Crash

Watching the movie Crash in class really wrapped up our unit of race well. The movie although wasn't very logical how they all were interlocked, described and demonstrated racial issues in our society.  In the movie their is implicit and explicit racism.  In the movie Sandra Bullock's character links arms and moves closer to her husband while walking to her car when she sees two black men walking. She wasn't trying to be racist but it came out that way to the two black men walking which was implicit racism. As well as her using implicit racism,  she also uses explicit racism when she screams at her husband that she wants a new locksmith because he is Hispanic and she thinks he is a gang banger. This movie shows that even though some people don't try to be racist or know they are being racist it is happening all the time. It sad how racist our society has become. I think people need to realize that implicit racism is just as bad as explicit racism. People should be more aware of their actions as well as words towards others.  I know just like Sandra Bullock's character I am more cautious when I am walking around in the city even though I'm not trying to be racist it is just how we are taught in society. From learning about race in class and watching the movie Crash, I am going to be more aware of my surroundings and hope that more people will be less critical of other people and realize that just because you are a different race doesn't mean you can't get along.

Racism

This week in class we have been talking about racism and how it is everywhere even though we may not notice it. When people see some one they go right into stereotyping them, based on the way they look. In class our teacher pulled up a website on the board and there was a bunch of pictures of different people's faces. As a class we had to classify them into the groups given: White, Native American, Latino, Black, and Asian. When we were finished putting each person in a category, we then clicked the button to show us the right answers, and we only got four right out of at least 10 or maybe more. This shows that even though people may look a certain way, doesn't mean that they are what you think. Racism is an unconscious thing that people don't realize, and that we are taught to think certain ways about people based on society. This unconscious state of mind sociologists call, implicit racism. Implicit racism is when it is not right in your face racism, but in a way that you aren't even trying to be racist. It is the way society is teaching us to categorize and choose who falls under what description.

Monopoly and Social class

In class the other day we played monopoly, but in  a more realistic way. Instead of everyone starting off with the same amount of money we did it based off social classes. Each person had to role the dice and who ever got the highest was the upper class, then middle class, working class, and lower class. I was lower class and found that it was very hard to move up in class while playing the game. Of coarse since the  upper class got to start off with a lot of money and owned a bunch of property, that person at the end of the game ended with the most money.Since the upper class owned a lot of the property almost each turn I had, I would land on that persons property and have to pay. It was very frustrating to keep having to pay and lose money while the person who was upper class kept getting paid more and more. At the end of the game I ended up with less than I started with which seemed crazy to me. Then I realized how this applies to real life of how people in lower class can't get a break and gain more money. People may work really hard and get paid a good amount of money, but by the time their done paying their bills and buying food and clothes for their family, they are back to the amount where they started or even worse. This makes me sad that even though people may work really hard they still can't get over the hump and be able to live without worrying so much about money. I was only playing in that social class for that one period, but others are in it for the long run and can't change it no matter how hard they try. I don't think it is fair that the rich get richer with some of them doing nothing, while some people who are in the lower class who work really hard get poorer and poorer or live just getting by.

Poverty

In  class we watched a movie about a lady named Tammy who lives in poverty with her two sons in Ohio. Tammy and her older son both have high reaching goals to get out of their living conditions and make something of themselves. Tammy wants to go back to school and become a teacher, while her son wants to get a scholarship and go to college to become an architect or lawyer. While watching the movie I realized that the saying, "easier said than done" is really true. Tammy tries really hard to go back to school, by working at Burger King and walking about 10 miles to work no matter what the  weather conditions are. She is still not able to achieve her goal by just herself working. Her son also tries hard, but it is hard to change how you live because it is so easy to give up and just keep living the way you always have. I think that Tammy and her son will be able to achieve their goals, it is just going to take more than just themselves to get them there. They will need support from others as well. I think that they can both succeed and get to where they want to be, it will just take time, patients, and determination along the way. I am very thankful to live the way I do and when I see how some people live such as  Tammy it makes me feel even more thankful. I wish that more people would take a minute and see what they have  compared to other families, and rethink what they do with their money. The holidays are coming up and it's the perfect time of year to give to people in need and help a family for the holidays.

Jail

In class this week we have been talking about jail and how the system in the U.S. is not effective in rehabilitating inmates. We watched a video called 30 Days in Jail and it showed how inmates were treated. In the jail the inmates were locked up like they were animals in cages. They didn't get to go outside and basically slept and ate their way through their time served. One guy named George was in jail most of his life and finally got a letter stating that he served his time and could leave. George said that when he got out of jail that he would change his life and become a better person. Sadly he left jail and was back in his cell two weeks later. This is the big issue that not only George has gone through, but many other inmates as well. The jail system does not put inmates on the right path to a life absent of crime, instead it just forces them to do whatever they can to pass time. I think that this clearly shows that the jail system does not teach the inmates how to live outside the cell once they served their time and resulting them to come right back into their cell just like what happened to George. I think that this is sad and that it takes a lot more than saying you can change than actually changing. The jail system in the U.S. needs to be improved in helping the inmates learn how to change in order for their to be less crime in the world.

