Tags: demography/population, immigration/citizenship, politics/election/voting, race/ethnicity, bifurcated racial hierarchy, post-racial America, white privilege, subtitles/CC, 21 to 60 mins
Year: 2012
Length: 56:16
Access: YouTube

Summary: This PBS documentary uses a political frame to discuss race and politics in America, taking advantage of the political significance of the election of President Barack Obama to set the background for a discussion on the history and politics of race in the United States. Race 2012 uses a nice blend of known academic scholars in political science and sociology, authors, activists, and political figures to provide a narrative on race in America today. The film provides perspectives on questions such as: 1) How do we define a racist or racism? 2) What does a changing minority demographic and a decreasing white demographic mean for America? 3) How do political parties tailor their political platform around an implicit racial narrative? and 4) How are non-Black minorities racialized and positioned within a bifurcated white/black racial hierarchy? Other important themes include contrasting early 20th century discourses around government assistance, which were framed as “nation building” policies and largely benefited whites, with current discourses around government assistance (or “welfare”) which are framed as “handouts” and are believed to largely benefit minorities, despite many whites also receiving these entitlements. The relevance of race in the construction of both a Republican and Democratic party identity is discussed in light of the changing racial demographic in America and persistent explicit and implicit anti-minority sentiments. This documentary would be a nice addition to broad discussions of race in the classroom as it provides both a historical and contemporary perspective on race. It also illustrates the ways that seemingly “race neutral” policies get coded with racialized meanings, and how these racial codes benefit and stigmatize racial groups differently. The documentary can also be useful for more specific discussions on race, demographic shifts, and political narratives, and the implications of these shifting demographics on the future of U.S. electoral politics.

Submitted By: Shanna Brewton-Tiayon, Doctoral Student, University of Maryland

Tags: capitalism, class, corporations, inequality, economic sociology, organizations/occupations/work, 21 to 60 mins
Year:  2007
Length:  24:15
Access:  PBS

Summary: Although The American Dream says that hard work will lead to wealth and success, it doesn't seem to apply to most of Americans. Indeed, the smallest economic returns go to those generally laboring the hardest of all: the working poor. Billionaire Thomas Peterffy argues in his anti-Obama ad that America's rich will lose motivation to work if they are required to pay more taxes. But while preaching the value of hard work, he fails to note that the rich have virtually monopolized income gains in recent years. Reflecting on the unequal opportunity for financial security that the class structure presents, the late Beth Shulman, in her 2005 book, The Betrayal of Work, was one of the first to examine the diminishing well-being of the working poor. The above clip features Shulman's interview on PBS's NOW, and at about the 12:20 mark, she observes that while worker productivity has grown significantly, higher incomes have not trickled down to those in the bottom reaches of the American class structure. Indeed, she notes in this 2007 interview that "The top 1% is garnering 80% of income gains" (Note that today the top 1% is garnering over 90% of income gains, according to Emmanuel Saenz). With this being said, how is it possible for most American workers, and particularly the poor, to sustain their dream of a better life when their incomes remain so low and stagnant that they continue to struggle just to get by? (Originally posted on SoUnequal).

Submitted By: Tara McQuay

Tags: children/youth, gender, inequality, sex/sexuality, dating, hook-up, intimacy, intimate relationships, romance, youth culture, 21 to 60 mins
Year: 2011
Length: 30:00
Access: no online access (YouTube preview)

Summary: In this lecture, Dr. Paula England explores the hookup culture in college campuses and describes gendered differences in this "new social form of relationship". As the Media Education Foundation notes, "England mobilizes a wealth of data to begin to chart whether the hookup phenomenon represents some kind of fundamental change, or whether we’re simply seeing age-old gender patterns dressed up in new social forms." Drawing upon qualitative research with heterosexual Stanford undergraduate students and online surveys study with 18 private and public universities, her findings show that hooking up is a new social form where sexual activity precedes – rather than follows – dates or other expressions of relational intent. She also documents gender differences and inequalities in traditional dating and courtship practices. For example, women who initiate and have frequent hook-ups are perceived as "sluts"; pleasure is organized around men in that women are expected to give oral sex to their hookup partners, and report lower levels of orgasm. When used in class, students may be given pre-film questions and after viewing the lecture, use post-viewing questions provided by the study guide from the Media Education Foundation. Viewers may consider whether dating is replaced by hooking-up in contemporary youth culture and if women can be empowered by this new social form of relationship.

