Reading “Freaks, Geeks, and Cool Kids” written by Murray Milner Jr. has allowed me to dive into and discover the link between teen status systems and the culture of consumption. By watching high school interactions, the author detected and inferred an important idea throughout the book that teens develop status systems to account for their lack of authority and decisions they have within their established schools, regardless if they are public, private, or religion-based. They can then rank their peers, the higher level individuals gaining their own source of power through this social hierarchy. Another strongly implemented idea was the racial segregation that still exists in diverse high schools. The author observed that blacks and whites
sat together in separate areas, and while some believe there is no reason for this, still feel more comfortable with people of their race. Consumer culture is extremely influential and ever changing for teenagers due to it being the basis of status systems. Consumerism patterns are constantly being updated, and to be at the “top”, one must be an active consumer, purchasing the newest clothes, makeup, and cars. Because of this, Milner argues that there is a strong tie of these consumer patterns to the social patterns in teens. While this book is not generally one I would read, I found it fascinating and would recommend it to students taking sociology in the future. The main reason I enjoyed it thoroughly was due to how relatable each behavior was. Because the group being examined in the book is American teenagers in highschool, I, as a member of the large group, notice and can understand the different choices and behaviors exhibited in my daily life at school. For example, the author recognized the majority of crowds and peer groups are comprised of people who partake in similar activities, such as sports, academic based clubs, or music. This relates to my life being that most individuals in my peer group are devoted to chorus, dancing, instruments or theater, which is the common connection to extend our relationships with each other. The scholarly study based on years of fieldwork with teens very accurately explains why teens are, simply, the way they are in a way which includes many opinions and insights on each valuable and controversial topic.
The Geeks Shall Inherit The Earth is a book by Alexandra Robbins which summarizes the story of seven different teenagers that have many different problems, which many of todays teenagers also have. I found myself having many similarities to the teenagers in the story, for example, when with her group Whitney, the popular bitch, thinks “You didn't day that when we were alone, but now that you're in front of a group you do” (Robbins 21). I can relate to this because I feel as though many people are pressured to say or do things they normally wouldn't whenever they are with their group or ‘clique’. Robbins has this idea that the freaks and geeks, or “cafeteria fringe” will someday grow up and use what they are criticized for to become more successful than the other peopler people. She calls this the ‘Quirk Theory’ (Robbins page 11). This helped me to learn that right now, in high school, not being ‘popular’ may seem like the end of the world, but the reality of it is that after these four years, it wont even matter, but what will be important is how you learned to grow as a person and the true friendships that were made. This makes me want to focus more on my education and learning to grow as a person instead of focusing on how many friends I have or who I sit with at lunch, because truthfully it wont matter once high school is over.
Teens, in particular, have always sought to separate themselves into different social groups. Whether they’re named the nerds and the jocks or the preps and the rebels, one group has always been “in” and one group has always been “out”. It’s just the names and uniforms have changed(Doc A). This has never been more apparent in the novel The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. Set in the 1960’s in Tulsa, Oklahoma, two groups of teens —the no-good greasers and the rich Socs— are at constant odds with each other. While it may be easy to tell who are the outsiders in the novel at first glance, lines become blurred as the reader gets deeper into the novel. It’s true the Socs and/or the greasers may be the outsiders referred to in the title of the novel, however, the title truly pertains to the individuals who see beyond the divide of the 2 groups aforementioned above.
“We’d like to bury the idea that there’s a right way and a wrong way, smart way and foolish way, a red way and a blue way”(Levitt & Dubner). There is not always just one correct answer to find a solution or one right way to think about a problem. In Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J Dubner’s Think Like A Freak, shows different ways to problem solve through different situations and issues. Think Like A Freak offers opportunity and insight on how to problem solve, it also takes you out of your normal mindset and Think Like A Freak.
In Rushkoff’s film, The Merchants of Cool, he rhetorically questions if “teenagers even have a culture to call distinctly their own.” In the late 1990’s when the documentary was made, the implication was that they do not. However, with the internet’s advancements and the accessibility of communication with massive amounts of people, teenagers today can form authentic cultures that are not contaminated by the corporate media.
The movie The Breakfast Club is a perfect example of peer relationships in the adolescent society. It shows the viewer some of the main stereotypes of students in high school you have a jock, a nerd, the weirdo, a rebel, and a prep. Over the course of a Saturday detention the different types of peers learn a lot about one another by hearing what each one has done to get into Saturday detention as well as why they chose to do it.
As preteens and teens push for increasing independence from their parents, they tend to turn to their peers for guidance, acceptance, and security. For those who are low in self-esteem and confidence, their safety lies in fitting in and having a place to belong. Most people find a group in which they connect with in a healthy way while others make their way in cliques that give them security but at the price of their own values and individuality. The movie Mean Girls portrays how high school female social cliques operate and the effect they can have on girls. I will argue how if one doesn’t have a strong sense of self-identity, the opinions of others will become their identity.
