Lesson 12: Popular Culture

This picture of a fashion show represents society's demand for specific taste demands to be met, such as fashion and entertainment. Fashion plays a major part in popular culture, and new clothing styles are always in demand.

New York City is the capitol of American consumerism, and the heart of its pop culture. The constantly changing billboards in Time Square allow pop culture to thrive in the massive city, and it is always up with the times and the current news, demands and trends.

Disney is a major part of American pop culture, and not even just for kids. Disney is so big that there are two giant theme parks built in its honor, and the company continues to go strong, years after Walt Disney's actual death. 

The movie Say Anything was very popular when it came out in the 1980s, and today it has become a symbol of '80s pop culture. During the 1980's, many movies were made about coming of age, and because there seemed to be a demand in the viewer population, they were successful and became an integral part of the pop culture of the time.

The emotional energy a person gets when taking part in social gatherings or activities is known as "collective effervescence", and is one of the major benefits of group membership. This can happen at places like concerts, sports games, etc.

Clubbing is a part of America's pop culture, particularly among young adults. It is more present in urban areas than rural areas, but young adults always seem to have a need to party and let loose. This is an example where society saw a need or demand and provided the means for its fulfillment.

Lesson 11: Family and Life at Home

In some cultures, it is normal for grandparents to live with their children's families. It is even the duty of the parents to take care of their elders, just as they took care of them as children. 

An extended family is a large group of relatives, usually including at least three generations living either in one household or in close proximity. Here we see an extended family of three generations, all of whom live in the same small town of 400 people.

Single mothers make up 83% of single-parent households, and are twice as likely to be below the poverty level than single fathers. Because nearly 50% of first marriages end in divorce these days, and because judges often side with biological mothers in the case of custody, single mothers are becoming more and more common.

Only 63% of people believe that same-sex couples with children should be seen as families, even with the legalization of same-sex marriage increasing in states across the country. This statistic is compared to the 80% that believe unmarried heterosexual couples with children are considered families and the 99% that believe married heterosexual couples with children are considered families.

Endogamy refers to someone within one's social group that often includes race, ethnicity, class, education, religion, region, or nationality. Endogamy is more common than Exogamy (the marriage outside of one's social group) because people are more likely to interact with those inside their social group. 

A Nuclear family is a family consisting of a father, a mother, and their biological children. People often consider nuclear families to be the most traditional form of family. This used to be the most common form of family, but in modern society, more and more non-traditional families are forming, including same-sex marriages, divorced parents, and single-parent families.

Lesson 10: Sex and Gender

One of the traditional gender roles that is assigned to women is that they should be good cooks and homemakers. These days that line has become more blurred, but there are still many traditionalists that believe that a woman's rightful place is in the kitchen.

At birth, females are traditionally assigned the color pink and boys are assigned the color blue. This is the Social Learning Theory: the idea that babies and children learn behaviors and meanings through social interaction and internalize the expectations of those around them. Babies grow up in these gender confining roles and are taught that the differences between "things that boys like" and "things that girls like" are completely normal.

Other gender-confining roles can be seen in traditions like high school proms and weddings. At proms, the boy has to ask the girl to prom in some fancy way, wear a tuxedo, get the girl a corsage, pick her up from her house, and treat her to a nice dinner before driving her to prom. The girl just has to dress up, look beautiful, maybe get the guy a boutonniere, and rely on her date the entire night. These days prom is becoming more and more radicalized, with both boys and girls attending in groups or without dates, and all genders becoming more comfortable with dressing non-traditionally.

These days, it's common for women to wear short skirts, bare their legs, have attitude, and, essentially, sit pretty for men to sexualize them. Although the descriptions of what women should be like have significantly changed over the years, they are still confined with demeaning adjectives and are objectified on the daily, through magazines, movies, ads, etc.

While heterosexism is still going strong in social institutions, there are movements to prevent homophobia and legalize gay marriage, "granting" gay people the rights they should have had in the first place. Gay pride parades are one way cities are promoting equality celebrating all sexual orientations. While our society still has a long way to go on the topic of sexual orientation, we have come far in recent years as well, with many states now making gay marriage legal.

