapy sessions by family and friends for Harold, in Harold and Maude proves that on an individual basis, opinions are not based off of what individuals think but rather what society tells them. A common topic faced in society is love, …show more content…
both movies made love into something that cannot be dealt with on an individual basis but rather dealt with by society. Although both movies establish how reality in society is shaped they demonstrate it differently. In the movie Lars and the Real Girl, I found that the party scenes clearly demonstrated how society works collectively to shape reality. In this scene a party was hosted by minor characters Cindy and her husband Baxter. The party included Larses coworkers from his office job such as Kurt and Margo. Before Lars entrance with Bianca the party was dull, the screenplay describes the setting as slow and uneventful. Margo was standing around lonely with no one to talk too. At the time Larses coworkers were aware of his situation but have not witnessed it in person. After Lars arrives at the party with Bianca the screenplay states the party starts to become alive. Bianca unable to move is rolled into Cindy’s house on a wheelchair, with a bottle of wine resting on her lap. Cindy picks up the bottle and ask Bianca if it was a gift for her, right from their entrance Bianca is treated as a normal person. As Lars and Bianca mingle around the party the camera cuts towards Jerry, Lisa and Margo standing beside the food table. Jerry and Lisa were also coworkers of Lars, the screenplay described these two as jerks. Unable to accept Lars and Bianca they stood around the table and talk about how disgusting and gross they thought Lars was. Jerry described Bianca as a “slutty hunk of rubber” (PG50). Attempting to gain Jerrys acceptance, Margo replied to Jerry saying, “Her name is Bianca and you don’t even know her”. The party continued with lots of laughing, dancing and drinking as the night went on the guest become more comfortable with Lars and Bianca. Lars sat on the floor in front of the fireplace smiling at Bianca, the viewer could tell Lars was very happy, an emotion he did not experience in a long time. The party finishes and Lars and Bianca begin leave, as their leaving Margo and Cindy wave goodbye. Margo explains to Cindy how she likes Bianca. As Lars and Bianca drive home, Lars explains how the party was the best night of his life. From the beginning to the end of the party the viewer can see how the views of the guest changed throughout the night, as the party went on the guest collectively became more accepting and understanding towards Lars and Bianca. When Lars enters the party the viewer can see, he feels uncomfortable and shy, but towards the end he becomes very happy and gains the attention of everyone around him. The party scene demonstrates accurately how society shapes what social normality’s are. Working collectively the members of the party made Lars and Bianca social accepted. This is why I thought Lars and the Real Girl demonstrates how if everyone accepts something it becomes a standard. Just like the party, the multiple therapy sessions by family and friends for Harold, in Harold and Maude proves that on an individual basis, opinions are not based off of what others think. The movie Harold and Maude had a scene where Harold attended multiple therapy sessions because of his unaccepted relationship with Maude.
I believe this scene clearly demonstrates how on an individual basis opinions are based off of what society already considers a normality. This scene consist of Harold attending three different therapy sessions held by his Uncle Victor, a psychiatrist, and a priest. In society a relationship similar to Harold and Maude’s would be classified as unnatural or abnormal. It is socially normal for Harold to have a relationship with someone in his own age group rather than someone more than three times older than him. Harold’s first session was with his Uncle Victor, Victor explained to Harold how his relationship is viewed as not normal (PG149). Victor based his view off of the current social normality instead of expressing what he himself thinks. Harold’s second session is with a psychiatrist. Similar to Uncle Victor, the psychiatrist also states what's normal in society instead of talking about what's normal to him. The psychiatrist starts that the Oedipus complex is normal in their society, but Harold’s situation is abnormal and puzzles him (PG150). The third and final session is held by the priest, the priest unlike the others mention the physical attraction between age groups set by society. The priest tells Harold the Church has nothing against a relationship with the young and the old, but then continues to tell Harold his relationship is …show more content…
socially abnormal. Although each session Harold attended had different points, they all stated what he is doing is socially wrong. On an individual basis everyone Harold attended stated not what they think but what society has shaped. I found this scene in Harold and Maude, demonstrated well, how society is not shaped by individuals but rather followed and maintained by individuals. Society is shaped by all members working together to make something new, normal. In this case if everyone were to work together, they stood a better chance of making the situation between Harold and Maude no longer an abnormality. The movie Harold and Maude is a good example on how society is shaped on the amount of people supporting a topic. Both movies “Lars and the Real Girl” and “Harold and Maude” demonstrate love as a topic that cannot be dealt with by individuals but rather dealt with by society working together. A common topic faced in society is love, both movies made love into something that cannot be dealt with on an individual basis but rather dealt with by society. In Lars and the Real Girl, the people surrounding Lars’s life, who interact with him were asked to pretend Bianca was a real person. Society working together and accepting Bianca as a real person for Lars, help Lars understand and feel more emotionally connected to the people around him. Being accepted by society, Lars moved away from his image of a perfect