Submitted By: Nihal Celik

Tags: children/youth, emotion/desire, gender, violence, femininity, masculinity, socialization, subtitles/CC, 21 to 60 mins
Year: 1998
Length: 23:24
Access: Films On Demand

Summary: In this archived episode of ABC News 20/20, John Stossel investigates why girls and boys express their feelings differently. Drawing from an interview with Dr. William Pollack of the Harvard Medical School and author of Real Boys, and researchers from Emory University and the University of Connecticut, Stossel encounters what was still a fairly radical idea in 1998: parents, peers, and "society" encourage girls to express their feelings but stigmatize boys for doing the same. As Pollack explains, the consequence of this is that girls tend to feel more comfortable with their emotions and are able relieve their stress and sadness by talking about their emotions. Boys, in contrast, are unable to express their feelings and often act out with violence against others. Despite the expert testimony and research on the subject, Stossel and his colleagues seem reluctant to give up the idea that boys are biologically determined to hide emotion, and in the clip's conclusion, he expresses the evolutionary fantasy that men are biologically predisposed to hide emotions because they had to "stand in the woods with a spear [and] be quiet." The clip works well as a means of discussing the powerful influence of socialization to a topic rife with biological determinism. Before I show the clip in my class I have students write down the number of times they have cried in the last 6 months, and I ask them to make a note of how many times they cried in front of others. Then, once the clip is finished, I ask them to compare their answers to the ones given by the children in the clip and to reflect on their own socialization.

Submitted By: Nihal Celik

Tags: crime/law/deviance, psychology/social psychology, broken windows theory, labeling theory, research ethics, social experiment, 21 to 60 mins 
Year: 1992 
Length: 28:46 
Access: YouTube (part 1; part 2; part 3)

Summary: In 1971, psychologist Philip Zimbardo set out to discover whether good people can do evil things if placed within particular social contexts. To examine this, he and his colleagues transformed the basement of Stanford University's Psychology Department into a makeshift prison, recruiting local college students to play the roles of prison guards and prisoners. This social experiment would later become known for its controversial nature, testing the ethical boundaries of social scientific research on human subjects. These clips are from the 1992 documentary film, Quiet Rage, which features original footage of the experiment along with follow-up interviews with research subjects. The documentary is excellent for teaching concepts central to the field of deviance and social control, including broken windows theory and labeling theory, as well as other core sociological concepts such as norms, roles, social expectations, and research ethics. This documentary was written by Zimbardo and directed and produced by Ken Musen. The Stanford Prison Experiment website features additional information and resources. 

I would like to thank Audrey Sprenger for suggesting this clip.

Submitted By: Valerie Chepp

Tags: children/youth, class, education, inequality, race/ethnicity, subtitles/CC, 21 to 60 mins
Year: 2010
Length: 26:54
Access: ERASE Racism 

Summary: ERASE Racism’s documentary, A Tale of Two Schools: Race and Education on Long Island, follows David and Owen, two African American teenagers during their senior year of high school. Even though the students have a lot in common, they go to very different schools. This documentary does a great job of concisely spotlighting the differences and the results of structural educational disparities. Through this film, students will see how race and class are large determining factors in how public schools are funded and what that means for the students who attend those schools. This video would pair well with a Jonathan Kozol reading or "Why Segregation Matters" by Gary Orfield and Chungmei Lee. Check out ERASE Racism's website for additional resources related to the film. Note: the available subtitles are in Spanish.

Submitted By: Kendra Barber

Tags: aging/life course, bodies, ageism, comedy, stereotypes, 21 to 60 mins
Year: 2012
Length: 21:46
Access: NBC (available free online until 7/20/12)

Summary: According to the show's creators, "'Betty White's Off Their Rockers'" takes senior stereotypes and blows them out of the water with a cast of sassy septuagenarians who are hip, sexy and ready to party!" The show features seniors who routinely prank young adults in hilarious situations. Season 1, episode 1 of the show offers a great platform for a discussion about ageism and stereotypes about the elderly (although all episodes to date also seem to be great for this). When using the episode in class, I had my students take notes on underlying stereotypes that make the show shocking and funny. We discussed that societal norms can sometimes most clearly be seen in showing their opposite. My students quickly picked up that the show would not be shocking if other age groups were doing these things. They also noticed that the show assumes elderly people are not sexual, do not have fun, and are not energetic or lively. It was a fun way to start a conversation about our section on aging.