Saints and Roughnecks

Last week in class we read an article by William Chambliss called, "Saints and Roughnecks". In the article it talked about how the Saints even though were deviant, got away with pretty much everything. The Roughnecks, however, were deviant as well, but got caught all the time. The Saints were rich teenagers who had access to many things and transportation to go where ever they wanted. They always got away with everything because people saw them as good teenagers because of where they lived, how they dressed, and the grades they got in school. The Roughnecks were lower class teenagers who did not have access to as many things and transportation to get out of their area. Since the Roughnecks were lower class, didn't get good grades in school, and were seen as bad teenagers in the community, they always got in trouble. I don't think that it is fair that just because the Saints were upper class means that they can get away with whatever they want. I think that any person should have to deal with the consequences if they did something wrong no matter who you are. In our school I think that we have a lot of Saints because many people get away with things all the time. This fits the idea of what Chambliss was talking about because our school comes from an upper- middle class group of kids, just like the Saints in the article. I think that a lot of kids at our school get away with things, or talk to their dean into letting them have a second chance, or lesser punishment. I also think that at our school their are some Roughnecks and get caught more often based on how they dress and act.

"Rolelessness"

A couple days ago we read an article called, Putting teen-Parent Conflicts into Perspective. In the article it talked about teen rolelessness. During class when talking about the reading we talked about how American teenagers are expected to be dependent and irresponsible. Then when they become adults they are supposed to be independent and responsible. This makes it hard for teenagers to become adults because they are supposed to do the opposite as teens.  In the article it talks about how teenagers jobs have changed since back then with the fact that they don't have much adult interaction at work. Also, that teens jobs today don't really teach useful skills that they can use in the future to become independent and adults. American society has created a confusing role for teens, they ares supposed to be dependent, but when their out of college and are adults they are supposed to be independent which may cause many teens to be in shock when their on their own. I think that teens should be independent with certain things and responsible as teens first. Then when they are adults they are ready to be on their own instead of lost. I am taking a Consumer Ed. class in school and I'm learning a lot of how to manage being an adult and on my own. I feel like this class can help me prepare for college and paying bills, managing my credit cards, etc.

Masculinity

This week in class we talked about masculinity. We watched a movie called tough Guise which was all about how men wear masks of being tough, strong, powerful, and invulnerable. It demonstrated how men are supposed to act tough and violent without showing their soft side. It showed how many men think that to be masculine they have to fight and beat up anyone who picks on them. Also in the movie it said that masculinity was the cause of most school shootings. I found this very shocking because I never realized how men feel about their  masculinity.As well as violence it showed that binge drinking is shown as being macho. My brother acts all tough and manly on the outside when ever he is with his friends or around people he doesn't know. Deep down inside though, he has a soft side and when he is home he acts different and acts like a mamas boy. This is all because of how men see how society thinks men should be. I think in society we need to start showing men that being vulnerable and weak at times is ok and need more role models for men that aren't afraid to show their more feminine side.

Media:Appearance

This week in class we have been talking about how the media has brainwashed people especially kids that they need to look or act a certain way to be cool, cute, or handsome. We were shown how toys have been changed in looks to attract more kids to buy them. Dora The Explorer was changed into a normal little girl who wore shorts and a t-shirt, to a girl who has long hair, makeup on, a dress, and jewelry. I found this disturbing because it is teaching young little girls that in order to be pretty and cool they have to dress  older looking than they are. It is teaching girls that they need to wear makeup to to be seen as pretty, which is totally wrong. Also we watched a Dove commercial today showing how even the models seen on billboards and commercials don't really look like that. Their was so much photo shopping and airbrushing, it was ridiculous. The media is distorting the way little kids and even adults should look. If girls want to look like the models in the magazines, their going to be disappointed because the models don't even look like the way they are pictured. I think that the media needs to start teaching kids that beauty is in the inside too and is more important then how one looks. I think real beauty is liking yourself the way you are and being confident without trying to fit into what the media portrays about looks.  When I see girls at the age of 8, I am shocked to see how inappropriate they dress. It sad to see how much they are trying to grow up so fast, when now should be the time that they enjoy their age because they will get older, but they can never get younger.