relationship and at the end of the movie made the choice of leaving Bianca. In this movie society worked together to accept Lars and Bianca, and treat them as a normal couple. This was done to help Lars deal with his love issues. In Harold and Maude, Harold’s choices as an individual are turned down by society. After realizing what Harold is doing, his mother seeks help for him and sends him to therapy. Instead of dealing with his problems himself, the movies turns to society to help him deal with his love problems. Although Lars does not see a problem with what he is doing, he is also not accepted by society and Marge knows this. Taking her own life Marge leaves Harold at the peak of their new relationship to help him live a normal life. With Marge out of Harold's life, he is left to continue being a normal member of society. Marge leaving is an example of society helping Harold deal with his love problems. This movie just like Lars and the Real Girl, demonstrates how love is a subject that is dealt with better by a society rather than by an individual. As individuals we do not change what society is, but as a collective group we are given the ability to shape society.
With more members supporting a non-recognized topic, the quicker and easier it becomes recognized. Two movies that demonstrated this fact are “Lars and the Real Girl” and “Harold and Maude”. Both movies show how if everyone were to accept something it becomes a standard and no longer looked at differently by society. They also show how on an individual basis opinions are not based off of what individuals think but rather what society thinks about the topic at hand. Love was a situation both Lars and Harold were facing, with society there to guide them. Both movies were perfect examples for the fact that what society indicates as conventional is based and shaped off of the amount of people supporting it. The more members a situation has to back it up the faster and easier it becomes recognized as a social
normality.
The Film, Harold and Maude, which was released in the year 1971, follows a 20 year old boy, Harold, with a narrow view on life. He spends his time attending funerals of people he does not know and faking suicides in attempts for his mother’s attention. She however finds his actions immature and foolish, thus showing the strain on their relationship. One day however, at a random funeral, Harold meets Maude, a 79 year old women with a zest for life. She is fun-loving and happy at all times. Their friendship grows as Harold’s mother simultaneously tries to find him a wife. Harold soon develops an intimate love for Maude that she reciprocates. Harold’s spirits are lifted and he breaks from his unhappy existence by leaving his mother to marry Maude.
The purpose of this paper is to analyze a movie and list five sociological concepts outlined in our textbook, Sociology A Down-To-Earth Approach, 6th edition by James M. Henslin, which was published by Pearson Education, Inc in 2015, 2013, and 2011. I have chosen the movie, “The Breakfast Club.” This is a 1985 movie directed by John Hughes. It is about five high school students that have detention on a Saturday for nine hours. The five students are played by, Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, Ally Sheedy, and Anthony Michael Hall. These five students are deviant in their own particular ways and have different stereotypes. Eventually the students share personal information about their
She was our friend.” (Lee 59) This was how Scout described Miss Maudie, Scout was explaining her perspective of herself and that she wants to be treated like an adult and that the only one to do so was Miss Maudie. Consequently, this helps the reader understand Scout. Also, Miss Maudie helps to develop Jem’s character by giving him a big cake when he’s supposed to have a small one like Scout and Dill.
Kidd expands on society’s sexual perspectives in mass media and illuminates the stress pushed towards the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender population. He outlines sexuality as one of many influences on the ways we interpret the culture we consume. He supposes that popular culture has five major social roles: generating basic social norms, producing social boundaries, producing rituals that generate social solidarity, generating modernization, and generating social progress. He pays particular attention to Emilie Durkeim and connects his sociological
In our modern world, sociology has a tremendous impact on our culture, mainly through the processes and decisions we make everyday. For movies and television shows especially, sociological references are incorporated throughout the storyline. A movie which includes many sociological examples is Mean Girls. Mean Girls is a movie based on the life of home-schooled teenage girl, Cady Heron, who moves to the United States from Africa and is placed in a public school for the first time. Cady finds herself in many uncomfortable scenarios and has to deal with the trials and tribulations pertaining to everyday high school issues. Her experiences involve interacting with high school cliques, such as ‘the plastics’, weird high school teachers, relationships,
What is sociological imagination? Our textbook describes sociological imagination as the ability to see our private experiences, personal difficulties, and achievements as, in part, a reflection of the structural arrangements of society and the times in which we live. The movie entitled Forrest Gump is a great example of sociological imagination. In this paper, I will cite examples from the movie and tell how they correlate with sociological imagination. Sociological imagination allows us examine the events of our lives and see how they intersect with the wider context of history and tradition of the society in which we live. (Hughes/Kroehler, The Core, p. 7)
This Analysis Paper is an analysis of social problems an issues presented in the film. The film under analysis in this paper is "What 's Eating Gilbert Grape" (1993). The topics used as a lens for analysis are family, social roles, deviance, and social groups. This paper will present numerous examples of these social issue topics as they are displayed in the film.
