Tags: goffman, theory, war/military, identity, institutionalization, resocialization, total institution, 00 to 05 mins Year: 1987 Length: 4:27 Access: YouTube Summary: This clip is from Stanley Kubrick's "Full Metal Jacket" and depicts the recruits' first encounter with their drill sergeant. Here, through a series of debasements, the recruits' past identities are further eroded, and the recruits are told what is expected of them as they are resocialized into their new roles. At about 2:18 the drill sergeant ups the ante with homophobic and racist language, so instructors may want to stop the clip at this point. The clip is useful as a demonstration of Erving Goffman's concept of the total institution, and in particular, as a way of illustrating the way inmates undergo resocialization. Note that this clip can be successfully used in tandem with two additional clips. The first short clip, which is also from "Full Metal Jacket" (here), depicts Marine recruits getting their heads shaved as a symbolic act meant to strip them of their former identities. The second short clip, from "The Shawshank Redemption" (here), depicts the concept of institutionalization, when a prison inmate reacts violently after learning he has been approved for release by the parole board. Submitted By: James Noon
1 Comment
Tags: goffman, theory, war/military, identity, institutionalization, total institution, 00 to 05 mins Year: 1987 Length: 1:32 Access: YouTube Summary: This clip is the opening sequence to Stanley Kubrick's "Full Metal Jacket." The clip depicts Marine recruits at Parris Island, SC, getting their heads shaved and works well as a demonstration of Erving Goffman's concept of the total institution. Students can be asked to explain the purpose behind the head shaving act, which I see as both a means of making the recruits physically identical and as a symbolic act that strips them of their former identities. Note that this clip can be successfully used in tandem with two additional clips. The first short clip, which is also from "Full Metal Jacket" (here), depicts the drill sergeant further debasing soldiers, and the second short clip, from "The Shawshank Redemption" (here), depicts the concept of institutionalization, when a prison inmate reacts violently after learning he has been approved for release by the parole board. Submitted By: James Noon Tags: foucault, knowledge, lgbtq, sex/sexuality, theory, asexuality, identity politics, queer theory, wilchins, 00 to 05 mins Year: 2010 Length: 3:48 Access: Kickstarter.com Summary: This is a promotional clip intended to raise money to complete a documentary film about asexuality. The clip's description explains that while the asexuality movement was inspired by the LGBT movement of the 1960s, some members of the asexual community are hesitant about being a part of the broader LGBT community. The filmaker poses the question: Can asexuals--members of a group who have rejected sex--be members of the sex-positive pride march? This clip might be useful in a class on the sociology of sexuality or gender, as it wrestles very directly with the topic of identity politics. The clip might also work well as an accompaniment to Foucault's The History of Sexuality or Wilchins' excellent primer, Queer Theory, Gender Theory. Using this clip, one could ask students to reflect on the way sexual identities, which scarcely existed 200 years ago, are now a primary means by which people politically organize themselves. The clip would work well with another short promotional film called "The Bi-deology Project," which similarly argues that bisexuality is an identity that needs to be recognized. Submitted By: Lester Andrist The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism Tags: weber, capitalism, theory, protestant ethic, religion, rationality, subtitles/CC, 06 to 10 mins Year: 2009 Length: 9:49 Access: YouTube Summary: This is a student-made video that summarizes Weber's book, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (which was done for a sociology class assignment). It uses music, subtitles, and still images. The video is very well done and covers all the main points from the book. Submitted By: Paul Dean Tags: theory, 00 to 05 mins Year: 2009 Length: 2:45 Access: YouTube Summary: Very good and concise statement on Theory by Professor Steve Steel (who is a talking head throughout the video). Overview - 1. The false dichotomy between theory and practice; 2. Why is sociological theory valuable to you?; 3. Basic research is used in building theory; 4. Applied research uses theories; 5. The better the theories the better the decisions we can make about life. Submitted By: Paul Dean Barbara Ehrenreich Tags: capitalism, class, inequality, marx/marxism, organizations/occupations/work, theory, Ehrenreich, 06 to 10 mins Year: 2007 Length: 9:45 Access: YouTube Summary: This clip is an interview with journalist Barbara Ehrenreich, who discusses the growing gap between the rich and the poor in the United States. In Ehrenreich's estimation, the US is "the most class divided of the industrial countries." The clip works well as a means of underscoring the concept of class inequality in the United States, and is particularly useful because Ehrenreich's conclusions are based on her own experiences as a person who attempted to survive on lower class wages. At six minutes, Moyer asks, "Don't people call you a Marxist?" and in fact the clip works well as a way of opening discussion about whether Marx's ideas of growing class inequality are being realized in the United States. Finally, the 10 minute clip is also a nice addition to classroom discussions dealing with the ideas in Ehrenreich's book, Nickel and Dimed. Submitted By: Lester Andrist