Nature vs. Nurture

During class this week we talked about nature vs. nurture and discovered that both work off each other and  shouldn't be individualized.  We talked about children who were locked up in rooms for years or neglected and living with animals. These kids were called feral (wild) children. kids who were living with animals took on animal traits. One girl was barking and crawling like a dog. The kids who were locked up, when found, were not stable and one girl named Danielle was locked in her room for 12 years. When she was found she could not talk and could barely walk, as a result she had the  mental capacity of an infant when she was 8 years old. I found this very sad and disturbing what her parents did to her and realized how nurturing is a big part of being human. I thought that most of what made you human was your DNA and genes, but when thinking sociologically your nature is not all that makes you human but a lot is also from  your nurture. In order to function the way we should, we need love, attention, and socialization. Now I realize that my parents genes are not all that make me who I am, but what's equally important is how they nurture me.

Tuesdays With Morrie

 The movie Tuesdays With Morrie was sad, but also a meaningful story about American culture and their values. In the movie Morrie says to Mitch, " when you learn how to die, you learn how to live." I found this quote to be very powerful because most people when they hear about death , tend to turn the other way and get uncomfortable. I think  what Morrie is trying to say to Mitch is that people need to take a step back and think to themselves, if they should die today would they feel like they lived a good and meaningful life. I think that many people would realize that they are focused to much on work, material goods, and being of high status in the world. People need to live life the way they want to in order to be happy, instead of how our culture has taught us to be. People are always on the go and  never really take the time to do what makes them happy. People should spend more time with their family and do things that they want to do instead of what they have to do. In the movie Morrie understood that because he lived his life on what he wanted to do and enjoyed. I think that people need to be more like that, because then you really do understand how to live. I know that is easier said then done, but I am going to try and live my life to  the fullest remembering that you only live once. Do what you want to do now because in the end you aren't given a second chance to go back and change things.

Affluenza

The American dream, or is it really? In class the other day we discussed some excerpts from the book Affluenza :the all consuming epidemic. In the reading it discusses our American culture and how we as Americans have become overly materialistic. I never really looked at it before but the more I think about it, I agree that America has become very materialistic.  In the reading it talks about how America's values have become so selfish and individualized. In the excerpt,it says, "the accumulation of material goods is at an all time high, but so is the number of people who feel an emptiness in their lives". This shows how we have forgotten what values are all about. In other cultures peoples values are less about status, but more about family as a whole. In America people think bigger is better. We work all the time and a lot of people spend most of their time at work, while not even seeing their kids till bedtime. We as Americans have become so fast paced with drive-thrus , shopping online, and working non-stop. I think that the author of the this excerpt is on the right track about the fact that the American culture does need to take a step back and realize that we have become too materialistic and need to go back to more humble, family oriented values. I think that Americans need to think more about family and less about material objects. We as Americans need to become more of a community again and remember that the American dream is not only about having a good income and high status, but also about family and friendship as a whole. it is also about freedom, and not becoming slaves to materialism. I know this is easier said then done. I noticed that I tend to be materialistic too. I work hard in school so I can go to a good college, and then get a job to make a lot of money to be able to buy and live the way most Americans live. I realized from this that through my life I have to remember to be less materialistic and value my family and friends and to spend time with them.

Culture Shock

In class the other day we played cards, but there was one rule, we couldn't talk. As you can imagine it  was very annoying not to be able to talk. We started playing in a group and were given a set of rules for the game. When time was called the winner would move to one table and the loser would move to another. When I started playing with my new group, I put down an ace and thought  I won because for my rules it said an ace is the highest card. Though the other people thought that it was the lowest card and started hand gesturing that it was lower and I lost. When the game was over our teacher told us that each group had a different set of rules explaining why I thought one way and the other person thought another. He explained to us that we were representing different cultures and that each culture has different rules. Each of us were experiencing culture shock. When I traveled to London, I was going to dinner with my family and British family friends. When we got seated and while I was sitting in the restaurant I noticed this person drinking a beer and did not look old enough to drink. I asked my British friend what that was all about and she said that in London at the age of 14 you are allowed to drink if you are with your parents. This was a total shock to me because in America if I was sitting in a restaurant drinking a beer with my family and there was a cop in the restaurant my parents would be arrested right away. As well as London, in Greece I experienced culture shock when I went to a beach and people were naked. This was totally normal and acceptable to them, but to me I thought that this was totally weird and uncomfortable. Back at home if someone was naked at a beach people would find this very disrespectful and inappropriate. From what I have learned in class and looking back at my experiences, I realize that every culture has a different way of living and that doesn't mean that it is the wrong way and we shouldn't judge the way they live. Instead we should think like sociologist's and use cultural relativity and be more open to the way they live.

