RCG ; The Longest Yard :)

This week in class we briefly discussed the upper, lower, and middle class ads from the superbowl commercials. We also got to talking about our reading assignment naked capitalists for our homework assignment. It discusses how pornography is such a increasingly growing industry that you do not hear a lot about because people want to ignore it like it does not exist or simply because they are embarrassed to admit they have bought or watched it.

We watched the beginning of the film "The Longest Yard" starring Adam Sandler. It is about a former professional athlete who shaved a football game and it ruined his reputation, power, and prestige. He gets sent to a prison in Texas and ends up becoming the hero in the movie. The whole movie should be an easy decision who to cheer for, however, the whole time you want the bad guys in the prison to beat the guards in the football game they put together. In reality you would believe the guards are the "good" guys but this movie really makes them out to be the bad guys because they are a bunch of racist rednecks who treat the prisoners with no respect at all and it is very unprofessional and cruel. That is why i believe people side with the convicts because even if they are in jail they deserve to be treated like human beings and not like trash. This movie really teaches a good lesson about many different things that comes up in this class Race/Class/Gender. Even though someone has power, prestige, and property does not make them the better person sometimes they take advantage of that and it makes them kind of evil and treat people like they do not matter. I really like this movie because at the end you realize sometimes going through tough or bad times only makes you a stronger person and a better person. :)

Superbowl Commercials for Classes in Society :)

This week we did not have class, however, our assignment was about the classes.

The lower, middle, and upper classes of our society and how they are given to us in commercial ads for the Superbowl. I was surprised how many commercials I saw with celebrities, such as bands, actors, models, or professional athletes to try and sell these products for people in the lower and middle classes. I was not sure about the lower class ads i chose because I do not really know what to look for when I think of lower class and I do not think commercials use too many of them anyways. The middle class was obviously the one most relatable to everyone in this class and almost all commercials seem to be for the middle class. The middle "working" class is the one who watches most of these ads and probably buys the most too, just not the stuff that is so expensive like the upper class does. The commercials try to attract watchers by making them funny or very odd and weird. Usually, people hate commercials and ads on the television but not Superbowl commercials. People love watching those commercials because the people have to pay so much money for them to put their craziest or most creative commercial on the television because they know most of the world is watching this channel right now. Which is very smart and very true, they are the best of the best when you are talking about commercials. In my opinion, I hate them either way, I would rather just watch the show, game, or movie without any interruptions. It was very weird having this assignment because I never really pay close attention to commercials and how they are given to which class in society, but, now It will always be in the back of my mind every commercial I see.

RCG ; Social Stratification & Episode of Veronica Mars (:

In our class on Monday, 2/1/10, we discussed social stratification. We talked about how rankings are based on a share of power, prestige, and property, which are considered to be the three variables in the social class system. The importance of studying social stratification is because it is a universal phenomenon, it can be the consequence of life, and it is a simple social structure, which means a cultures value, norms, and morals. India, South Africa, and the old south are examples of people who have used or still use the caste system. The caste system is when you are born into your "class" wether it is for the best or worst. The class system on the other hand is like the opposite. It consists of social rewards distributed according to perceived importance of position. The class system is a more opened system, allowing easier mobility. We talked about some theories such as Social Darwinism, Functional Theory of Stratification, Elite Theory, Contest and Sponsored Mobility. Social darwinism, was known by William G. Sumner, and pretty much stated "The Strong Will Survive." It also said, that society would not allow the weakest to die out, because they believed it would lead to social decay, which is very true. The Functional Theory of Stratification simply does not want our society to collapse, so they believe in helping one another. It states, people who may be more talented control the ideas and other things, but the ones who are not so talented help the ones in charge so everyone has something to do. The Elite Theory was created by Mosca and Pareto. This theory says, that society relies on small specialized groups to rule and provide order. The use 6 basic "sentiments" and "revenues", lions are the aggregates and the foxes are the combinations. The Contest and Sponsored Mobility Theory, known by Ralph H. Turner, says social ascent through schooling where members of a society can attain elite status through competition or sponsorship by a member of the elite group.

After our discussion about social stratification we watched an episode of Veronica Mars. It had a lot of Race/Class/Gender issues in just that one episode. It was mostly "Class" issues though and all about how high you are on the hierarchy in the town of Neptune. Veronica was in the upper class, however, then her dad lost her job and her mom abandoned them. Since, her dad lost his bigger income she pretty much got kicked out of the upper class click at school and in the town in general. However, the prestige of her father being good at what he does for a living still is noticed by the people of Neptune, therefore, people who may not treat them so well because of their social class ask them for help with their problems. Another thing in the episode was how gangs would pick on people or do bad things then help the people out that they once tried to hurt so they are very loyal after they see what they did was wrong or you try to help them out. Kind of like the saying "you scratch my back, I will scratch yours." I really liked how the gang stood up for Veronica and her friend when the rich preppy guys were vandalizing her car, because it kind of gave them a taste of their own medicine.