Social Psychology is the study of how we think and relate to other people. These psychologists focused on how the social situation influences others behavior. We see social influences everywhere we go, but might not notice it. Like when watching a movie for fun you do not notice it as much as when you are actually looking for the behaviors, like in the film The Breakfast Club. There are several examples of social psychological behaviors in the film.
In today’s society, it is easy to spot someone blaming themselves for the occurrence of their personal life problems. For example, a single-mother may blame herself for not being able to support her children well due to a shortage of money and unavailability to find a decent job. Another could be a newly wed couple having daily arguments that may lead to their divorce, or women who are facing difficulties perceiving their housekeeping responsibilities and wanting to become something more than just a homemaker. These various private tensions may seem very personal. These dilemmas are all related to a bigger world called society and this is known as the sociological imagination. Sociological imagination suggests that people look at their own personal troubles as social issues and, in general try to connect their own individual encounters with the workings of society. The personal problems are closely related to societal issues such as unemployment, marriage, war and even the city life where the private troubles and the public issues become clearly apparent. With the understanding of the sociological imagination, I began to notice the daily choices I make, the classes I attend, the way I was raised by my parents, the group of people I choose to hang out with, the things I like to converse about with others are all somehow affected by public issues and what society tends to make us believe is right. There are many areas in my life where I feel that I am greatly affected by various sociological theories such as events dealing with gender and sexuality, family and culture, ethnicity and race, and social class and work.
This was an intriguing discussion of the sociological perspective because it discussed how ordinary people might go about debunking the truths of their societies. Examples of researching newspapers, talking to authorities, and questioning preset customs and definitions, much in the way we can redefine the concept of "love", makes sense when superimposed upon a living society like ours. Berger identified the methodological nature of the sociological perspective in that it is not a distinct way of seeing others, but a means to examine others through a multifaceted scope.
Gender is a socially constructed phenomenon, and how acceptable one’s relationship is determined by society’s view of gender roles. Because the majority of the population is characterized as heterosexual, those who deviate from that path are ...
At some point in time, we all question what we actually know and we know what we know. Whether it be how we distinguish time, what is love or what it means to be who we are-black, female, petite. Like for me I would consider myself, a hopeless romantic, because I love movies like Love & Basketball, but where did that concept emerge and how have I just accepted it as a part of my being with no questions asked. Let’s first delve into a synopsis of Love & Basketball, and then explore how society shapes some of the social discourses and reified themes of gender roles that are seen in the movie.
According to psychologist, Sigmund Freud, there are three main parts that make up a human’s personality: the id, ego, and superego. In the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey, the narrator of the story, Chief Bromden, represents each of these traits. In the beginning, Bromden only thinks of himself as any other crazy man, who no one pays attention to, but throughout the story Bromden develops mentally through all three stages of Freud’s personality analysis, maybe not in Freud’s preferred order, but he still represents them all.
We’ve gone over many sociological concepts in class, but the three that I believe apply the most to this film are socialization, deviance, and resocialization. “What sort of world is it at
Today, romance is one of the most popular genres to watch on television. Unlike most, romance is a genre where the plot revolves around the love between two main characters as they experience the highs and lows of love. “Common themes that revolve around romantic movies are kissing, love at first sight, tragic love, destructive love, and sentimental love” (Taylor). These themes appear in many historical films and the pattern still continues in modern films as well. Watching romantic movies has a giant negative influence on the viewer's analysis of what love and relationships should really be like. These films give the wrong impression of reality when it comes to dating, marriage, having children, and even how to manage a relationship in the first place. Even though romantic movies are commonly watched, there are many effects on personal real-life relationships after watching these types of films.