![]() Tags: class, health/medicine, inequality, status, subtitles/CC, 06 to 10 mins Year: 2011 Length: 10:29 Access: YouTube Summary: While the relationship between poverty and health outcomes are clear, the overall level of class inequality (i.e. the relative gap between the rich and poor) also shapes health outcomes and this relationship tends to be less intuitive. For example, we know that people with low incomes in the US often lack health insurance, cannot afford to pay for medical treatments, lack education associated with better health, and so on. However, regardless of the level of a person's income, the gap between a person's income and the upper tier of society also affects health outcomes in unique ways. This PBS video examines this complex relationship. For example, drawing upon medical researcher Michael Marmot's The Status Syndrome: How Social Standing Affects our Health and Longevity (2004) it documents the link between high status differentials, stress, and health. In highly unequal societies, individuals judge each other more by status and feel more judged by others. Richard Wilkinson, quoting from his research (with co-author Kate Pickett) in The Spirit Level: Why Greater Equality Makes Societies Stronger (2010), notes a strong correlation between high income inequalities in a society and many negative social factors, including health, more violence, drug problems, child well-being, and mental illness. It tells the story of one high school student who is from a poor area and was able to test into a high-achieving school attended by mostly wealthy students, but shows how much stress she experienced in comparing herself to other students. In each of these instances, the emphasis is not on the lack of resources, but rather how the extent of inequality within a society leads to health outcomes in unique ways. The video also explores racial differences in one health outcome: high blood pressure. While some famous commentators have incorrectly argued for a biological explanation, the video links this to social factors. It notes that this racial disparity exists in the US but, when we look globally, black individuals have high blood pressure rates similar to whites. The biological explanation of racial differences in health outcomes has been soundly refuted. At the end of the video, commentators debate possible positive dimensions of inequality. While one poor African-American student and an economist argue the inequality gave motivation to work harder, Wilkinson argues against this interpretation. Submitted By: Paul Dean
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![]() Tags: art/music, bodies, crime/law/deviance, gender, immigration/citizenship, inequality, prejudice/discrimination, race/ethnicity, religion, sex/sexuality, burqa, burqa ban, chandra talpade mohanty, femininity, feminism, male gaze, niqa, postcolonialism, racism, 00 to 05 mins Year: 2010 Length: 2:17 Access: YouTube Summary: This clip features a protest against France's recent Burqa ban, which went into force in 2011. The new law stipulates that anyone caught wearing the niqab or burqa in public could face a fine of €150, or be forced to take lessons in French citizenship. The performance of the two women in the video challenges the resistance/subordination binary, which typically frames discussions about what it means when non-Western women don the veil. By sexualizing their veiled bodies, the women challenge ideas about whether wearing a veil is necessarily an expression of women's oppression, just as it challenges whether wearing hot pants and high heels is necessarily an expression of women's ability to resist oppression (Note that the ban went into force after the video was made). Moreover, by performing a sexualized femininity they are apparently able to navigate the streets of Paris without being disciplined, and their short walk raises a number of provocative questions. First, to what extent are the two women able to “break” the law because they have garnered the approval of the heterosexual male gaze? How might people react to these women if they did not fit the archetype of attractive females? This clip provides an excellent window into Chandra Mohanty's acclaimed paper “Under Western Eyes.” Mohanty takes issue with the way that Western feminists assume that wearing the veil is a symbol of oppression and fail to give a voice to the women who wear these clothes. It is unfair for Westerners to assume that the way they themselves dress is a symbol of empowerment without unpacking the systems of patriarchy that inform Western modes of dress. Viewers can also consider whether Westerners have the authority to make judgments about the way non-Westerners dress. Does the government have the right to create laws that ban certain styles of dress? If so, why aren't the religious symbol laws enforced for nuns who wear veils? Submitted By: Pat Louie ![]() Tags: gender, inequality, violence, male privilege, patriarchy, rape, rape culture, sexual assault, victim blaming, 00 to 05 mins Year: 2013 Length: 4.40 Access: YouTube Summary: This video clip, which was produced by a senior-seminar class at James Madison University focused on the sociology of interpersonal violence, exposes the lived realities of navigating a rape culture under patriarchy. By asking women and men what they do on a daily basis to protect themselves from being sexually violated, the video highlights the myriad strategies that women are socialized to employ in an attempt to protect themselves. Men, by and large, do not think about the threat of sexual violence in their lives, nor do most men, on a daily basis, do anything to protect themselves from such a threat. This is not to say that men are never raped or assaulted, but to highlight the realities of a culture in which women, but not men, are systematically targeted for acts of sexual aggression. Violence is one resource used in the reproduction of gender inequality, and as the video points out 100% of women experience the threat of that violence. Many men do think about this because it is not an issue that affects their daily lives directly. Many women don’t think about it in these terms because men’s violence against women is normalized under patriarchy. Importantly, the video is not intended to demonstrate things women "should" be doing. Instead, it highlights the realities of women's lives. Whatever decisions a woman makes regarding her safety, they are arguably the right decisions for her, but victim blaming persists when it comes to men's violence against women. As the video notes, it is never the victim's fault. We are often quick to ask what a woman did or didn’t do following an assault, but we rarely ask why a man assaulted a woman; nor do we ask why acts of men’s violence against women are normalized within our culture. Something to bring to the discussion is the fact that although women are targeted for acts of aggression by men, and although women's lives are constrained in important and material respects as a result of that, we still expect women to bear the brunt of the effort to challenge gender inequality. Men, as the recipients of male privilege (including the "privilege” of not having to carry the weight of being systematically targeted for acts of sexual aggression), have cultural space and influence to stand up—as allies to women—and challenge the patriarchal oppression of women, including men's violence against women. Although not all men are actively engaged in efforts to reinforce patriarchy and gender inequality, all men receive the conferred advantages of male privilege under patriarchy (but not all men have equal access to the patriarchal dividend as a result of other aspects of identity). As a result, men who are not actively anti-sexist are passively reaping the benefits of a sexist system. This video can stand as a springboard for class discussion about interpersonal violence (specifically men's violence against women), the rape culture, patriarchy, male privilege, victim blaming, and strategies of resistance. Submitted By: Matthew Ezzell ![]() Tags: inequality, prejudice/discrimination, race/ethnicity, integration, segregation, 00 to 05 mins Year: 2013 Length: 2:17 Access: ABC news Summary: As ABC news reported, "For any teenager, prom is a monumental night, but for students at a Georgia high school, it has been more than 40 years in the making. For the first time ever, students at Wilcox County High School, in Rochelle, Ga. danced together at a prom that wasn’t segregated. For decades, the school board has avoided officially endorsing prom festivities, instead relying on parents to host and control invitations leading to year after year of two dances — one for white students, and one for the black students. Students have lobbied over the years to end the practice. This year, a group of Wilcox County seniors decided to take matters into their own hands." The students successfully organized their own prom event, attended by "nearly half" of the school's seniors. However, white parents and/or students organized another segregated whites-only prom. This serves as an example of how racial segregation continues to be reproduced in everyday life through the actions of students and parents, and supported through institutions (i.e. schools). These different actions illustrate competing racial ideologies, or the frameworks for understanding race that either legitimate and justify racial difference or challenge existing race relations. While we do not hear from proponents of the racially segregated prom, viewers can speculate on how and why those individuals might explain and justify their actions. Viewers can be encouraged to reflect on how racial segregation continues to persist in neighborhoods and cultural events such as this prom. Like many