Lesson 9: Race and Ethnicity

While the people in this picture have different races, they both have the same ethnicity because they were raised in the United States. It is important to note that race and ethnicity are two very different things, because you can hid ethnicity but race can't be hidden.

In this picture are two people with very different races, which can't be hidden. While race and ethnicity are both social constructs, the prejudice and discrimination against certain races is very real and should not be taken lightly. 

This picture shows two very different races and ethnicities. These people who came to visit America from Rwanda are very proud of their ethnicity, if not their past. Rwanda has a very dark past that is clouded with genocide and horrible racism. However, today they are able to move past that and are fully open to national and cultural differences.

White privilege comes with something called the "invisible knapsack", which contains unearned resources that are not intended to be seen. White people often have the luxury of being trusted and left alone, unlike so many other races that are constantly being discriminated against. For instance, a group of white people standing in the middle of a square in New York, doing nothing, would be seen as normal. However, if this group of people were black, they might not get the same treatment that the white people would, because they would be seen as "suspicious" or up to no good.

Lesson 8: Social Class and Inequality

A person who lives in this type of home might be upper or upper middle class, because the room looks like it is more for decoration, and less for utility and comfort. People with these types of homes make up about 15% of the total population.

A person that might stay at a more luxurious hotel like this is likely to be upper middle or upper class. This is a very famous hotel in Beverly Hills, which is known for being very ritzy and high-end. You're unlikely to find many homeless or underclass people wandering around this part of the city.

Meals like easy mac are commonly found in lower class households, because they don't have the money or the knowledge to buy healthy organic produce. College students that aren't financially stable are also likely to be seen eating easy mac in their dorm rooms, taking what they can get and being grateful for what they have.

People who appear dressed up with make-up, jewelry and clothing that are on the classier side might be middle-class or above, because they can afford luxuries like nights on the town and expensive things. They probably have had a high enough education and now have a decent paying job with a good amount of income and maybe a little wealth, too.

A person working at a performing diner in New York City might be looking to raise their social mobility and get their big break on Broadway. Here they can have a job and show off their talents to anybody who might be looking for the next big star.

Lesson 7: Deviance and Conformity

This man has two stigmas: the fact that he is homeless and that he is a member of a minority group. Unfortunately, in the eyes of society, this devalues him from normal social interaction. 

The people on this mural followed positive deviance, because within their context they were very deviant, but eventually they were labelled heroes because of the actions they took. This reinforces the idea that deviance does not mean inherently bad, it just means they deviate from the norm.

Transsexuals are labelled as deviant in our society because they do not follow the pattern of "male" or "female". This person participates in Deviance Avowal, where the individual self-identifies as deviant and labels his or herself. This is one way of managing stigma in one's favor. 

Lesson 6: Life in Groups

People who work together or volunteer for community service are called Secondary Groups, or people we associate with on the basis of a given task. They may include some friends, but not all are part of a person's primary group.

The smallest group is called a dyad. It only includes two members, and is fundamentally unstable, because when one person leaves, it is no longer a group because it consists of only one person. However, dyads are also the most intimate of groups and are very important.

Family is part of a person's primary group. A primary group is made up of people who have the most influence on a person. Primary groups are face to face, generally have greater cooperation and deeper feelings of belonging to the group.

A Triad is the second smallest group and is made of three people. It is more stable than a dyad because when one person leaves, it is still considered a group. It also allows for mediation within the group. The pattern of groups continues: the larger they become, the more stable they are, but intimacy continues to decline when more people are added.

An Aggregate is a collection of people who share a physical location but do not have lasting social relations. Examples of this are people taking the city bus, on an airplane, or other way of travel. An aggregate is not considered a group because the people may not identify with each other or interact with each other at all.

