Hidden America Children Of The Mountains Sociology

Would you want to be considered under the poverty line? For the people of Appalachia, Kentucky most do not have a choice when it comes to being under the poverty line. Most are unlucky and were born into the social class they are in today. Many theories pertain to poverty and social classes the Appalachian people face. They are also shown through the elements of structural functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interaction. The main point of the video is to show how others live in poverty and what other social classes are like. The implications of the film “Hidden America Children Of The Mountains” are to show the science of sociology and how they affected the Appalachian people. Through the study of sociology, different sociological

theories pertain to poverty and social classes due to the competing theories in the field of sociology.
Sociological theories of poverty are highly debated in today’s society. When most sociologist define poverty they define it either as absolute or relative poverty. Absolute poverty exists when people do not have the means to secure the most basic necessities.

Relative poverty exists when people may be able to afford basic necessities but are still unable to maintain an average standard of living. In the film “Hidden America Children Of The Mountains” it displays that almost everyone in Appalachia falls under either absolute or relative poverty. Shawn Grim is a teenager in the hills of Kentucky, him and his family are considered under the poverty line. “The U.S. Social Security Administration has established an official poverty line, which is based on what the federal government considers to be the minimum amount of money required for living at a subsistence level” (Kendall). Shawn moved out of his home and lives in his truck and moves from place to place. This does not seem to hurt society but it does not benefit it either. One way Shawn benefits society is that he works at Burger King. This is considered as a structural functionalist approach. “A sociological approach to poverty that maintains that all parts of society (even poverty) contribute in some way or another to the larger system's stability” (Boundless). As it is shown in the video Shawn is trying to better himself which in ways helps larger system’s stability. This is also in some ways considered under the conflict theory. Shawn and his family members have gone on the side of

the highway and illegally picked for coal. The conflict theory approach states, “A sociological theory of poverty that argues that stratification is dysfunctional and harmful to society but persists because it benefits the rich and powerful” (Boundless). If others thought they could illegally pick coal as well it would create a huge problem for society. If people in poverty would try to find jobs and better themselves they would benefit the rich and powerful and fall under the conflict theory. Shawn also displays a symbolic interactionism by going to college. With him going to college it shows how he has to meet others with different lifestyles and others who are not considered under the poverty line. “Rather, it examines the differences that stratification makes for people’s lifestyles and their interaction with other people” (Creative Commons). He was able to meet new people who live very different from him and learned how different someone could live. It made him even more determined to succeed. However, he unfortunately dropped out and moved back into his home. Shawn and his actions could fall under all three sociological theories and their elements.
Sociologist have many views on social class and stratification.

There are two sociologist that have taken a major interest on stratification and social class. Karl Marx and Max Weber have had a profound influence on how we view the United States class system today. “According to Karl Marx, class position and the extent of our income and wealth are determined by our work situation, or our relationship to the means of production” (Kendall). Marx’s theory states that capitalists society consists of two classes which are the workers and the capitalists. As for the Appalachian people, they would most likely fall under the workers. “Working class (proletariat) consists of those who must sell their labor to the owners in order to earn enough money to survive” (Kendall). A very few percentage of Appalachian people would be considered capitalist. The ones who would be classified as capitalist would be the coal miners. “Starting salary for coal miner is $60,000 a year” (Sawyer). The capitalists own and control the means of production. Other than working in the coal mines there is not a lot of jobs that would make the people of Appalachia capitalists. Max Weber’s theory is similar yet very different to Karl Marx’s theory on social stratification. “Weber developed a multidimensional approach to social stratification that reflects to the interplay among wealth, prestige, and power” (Kendall). With Weber’s approach it allows the Appalachian people to to be a high-level rank in one area

and a low-level rank in another. This way is better for the modern day society than Mark’s theory. In “Hidden America Children Of The Mountains”, Angel has little money, lacks authority, and a low level social status. In Weber’s theory she would be low-level in all three categories and would not be considered highly be anyone. However, she is trying to get her GDP and become a teacher. Once she is able to complete that task she will soon have a job and money. She would be able to move up to mid-range in certain categories. Weber’s theory makes it easy for people to move up and down in rank. However, there are others who fall under different categories. Eula is an elderly woman who runs a clinic for people in need in Appalachia, Kentucky. She does not have a lot of money which would put her in the low-level class for wealth. Her prestige and power status are differently though. She has power within her own company and it allows her be considered mid to high-level class. “Prestige- the respect or regard that a person or status position is given by others” (Kendall). Eula is highly respected for what she does for the people in her community but does not have a lot of money which would put her in two different levels in Weber’s theory. Conflict theorists believe that stratification is harmful to society. “Conflict theory of stratification holds that inequality is harmful to society because it creates a fixed system of winners and losers” (Boundless). The losers of the fixed system are always going to lose in this situation as the winners have all the power. This is an example in the film as the ones who have no money and no power will continue to have no money and no power. However, structural functionalist disagree completely with the conflict theory on stratification. “Functionalists argue against the conflict theory approach by contending that people don't always act out of economic self-interest, and that people who want to succeed can do so through hard work” (Boundless). The people of Appalachia fall more under this approach as most residents want and try to succeed. Shawn tries to better himself and go to college so he can someday make something out of himself and move up in social classes. The interactionist perspective is a little different. This perspective does and does not entirely involve the residents of Appalachia. “The interactionist perspective on inequality looks at how certain social roles have more power or authority than others” (Boundless). The way this is incorporated with the people of Appalachia is that how the people with all the power got it and why the ones without it do not have it. The ones without it tend to stay without it unless they find a way to succeed. The ones with try to keep their power at all cost. All three main sociological theories pertain to the people of Appalachia in stratification and social class.
The implications in the film “Hidden America Children Of The Mountains” for the science of sociology is shown by the methods sociologist used to study the areas the film talked about. “Thus, whether or not a particular discipline like sociology is a science depends more on the methods used than on the particular subject area studied” (Sociology). The quote explains that whether the theory is like a science or not, it is classified by the way it is used. Emile Durkheim used the scientific method in her theories back in the nineteenth century which gives a strong case for the science of sociology. The film displayed Karl Marx and Max Weber’s theories on stratification and social class. Both did not use science as a primary source to come up with a conclusion for their theories. However, both theories showed the methods that were used on the areas that were studied in the film. Science of sociology was displayed in the film through the theories that pertained to poverty and social class.
There are many different sociological theories that pertain to social class and poverty. In today’s society poverty is a highly debated theory. Sociologist also debate and have many views on social class and stratification. These views allow the science of sociology to have implications on the film “Hidden America Children Of The Mountains”. Through all the theories sociologist have studied they still continue to compete in the field of sociology.