A Bronx Tale

In class we have been watching the movie A Bronx Tale, based on a true story, directed by Robert DeNiro. I think the movie is very interesting and from watching have noticed how it has many aspects of sociological ideas.  One in particular is the groups the main character Collogero belongs to. Sociologists don't judge or put someone in one category on how they act, instead they look further and see all the different groups the person is apart of to understand how the person is the way they are. Collogero groups are, his family, friends, ethnicity, and Sunny. From watching the movie I think that Collogero's master status would be his family and Sunny. I think these are his master status's because his family is very important to him. He realizes how hard his dad works and admires his dad for this. I chose Sunny as his other master status because even though Sunny is not seen as a good person, he helps  with Collogero  growing up and sets him on the right path. He tells Collogero to stay out of his friends stupid fights and that school is most important. In a way Sunny  is kind of a role model to collogero. While Sunny tends to look bad, he really looks out for Collogero. In my life my master status would be my friends and family. My  family is very important to me and they as well as my friends  have  helped shaped the person I am today. 

Gang Leader For A Day

I thought that  the story Gang Leader For A Day was very interesting.  In the story Sudhir Venkatesh sets out to study how young black people are effected by neighborhood factors.  In doing this he asked people to fill out surveys. One of the questions was, "how does it feel to be black and poor?", and the answers were multiple choice one word answers.  He met one gang, and the gang leader named J.T. laughed when he asked the question. He tells Venkatesh that this is not going to give him all the results he needs.  From this he learns that he has to also take the time to interact with them to understand where they come from.  After talking in class the other day about the story I realized that you can not just look at someone or a group of people one way and really understand what it is like to live or be like them. Sociologists call this  quantitative observations, which are surveys and data, and qualitative, which is observing and interacting with people.  I think that it is true that  both are needed to really understand and collect the best results. I recognize that in the world this sometimes happens. When people get interviewed for a job the person interviewing asks questions about the persons information regarding how they did in other companies and their numbers on how many deals they made. The interviewer also sits down and chats with the person to get to know who they are and about their family.  Many people tend to only look for the quantitative information when forming an opinion and never actually interact with people in an effort to better understand someone. I now understand the saying, that you should not judge someone until you have walked a mile in their shoes. This means that until you have experienced what that person has gone through, you can't judge them because you don't understand what it is to be them.

Social construction of reality

Who decides how we experience the world? Our friends, our family units, and our society we live in, but surprisingly rarely us. It is all about social construction of reality. Society controls what people feel. If someone came into a classroom and spit we would think that is gross and repulsive, but if someone spits at a baseball field we think that is ok. In the united states when a women gets engaged, right away she starts  a diet to lose a ton of weight to look skinny for her wedding. However, in Africa when a women gets engaged, she is sent to a hut and is fed fattening food in order to gain weight to look good for their wedding. It is all how society constructs us. Another example is, if I saw a biker on the street with a bunch of tattoos I would think that was totally normal, but if I was having open heart surgery and my doctor walked in with a bunch of tattoos I would be worried and a little concerned about how my surgery would go. When you think about it though their is really no difference between a biker with tattoos or a doctor with tattoos it is just because how society has created our views. I am really glad we did this exercise in class because now I am going to take a step back and look at the world through my eyes and decide on things based on what I think and not how society has led us.

Outliers

When I read the excerpt from Outliers about the story of Roseto, and what happened with the immigrants after they migrated to Pennsylvania, it reminded me of my great grandmother. Wolf discovers in the story that the Rosetan people were healthier than any other people in nearby towns. This made him curious as to why this was true, so he embarked upon research to find out.  During his research he learned that they actually didn't eat healthy food , smoked, and rarely exercised, even though they had better statistics of a healthy life than many people who did the total opposite. He then realized after visiting Roseto that it wasn't about their eating habits, or lack of exercise, but it was about how they interacted with one another and the way they lived in their community. Being able to see all the things that effect the individual is what sociological imagination is all about. Just like the Rosetan people, my great grandmother cooked with lard, didn't really exercise, and drank beer everyday; however, she lived to be 97 and was in good health to the end. One interesting fact, is that my grandmother never lived alone, and always lived with family. She was  close to her extended family , and even in her elderly years she lived with my grandparents. People would always ask her, "what is your magic medicine that lets you live so long?", and she would always answer, "my family and my friends". So it's clear that when people are secure, unstressed, and filled with love and respect, just like the people of Roseto, your body responds favorably to the external social influences.

Who am I?

My name is Allie and I'm 17 and a senior in high school.  I have a brother who is 14 and  he is a freshman. He is also on the school football team. I also have an older sister who has one more year left in college and then will be a nurse. My family has two dogs a black lab and a chocolate lab. In my free time I like hanging with my friends and seeing movies, as well as traveling. I am a nice person and enjoy meeting new people.  My goals in life are to go to college and become a nurse. Some of the places I have traveled are Italy, Alaska, and Hawaii. I think it is really interesting to see all the  different cultures and eat the different types of food. I also like watching sports and I am a big football fan. I hope to keep traveling and go to Australia someday in the near future. The biggest influence in my life is my family. We are very close and very supportive of each other. My family is the most important thing to me.