other videos here on race/ethnicity, it serves as another example of how race continues to shape social outcomes today. Submitted By: Vicky Herbel ![]() Tags: art/music, culture, inequality, cinema, drugs, mexico, war on drugs, subtitles/CC, 21 to 60 mins Year: 2011 Length: 23:17 Access: YouTube Summary: Film has always been a reflection of our society, and this exploration of Mexican cinema is a reflection of drugs, culture, and inequality in contemporary Mexico. First, it is an interesting look at how art imitates life and life imitates art. Given the huge role of drug trafficking in Mexico today, the video documents the large film industry built around dramatizing these conflicts. Some of the actors and directors discuss working with drug traffickers in producing some of the films, and the danger of not discussing their relationship in order to stay alive. At the 12:40 mark, the video examines how the music, or corridos, act as a living testimony of narco lore, which in turn, continues the legend that gives birth to more Narco Cinema. Furthermore, this genre of film in Mexico has influenced clothing, home, and car purchases. Although the same could be said for U.S. films (and how they act as catalyst for sub-cultures), in Mexico, these films have given birth to the ideals of building and living a lifestyle to reflect that of narco culture. Second, a more subtle message in the video is about the relationship between drug culture and inequality. The films are very popular among low-income and rural Mexicans for both economic and cultural reasons. Narco cinema are relatively cheaply made "B-movies" (often written, produced, and completed in less than a month) that go straight to DVD and are much more affordable for everyday Mexicans. Therefore, they have a wider audience than the more expensive feature films (only 18% of Mexicans can afford to see movies in a theater). The films also appeal to impoverished Mexicans (especially males) or those struggling to get by in the US. Drug traffickers are often portrayed as "Robin Hood" type characters who help out their hometowns and families. The drug traffickers themselves are usually people that come from rural poverty, and those who become successful in the drug business are often celebrated within the films (the video also notes the rumors that some of the films are financed by drug cartels). But as the narrator notes, while drugs and drug culture are often glamorized, the reality of drug trafficking is the uncontrollable levels of violence and death that come as a result of the drug wars. For example, Mexico experienced 5,630 Narco-related "execution murders" in 2008. American viewers might also consider the role of the US and US-Mexico relations in this process. The film ends with the narrator adding "as long as there is a huge demand for drugs in America, there's going to be blood, drugs, and these kinds of movies flowing out of Mexico." Finally, while gender is never discussed in the video, sociologists have much to think about in terms of the role of gender in both Narco Cinema and the production of this video. Submitted By: JD Villanueva ![]() An illustration of economic inequality in the United States Tags: capitalism, class, economic sociology, inequality, knowledge, class analysis, ideology, wealth, 06 to 10 mins Year: 2012 Length: 6:24 Access: YouTube Summary: With an impressive suite of illustrations, this viral video takes viewers through the findings of a 2011 study conducted by Dan Ariely and Michael Norton, who asked respondents two basic questions. First, they asked people to report what they thought the ideal distribution of wealth in the United States should be, then they asked them how they thought wealth was actually distributed. The results suggest that, on average, Americans believe economic inequality is greater than what is ideal—i.e., the wealth gap is too large. The researchers then presented the actual distribution of wealth in the United States and compared it with both the ideal distribution and respondents' estimate of the actual distribution, and based on this comparison, it seems reasonably clear that while Americans may believe the wealth gap is too large, they are tragically misinformed about just how large it actually is. How is it that Americans are unaware of the magnitude of this inequality? Ariely and Norton do not provide an answer, but the question is worth pursuing. Consider the fact that publics have long proven a capacity to know about a wide range of phenomena that is effectively invisible. For instance, most people in the United States know about the dwarf planet Pluto, despite never seeing it with their own eyes. Thanks in large part to the mainstream media and the reverberations of social media, people in New Mexico and Montana know about the recent Boston Marathon bombings and can even recount vivid details about the event, even if they have