Invisible Norms In Thinking About Movies

The Great Depression was a devastating period in United States History, the economy collapsed, and a staggering 25% of the population was unemployed. During this time, there were large wage disparity gaps that were very prevalent, there was no middle class, you were either wealthy or you were poor. It was hard for family life to continue, parents had to take up two and three jobs to make sure their kids were staying safe, and well. Most of these jobs were odd-jobs, and were temporary with no sense of security. It was a struggle to find work, and no job was too demeaning for you to do, because you may not find work again. James J. Braddock, who is the main character in Cinderella Man, knows the struggle of the Great Depression, and how he did not take any chance for granted. A similar film, Rocky, which shows Rocky Balboa as an underperforming boxer, who gets his one shot at fame and does not squander it. The purpose of these two films were to show social class disparity. Through hard work and a bit of fortune, anyone can make it in the United States, as portrayed in these films. The use of lighting, camera angles, and sounds allowed for the accurate portrayal of these events.

According to an article published the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History titled, “The Fifties”, the American middle-class grew rapidly during the 1950’s and by this time 60 percent of Americans were considered “middle-class”. Truman Capote’s book, In Cold Blood, chronicles the murder of a well-to-do middle-class family known as, the Clutter family. Capote uses the Clutter family to represent the rising middle-class in the 1950’s by showing a lifestyle that is comfortable yet modest.

Domhoff started by talking about social class in general in America. He found that “Americans tend to deny that social classes are based in wealth and occupational roles but then belie that denial through a fascination

In his story, “A&P”, John Updike shows that sometimes people unhappy with their opportunities judge people based upon their social class causing bad decisions and later disappointment. Updike utilizes symbolism, irony, and characterization to display the impact of a person’s social class on society. The different social classes of people create a barrier between them leading to the desperation of trying to fit on a different level. Social status is the way a person lives their life and the lifestyle they

In this society, working class are valued due to their hard work ethic, especially those working class who made a living by their sweat equity without a college education, because they struggled economically which also means not every working class can have that success . On the other hand working class are known as lazy people, failures, uneducated people. In American popular culture, according documentary Class Dismissed: How TV Frames the Working Class, by “Leistyna” working-class people are often portrayed as losers, however the documentary focus mostly on under-representation of working class people and their concerns and stereotypes use to portray their intersectional identities.

Subcultures form due to our deep rooted preference for likeminded individuals and ideas. We hold anxieties about how people are different and we worry about our own status within society (Andrew Campa 2015 YouTube). Schouten and Alexander (1995) describe that “a subculture of consumption is a distinctive subgroup of society that self-selects on the basis of a shared commitment to a particular products class, brand or consumption activity” (43). It is through this continued communal consumption that an individual finds social validation for their beliefs, value and way of life. Popular culture has magnified high school subcultural identities. For example, Tina Fey’s Mean Girls (2004) is a critical representation of one of the most popular and long-standing subculture’s in mainstream society: the high school popular female social clique. The basis and inspiration for this movie was from Rosalind Wiseman’s self-help book, Queen Bees and Wannabes, which focuses on how high school girls form cliques that are permeated with aggressive behaviour. Mean Girls (2004) aptly portrays the complex hierarchal social dynamic of a subculture. The overall aim is to critically analyse Cady Heron’s socialization from

“The Help” suggests that self-interest often trumps altruism. There are events in the movie that indicate that even when the intentions were targeted towards a selfless concern about the welfare of others, it will eventually become self-interest. Also, those that are privileged do not want to give up their ruling title. In fact, they will do anything to preserve their image, even if it means deceiving others and lessening the image of the ones already ranked below them.

Hollywood is the home of flashing cameras, the famous red carpet, and glamorous celebrities. Hollywood is also the birthplace of extraordinary films which reach audiences across the world. The casting choices made by the film industry affects more than just the movie that is created. Hollywood directors and writers should have the social responsibility to avoid stereotyping ethnic characters because the stereotypes offer poor (and often inaccurate) insight into the culture, negatively impacts child viewers, and limits the amount of quality roles for actors/actresses with diverse ethnic backgrounds.

The book 1984 describes a totalitarian society where citizens are forced to renounce all liberties for the sake of social order. They are guided by the rule of a single figurehead called Big Brother, whom the they are manipulated to entrust their lives to. This figurehead exercises his powers of governing every aspect of the people 's lives by observing and manipulating the populace. Big Brother also divides his subjects into classes as a means to keep the populace oppressed. Throughout this literary narrative the main character, Winston Smith, struggles to survive in this society as he struggles to fit the conventional mold that is preached. The economic and social class structure in 1984 reflects our own society through the similarities in

It is truly evident that the fundamental focal point of the whole motion picture is bigotry. Bigotry is characterized as the conviction that all individuals from each race forces attributes or capacities particular to that race, particularly to recognize it as substandard compared to another race, which prompts preference and oppression somebody of an alternate race.

In John Steinbeck’s rather infamous novel, there was a heavy handed message that classism creates problems and a false consciousness caused by the American Dream, that one can eventually achieve success with sheer determination and hard work, does more harm than good. This is due to the fact that it leads to competition between citizens in the same class (mostly proletariat) who all want to climb to the top of the metaphorical food chain. Some attempt to achieve their goal through shady means, like commodification- or some may try to go at it alone, believing in the ideology of rugged individualism, thinking that they can reach their goal without any help. This impacts society by enforcing the idea that we’ll stay in the class system that we were born into unless we’re willing to sacrifice our morals and the things we care about.

Racism has been around for a long time and it still exists today. It has been embedded to a degree that it reproduces itself. It is in the culture of the future generation. What is seen and taught to us in our environment is how we learn our behavior and actions towards others. Because of this, whether we realize it or not, racist behavior is taught and passed on. Dismantling this requires dialogue, reflection on ourselves (and others), and relearning our behaviors. In some cases, racism is subtle and in others, it is obvious. Since the Civil Rights Movement, progress has emerged but ignorance and denial of the past and recurrence of history still exist among many. This is covered in the reading, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the

Have you ever ran into issues due to your social class? In The Outsiders, the Greasers and the Socs struggle with similar and different problems. Due to their different environments, they deal with their own issues. However, even though the Socs and Greasers grew up in different environments, they have similar issues and obstacles they have to overcome. Additionally, their problems are addressed more in “Alarming Number of Teenagers are Quitting School to Go to Work”, and “A Generation Struggling: Rich Kids are Losing”. The three topics addressed in this essay are the Greasers problems and how they affect them, the Socs problems and what is expected of them, and the differences of the Socs and Greasers problems and how they are stereotyped.

A generation that played by the rules and see progress, fall out the middle class. This shrinking middle class harms people of color more than whites. For example, “the unemployment rate among black Americans is roughly twice that the population, whites, and black people earn, on average, between twelve through twenty-two per cent less than Caucasian people with similar education and experience are on top of the racial hierarchy, while variously shaded African Americans are below caucasian (Siaiecki). Thus Caucasians in socioeconomic position (class) and prestige (status)” (Gans). Although opponents claim racism, no longer exists, American society is still biased against people of color because they are more likely to be lower class, do

Everyone belongs to a social class. Whatever reality you been born in, is going to shape the way you believe and act. Each individual is different and unique, however, is not unknown that the experiences we had over our life shape our identity. In the movie Elysium, the Earth has been contaminated. The rich people flew away to a new land created in the space named Elysium, which left those with less money behind. In the movie, the rich and the poor are categorized very explicitly. The wealthy live their best lives in a complete new and better environment. The poor are left on a noxious earth to fight for their lives every day. The main characters of the story try to make it to Elysium to save their lives before it is too late.