The Norms

This week in sociology, we talked about social norms. Social norms are different social construction of reality. These differences are important and need to be acknowledge because it may offend people with a different culture. This unit reminds me of an episode of Spongebob Squarepants. Spongebob accidentally went to another city called Rock Bottom. In this city, everyone looked weird and he wasn't familiar with the place. At first he was freaked out because he couldn't seem to communicate, as they had to make a noise after each sentence or else they wouldn't understand. It shows that the social norm in their society is to do the sound. This teaches me to be more sensitive and consider what you say when you're around people who grew up in a different place because people may misunderstood and get offended.

groups

This week in sociology, we watched the movie "A Bronx tale." This movie is based on a true story about Chazz Palmenteri (sonny) witnessed a murder growing up in an Italian neighborhood NY. The most appealing theme to me in this movie is the love vs. fear conflict. C grew up with two dads. One is his biological dad, the bus driver that everybody knows and love, the super ego. And there's Sonny, the mafia boss that everyone fears, the id. C grew up in multiple groups such as: his family as the only child, student in school, student in the streets, Sonny's group, and his hooligan childhood friends. Through out the movie, C has mixed feelings towards his master status. He had no main group that he was in at because he can't be focused on one group if that group is a conflict to another he's in. But towards the end, he leans more on the side of being a son and a lover because sonny and his childhood friends all died in a unfortunate events. He learns that hanging around those groups would lead him to the same fate as them. Like C, I, as a growing child, was also in conflicting groups that were totally different. When I was in elementary school me and my friends chose to be with the school bullies because we would be the ones bullied otherwise. But then we realize that going down the path where everyone respects you in fear, isn't something we wanted after realizing the consequences.

sociological perspectives

This week in sociology, we learned about three sociological perspectives. The first is the Functional Analysis perspective. What am I to society? What do I function as? These questions are what makes up this perspective. People basically need to be connected to each other to have the will to keep striving to wake up everyday. As a high school student, going to school and spending time with friends and family are my everyday functions. Another perspective is the Conflict Theory perspective. Who has the power? Who's controlled by the ones with power? There is conflict everywhere. This usually occurs when someone who is being dominated suffers while the one dominating benifits from the sufferer. A parasite if you would call it. An example is when someone uses force. Once, I was riding alone the train and man came up to me with a switchblade. The robber got the money, and I lost $43. Having to get the better end of the deal may sound good. But at the cost of hurting other people, it's very unethical. Lastly, the Symbolic Interaction perspective. This perspective is about how someone uses symbols in everyday life. Take me for an example, I view school as something that is forced upon every kid in this day and age. Since if one doesn't go to school, one can't succeed in life. This is what my environment that I grew up with taught me, and when I was little I used the fear of failure in school as a drive to work harder in school.