never been to Boston and have no intention of ever visiting. But unlike Pluto and the tragedies of distant cities, the telltale signs of inequality are everywhere. In Boston, New Mexico, Montana, and virtually every other point on the map, one can find poverty within a few miles or blocks of obscene wealth; yet the true magnitude of U.S. inequality eludes most Americans. This video is not merely useful for wrapping one's head around the extent of inequality in the United States—that the top 1% holds 40% of the nation's wealth—it is also a useful segue into a discussion that connects the material facts of economic inequality to the ideological forces that ensure it remains uninterrogated. Explaining how a system of economic inequality persists requires more than simply identifying the disparities; it also requires an explanation about how publics remain relatively unaware of these disparities. For a similar analysis in a PBS clip, see here. Submitted By: Lester Andrist ![]() Hummingbird chronicles an effort to help street kids in Brazil. Tags: children/youth, emotion/desire, inequality, rural/urban, social mvmts/social change/resistance, violence, domestic abuse, homelessness, human rights, pedagogy of affection, poverty, sex trafficking, street children, subtitles/CC, 21 to 60 mins Year: 2007 Length: 47:33 Access: www.hummingbirdmovie.com Summary: Often, after learning about the numerous social problems plaguing our society, students ask: "But what can we do?" and sometimes they express a sense of hopeless by suggesting that "things will never change." Hummingbird, an award-winning documentary film, was in some ways created in this same spirit of curiosity about the possibility of change amidst seemingly insurmountable social problems. Filmmaker Holly Mosher explains at the outset of the film why she visited the Brazilian city of Recife: "I visited because I wanted to see if it was really possible for kids who have lived all their lives amongst violence and misery to become part of a society that has always rejected them." The film chronicles the story of how two nonprofits in Brazil use the pedagogy of affection to help street kids and women break the vicious cycle of domestic violence. The pedagogy of affection is a method of social change whereby people help people, steeped in the belief that affection, touch, and caring are essential to holistic health and personhood. Viewers are encouraged to consider the various ways social change is effected and represented in the film, and specifically the role of grassroots organizations and communities that embrace hope and "an indefatigable spirit in the face of threats, financial difficulties, and a culture seemingly unable or unwilling to reform itself." At the 44:19 minute mark, Cecy Prestrello, co-founder of the non-profit Coletivo Mulher Vida (Women’s Life Collective), recounts the following story: "There was a fire in the forest. And all the animals were running around, crazed. Then a hummingbird began to pick up water in its beak and put it on the fire. And the lion stopped and watched. He said 'Are you crazy hummingbird? You have to protect yourself, like all the others. What are you doing?' The hummingbird replied 'I am doing my part…and what about you? What are you doing?'" Prestrello's perspective on social change would pair well with Allan G. Johnson's piece, "What Can We Do? Becoming Part of the Solution." Submitted By: Holly Mosher ![]() Tags: capitalism, class, globalization, historical sociology, inequality, methodology/statistics, political/economy, absolute poverty, antônio conselheiro, charity, colonialism, comparative historical analysis, industrial revolution, poorhouse, relative poverty, social history, welfare state, workhouse, 21 to 60 mins Year: 2013 Length: 58:05 Access: YouTube Summary: This exquisitely animated documentary tells a sweeping social history of world poverty. You, the viewer, are the protagonist in this film floating through the meandering jet stream of world history. "If we want to make poverty history," the narrator explains, "then first, we need to understand the history of poverty." ● The documentary appropriately begins in prehistory (2:35), and in a more or less linear fashion, moves through humanity's early large scale civilizations, including ancient Egypt (4:40) and ancient Greece (5:40). Zipping forward to the Middle Ages, the story unfolds again in Cairo (8:20), and then lingers in Paris of the same period (10:50). The history of colonialism is woven into the story with a look at the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire (14:20), the Portuguese conquest of West Africa (16:20 and 34:40), and British colonial rule in India (36:00). Poverty in a neocolonial context is later examined in Ghana (38:50 and 43:55), and China makes appearances as the site of both model relief efforts and tragic famine (18:30 and 43:20). At the 20:30 