Social inequality has been prevalent in modern-day America, where you could get picked on for just wearing the wrong brand or hairstyle. This occurs the most upon people who are struggling to adjust to adulthood; teenagers. Social inequality has and still is affecting teenagers across the world, and writers are writing about this problem in order to raise awareness and to change the view of the public. These authors write about example in which the inequality is demonstrated, hoping to present a different perspective and to motivate the reader against social inequality. However, not enough awareness has been raised to help prevent it. This is working, but not quickly, but it shows that things like books and music can help to raise awareness,
According to Charon, culture is one of the social patterns in society. It arises in social interaction. It is taught in social interaction. Culture is made up of three smaller sets of patterns: (1) rules, (2) beliefs, and (3) values (Charon p. 56). For these two peer croups, the contrast in their lifestyles and culture can be attributed to the influence, involvement, and expectations of their parents. The parents of the Brothers expect that their children will do well in school, they expect them to stay out trouble, and to refrain from the use of drugs and alcohol. Thus, from their families, the Brothers take away a contradictory outlook. On the one hand, they see that hard work on the part of their parents has not gotten them very far, an implicit indictment of the openness of the opportunity structure. On the other hand, they are encouraged by these same people to have high hopes for the future (Macleod p. 167). In contrast, the Hallway Hangers’ families do not hold high aspirations, they do not expect that their children do well in school, stay out of trouble, or refrain from the use of drugs. In fact they have very little influence in their children’s lives. It is not that the parents don’t want the best for their children, they are just afraid to set them up for failure. The Hallway Hangers have seen their older siblings and other friends fail in school. As a result, they hold a firm belief that children from higher econo...
Erikson’s Stages of Development was seen most widely in Freaks and Geeks. Whenever there is a mix of freshmen age children in with older adolescents, there is always that awkward stage. When I was in the 9th grade, the school system I was in was still utilizing the junior high school and we would not enter high school until the ninth grade. The year that Freaks and Geeks was to take place, I myself was in the 9th grade, so I sympathized with the show somewhat. Sam and Rory from Gilmore Girls had trust from their mothers, where on the other hand, Danny from geeks and Lane, from Gilmore, dealt with mistrust because of how their mothers were. Danny’s mother expected him to drop everything and get what she needed, even if that meant missing school, and Lane’s mother did not allow her to
AGENTS OF SOCIALIZATION:The Family The School Peer Groups The Mass Media Introduction to Sociology Social Sciences Sociology . 2014. AGENTS OF SOCIALIZATION:The Family The School Peer Groups The Mass Media Introduction to Sociology Social Sciences Sociology . [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.zeepedia.com/read.php?agents_of_socialization_the_family_the_school_peer_groups_the_mass_media_introduction_to_sociology&b=99&c=14. [Accessed 07 March 2014].
Teenagers revolve around being socially active and being a part of the “In crowd”. Teens are usually part
I compared Friday Night Lights, Freaks & Geeks, and Suburgatory in parents/family, major character death/injury, and relationships (which includes friendships and dating)
Converse with educators, mentors, staff, guardians or companions to discover what is going on. Teenager gatherings regularly for as factions, elite gatherings that take after to picked standards and conduct. The pioneers of those inner circles are imperative impact on the conduct of the gathering. High schoolers who are normally forced are those youngsters who are interested and it is more probable that they are inclined to Vices. Materialistic disposition of an adolescent ages 8-15, were inspected utilizing a multi-thing realism scale for young people. The discoveries show that realism is moderately steady characteristic, shifting just with age in spite of the various changes happens as a tyke gets more seasoned, Consumer defenselessness to impact has been characterized as "any inclination of the individual to change as a component of social pressure"it was characterized more concrete as, "the need to relate to or improve one 's picture in the sentiment of noteworthy others through securing and utilization of items and brands, the readiness to adjust and to take after the desires of others. Alongside the worry over adolescent 's developing purchaser duties and inclination coordinated towards youngster are worries that adolescents are creating materialistic qualities at a more
Status creates an invisible yet undeniable barrier between people of all races, income brackets, and educational levels. Status, as defined by dictionary.com, is, “the position of an individual in relation to another or others, especially in regard to social or professional standing.” Today, media and social media play a huge role in perpetuating status and what characteristics place someone in a higher or lower “ranking” than others. Too often, people, especially teens and young adults, let the idea of status take charge in their lives. Sometimes their motives for going to school, dressing a certain way, or sharing certain things on social media, are driven by what they think is an ideal status.
The values of past generations have been very self-centered. Yet “Generation D”, as it is called, believes in equal rights for all and a strong connection with family and friends. Yet they are so materialistic that the older generations see them as “floozies with credit cards.” This is one of the reasons why there are so many equal rights activists today. Never before has there been such a range of reasons to stand up for ones right. For instance, there are so many organizations to stop violence against people; race, creed, sexuality, gender, nationality, etc., are irrelevant. Today’s youth is acquainted with many different people, but they only share close connections with a select few. A person of this generation will know many people and be friendly with them, however the personally association is only present with the people that have been known for an extended period...