Tags: class, consumption/consumerism, inequality, theory, weber, cultural capital, status, stratification, subtitles/CC, 21 to 60 mins
Year: 2001 Length: 24:50 Access: No online access (limited clips available on YouTube; including Tammy's Story) Summary: According to the creators of this PBS documentary, "class can be harder to spot than racial or ethnic differences, yet in many ways it's the most important predictor of what kind of financial and educational opportunities someone will have in life." The video explores how "income, family background, education, attitudes, aspirations, and even appearance mark someone as a member of a particular social class" and how these differences divide American society. While this documentary conceptually muddles concepts of class and status, it is an excellent and very entertaining exploration of these topics. This selection includes 3 excerpts that provide an Introduction to social class (begin at 0:15; end at 9:30), and excerpts that juxtapose upper middle class groups (9:30-13:30; 35:25-40:45) and working class groups (Tammy's Story: 52:45-59:00). The full documentary is 124 minutes. It is an excellent starting point for defining class, discussing class inequalities, or identifying cultural differences across class. Submitted By: Paul Dean Tags: corporations, organizations/occupations/work, theory, weber, alienation, authority, bureaucracy, rationalization, white-collar, subtitles/CC, 06 to 10 mins Year: 1999 Length: 6:20 Access: Extended clip no online access; (short 2:11 clip available at MovieClips) Summary: While the entire Office Space film is a great satire on bureaucracy and office work, this excerpt (on DVD begin at 0:30; end at 6:50; shorter clip available above) is particularly good for demonstrating Weber's concept of bureaucracy. It is also super funny. This clip specifically conveys key dimensions of bureaucracy: functions and roles organized by rules; positions organized in a hierarchy; administrative acts, decisions, and rules communicated through written documents; division of positions based on competencies; those in authority have greater pay and social status compared with those they manage; and positions within the bureaucracy are not dependent on an individual. Weber viewed bureaucracy as essential to industrial capitalism, but noted that the rationality of bureaucratic workplaces often turn us into "specialists without spirit, sensualists without heart." Like Lumberg in the clip above, the rationalized organization of the contemporary workplace (and life more generally), can rule over us like an "iron cage." As one watches the clip, you may want to consider how the workplace depicted in this clip does or does not match up to Weber's ideal-typical bureaucracy, and what are its consequences on workers and everyone throughout society? Submitted By: Paul Dean Tags: capitalism, commodification, consumption/consumerism, corporations, marketing/brands, theory, critical theory, culture industry, subtitles/CC, 00 to 05 mins Year: 1999 Length: 3:04 Access: No online access Summary: These 2 separate scenes from Fight Club draw on a familiar dialogue about consumers and are a great illustration of the culture industry (begin/end 4:45-5:40; 29:06-31:15). The scenes include the narrator's (Edward Norton) discussion of Ikea, and his conversation with Tylder Durden (Brad Pitt) about consumption and social control. In one scene, Norton discusses all the Ikea furniture around his apartment. He begins: “like many others, I have become a slave to the Ikea nesting instinct” as the screen pans around his apartment and overlays the space with images and text like it was straight out of an Ikea catalog. In a later scene, Norton laments the loss of all of his stuff, saying “when you buy furniture, you tell yourself ‘that’s it, that’s the last sofa I’m gonna need. Whatever else happens, I’ve got that sofa problem handled. I had it all … I was close to being complete.” Brad Pitt’s character concludes the scene stating “The things you own end up owning you,” which often facilitates very lively and interesting class discussion. Submitted By: Paul Dean Tags: consumption/consumerism, gender, lgbtq, marketing/brands, media, sex/sexuality, social construction, theory, masculinity, 00 to 05 mins Year: 2009 Length: 0:33 Access: YouTube Summary: This commercial for Pepsi Max, marketed as the first diet cola for men, demonstrates how masculinity (and by implication, femininity) is constructed in western culture. Unlike the consumption of traditional diet cola which suggests a concern over one's figure and a willingness to sacrifice flavor in exchange for fewer calories (i.e., appropriately "feminine" concerns), the taste of Pepsi Max is the first diet cola that is flavorful (i.e., potent/powerful) enough for men. To demonstrate men's ability to handle most anything besides the taste of traditional diet cola, this clip portrays men claiming their tolerance for pain in the face of extraordinarily painful - and dangerous - events. Significantly, this unrealistic tolerance for pain is asserted exclusively by men in the presence of other men. This clip is useful for exemplifying Connell's concept of hegemonic masculinity and Kimmel's concept of masculinity as homophobia. Submitted By: Valerie Chepp |
Tags
All
.
Got any videos?
Are you finding useful videos for your classes? Do you have good videos you use in your own classes? Please consider submitting your videos here and helping us build our database!
|