mark the story returns to Western Europe in order to consider the impact of the Industrial Revolution on poverty, and then moves toward a conclusion which contemplates the changes wrought by globalization. ● While this 58-minute film understandably fails to deliver a truly exhaustive account of the the world-historical processes associated with poverty, the film would be an excellent tool for illustrating comparative historical analysis in sociology. Systematic comparison is of course central to comparative historical work, and this film succeeds in illustrating the importance of comparison by briefly drawing on eighteenth century China as a rare instance where prosperity for some didn't necessarily come at the cost of desperate poverty for others. What does the film's analysis of poverty gain by including this "negative" case in the story? One answer is that the case of China complicates the viewer's understanding of poverty by exposing its causes as far less determined and far more contingent. Submitted By: Lester Andrist ![]() Tags: class, inequality, knowledge, marx/marxism, theory, class consciousness, privilege, subtitles/CC, 00 to 05 mins Year: 2001 Length: 1:51 (00:00-01:51) Access: SouthParkStudios.com Summary: In his famous work The German Ideology, Karl Marx talks about class consciousness in the context of the proletariat (working class) and the bourgeoisie (ruling class). Class consciousness is the state of being aware of one's own social or economic rank in society, and privilege is "a special advantage or immunity or benefit not enjoyed by all." The American animated sitcom South Park is well-known for its humor, satire, and social commentary. In this clip, after Butters, Cartman, and Token present their science projects to the class, their teacher gives them each a grade for their projects. Butters receives a "check" for his fake volcano, Cartman receives a "check minus" for his taped together pen and pencil, and Token receives a "check plus" for his computer animated weather pattern predictor program that he showed from his laptop. After Token gets his grade, Cartman protests, criticizing Token's grade specifically and the check system as a whole. Cartman argues that, because Token is rich, he has access to more resources, enabling him to make a more sophisticated science project compared to the other kids in the class. The rest of the students agree with Cartman, knowing that their own lack of resources will inhibit them from getting ahead in the class. Aware that their socioeconomic status is holding them back, the students demonstrate class consciousness. Token is confused when his classmates call him rich, who cite the size of Token's home and Token's name brand clothes as evidence of his high class status. Token's confusion shows that he is unaware of his privilege, unable to see the numerous ways he has benefited from his socioeconomic status in society. Submitted By: Avery Winston ![]() Tags: capitalism, class, economic sociology, inequality, marx/marxism, organizations/occupations/work, political economy, contingent work, cooperatives, flexible labor, temp work, 21 to 60 mins Year: 2012 Length: 25:24 Access: YouTube Summary: Contingent workers include part-time work, independent contractors, self-employed, agency temps, and on-call workers. In this segment of MSNBC's Up with Chris Hayes, Hayes discusses contingent work with his four guests from academia and worker advocate groups. After a brief introduction, the video focuses on contingent labor in the economy today (2:16-10:59) and moves to a more critical conversation of possible alternative worker organizations (11:00-25:24). It notes that contingent workers comprise 30% of the American workforce, which has increased dramatically in the last 10-20 years. It includes both low-skilled labor (e.g. janitors) and high-skilled labor (professors, computer engineers), who usually do not receive overtime pay, unemployment benefits, health care, etc. While some workers might prefer this relationship, it is mostly capitalists that benefit from this arrangement and the guests discuss the role of power in shaping contingent labor. They argue that business owners strive to maintain a flexible workforce, avoid providing benefits, and workers have much less bargaining power (through unions) today and have little control over this relationship. In the second portion of the segment, the guests discuss the desirability of this model and possible alternatives, especially worker cooperatives. The guests differ on if they see an inherent tension between employers and contingent labor, and viewers may reflect on how they believe work should be organized. If you prefer alternative arrangements, how would we get there? How does contingent labor fit into Marx's theory of capitalism and worker resistance? Submitted By: Paul Dean |
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