Submitted By: @iamtjones

Tags: children/youth, crime/law/deviance, discourse/language, emotion/desire, lgbtq, sex/sexuality, bi-curiousity, conversion therapy, 21 to 60 mins 
Year: 2007
Length: 21:26
Access: southparkstudios.com

Summary:  [Trigger warning: Not all instructors will feel comfortable screening an episode of South Park in the classroom, a show that is notorious for its "crude language and dark, surreal humor" on a wide range of often taboo topics. This episode is no exception. Specifically, instructors might be uncomfortable with this episode's treatment of youth suicide, violence, sex, sexual consent, and cultural/ethnic insensitivity.] In this South Park episode (season 11, episode two), South Park Elementary School student Cartman takes a photo of his own penis in his friend Butters's mouth while Butters is sleeping. Afterwards, Cartman tells his friends about what he did in order to ridicule Butters. However, Cartman didn't count one thing: this behavior is interpreted as a homosexual act and his friends start calling him "gay." Hoping to prove that he's not gay, Cartman believes he must convince Butters to reciprocate the act. Just as Cartman is about to carry out his plan in front of a blindfolded and unknowing Butters, Butters's father walks into the bedroom. Concerned that his little boy is bisexual, his father takes Butters to the priest, who diagnoses Butters as "confused" and suggests Butters attend a bi-curious boy's camp to heal Butters from this "disease." This video can be used as an example of how bisexual people are perceived as being confused about their sexual identity. As Ryle (2012) writes in Questioning Gender: A Sociological Exploration: "Bisexuals can receive negative reactions from both homosexuals and heterosexuals." She cites Ault's (1996) work that showed how some lesbian feminists "insist that there is no such thing as bisexuality. Bisexuals are either confused lesbians or heterosexuals who are experimenting" (201). The clip can also be used to initiate a discussion about cultural definitions of sexual orientation: Is it about behavior? Desire? Identity? Finally, the episode offers a framework for talking about sexuality as a choice or innate, and illustrates the ways in which heterosexuality gets defined as "normal" through a discourse of shame, guilt, and "fixing" or "curing" anything that deviates from a cultural heterosexual norm.

Submitted By: Nihal Celik

Tags: class, community, crime/law/deviance, inequality, intersectionality, methodology/statistics, organizations/occupations/work, prejudice/discrimination, race/ethnicity, rural/urban, ethnography, homelessness, urban poverty, visual sociology, 21 to 60 mins
Year: 2010
Length: 60:00
Access: no online access (clip here)

Summary: This documentary, directed by Barry Alexander Brown, is based on the ethnographic fieldwork that sociologist Mitchell Duneier conducted for his seminal book, Sidewalk (1999). Framed in the film's introduction as an "epilogue" to the book, Brown offers a plot summary: "SIDEWALK chronicles the lives of primarily black homeless book vendors and magazine scavengers who ply their trade along 6th Avenue between 8th Street and Washington Place in New York City. By briefly comparing those book vendors with the history of book vending along the Seine in Paris, the film speaks to the efforts of North American and European societies to rid public space of the outcasts they have had a hand in producing. The film takes us into the social world of the people subsisting on the streets of New York by focusing on their work as street side booksellers, magazine vendors, junk dealers, panhandlers, and table watchers. The sidewalk becomes a site for the unfolding of these people living on the edge of society in order to give us a deeper understanding of how these individual's are able to survive. It also becomes a site for conflicts and solidarities that encompass the vendors and local residents. We followed half dozen vendors for most of this past decade. By the end of shooting the film, their lives had taken a myriad of routes..." Like other urban ethnographic films (e.g., here), Sidewalk would be excellent to show in an urban sociology course, as well as an introductory sociology class, as it engages core sociological concerns around race, poverty, homelessness, underground economies, interactions with police, and community support networks, among others. Ethnography professors might also find the film useful—the film opens with several screens of written text, describing the film as a "set of fieldnotes." The DVD includes a special feature (50 min) entitled "Method: Sidewalk and Ethnography," in which Duneier presents his approach to doing ethnography, particularly within the context and medium of film. To access the full DVD, check out your university library.

Submitted By: Valerie Chepp