Anomie is a decline in social engagement. Our current society is increasing in anomie, which is bad for society and the individual. This leads to a paradox that we are experiencing today: we are more connected but more isolated than ever before. Because of the technology and social networking that is so popular right now, we are connected to more people but distracted from the importance of face-to-face interaction.

Lesson 5: Socialization, the Self, and Social Interaction

The status of being a student comes with a set of its own roles: studying, going to school daily, being responsible, etc. Sometimes those roles can clash with other roles from other statuses like being a teenager, a piano player, a soccer player, a dancer, etc.

Goffman came up with the idea of Dramaturgy, which essentially means that people act out their social lives to present a favorable impression. That would mean that social life is a game where we try to control the impressions others have of us. It's also called Impression Management, and almost everybody uses this tactic when being social.

As infants, humans are, for the most part, "blank slates". Socialization begins when we are infants and continues our whole lives. While we are young, we know very little about norms and values of society. Of course there are some instincts that humans are born with, but that leads into the nature vs. nurture debate.

Family is one of the most important agents of socialization. We grow up around them and internalize their beliefs and values. Our families shape us to be who we are the most, and we often grow up to be very similar to our parents, whether we wanted to or not.

Peers are another very important agent of socialization. They influence our beliefs and values and, often, our actions. We strive to be accepted by our peers in a way that we don't with our family, and that's what makes the power we have over our peers so strong.

Lesson 4: Culture

The culture of weddings varies significantly throughout different societies. In the USA, there are many traditions that go along with weddings, such as cutting the cake. Marriage is one of our society's values, but other societies and cultures may not put as much emphasis on the need to be married.

Tourists are thrown into different cultures and must adapt, and many use Cultural Relativism, which is understanding other cultures on their own terms rather than comparing them to one's own culture. As seen here, some Americans in France look somewhat out of place based on their attitudes.

Prom is a part of American culture and tradition, and many people put a lot of value into it. Some people spend large amounts of money trying to make their prom special and unique, going overboard on the dress and hair and limo, etc. This is a part of American culture which may seem bizarre and pointless to many other cultures.

Graduation is a big deal in American culture as well. It signifies the completion of one step of education and has been made into a ceremony which should never be forgotten, because education is a strong value of Americans.

This picture demonstrates multiculturalism and cultural relativism. Here, both Americans and Rwandans respect each other's culture and try to learn about the other's culture with open minds by exploring places of value for the other culture.

Christmas is symbolic culture that many societies share, but many of the objects, decorations, and much of the culture that comes with Christmas have been Americanized into material culture. Christmas isn't just a religious holiday anymore, it's a season that almost the whole of American society participates in.

Lesson 2: Theories and Theorists

The picture above is of New York City, one of the cities that most exemplifies the theory of Structural Functionalism. Many people think of New York as the city of dreams, because there are so many "stars" that live there. However, the truth is that New York would not be such a successful city if there weren't all kinds of people doing all sorts of jobs to make sure the city ran smoothly and was successful. This includes people with jobs ranging from janitors to retailers to big-time CEOs to Broadway stars. 

Prom is one of the most traditional events in high school. The girls are expected to dress up in fancy dresses and get their hair and nails done and be doted on by their dates who asked them to the prom. They are given corsages and are treated as delicate ladies all night. Prom exemplifies the Feminist Theory because of the gender roles that are assigned to both the boys and girls.

Above is another picture of New York City, the city of dreams that is made successful only by everyone doing their individual part, no matter how insignificant it may seem. This is Structural Functionalism.

Another photo of New York City, where you can see an example of everyone doing their job, no matter how un-glamorous it may seem. Taxi drivers are the chauffeurs of the city. Without them, the city would struggle to function on the level it does daily. 

Above is a picture taken at the San Francisco Gay Pride festival, during the parade. This image exemplifies the Queer Theory which proposes that categories of sexual identity are social constructs, and that no sexual category is deviant or normal. People who support gay pride most likely believe in the queer theory, and they believe that everyone, no matter what their sexual orientation, should be allowed the right to marry.