Sociological analysis

 Sociology is the study of groups and group interactions, societies and social interactions, from small
and personal groups to very large groups. A group of people who live in a defined geographic area,
who interact with one another, and who share a common culture is what sociologists call a society. 
 The term culture refers to the group’s shared practices, values, and beliefs. Culture encompasses a
group’s way of life, from routine, everyday interactions to the most important parts of group
members’ lives.
 The relationship between individuals and society, according to one of the founding fathers of
modern sociology, Emile Durkheim:
 The ideas we have are to a large extent shaped by what we are taught in school and by the way we are
socialised by our peers, parents, favourite pop stars, etc. So there is a strong social dimension to our
thinking, even if we believe we are self-made men and women and society is just an abstraction with little
impact on our lives.
Theoretical
perspectives
 Three theories have come to dominate sociological thinking, because they provide useful
explanations:
 structural functionalism
 conflict theory
 symbolic interactionism.
Structural functionalism

 Functionalism, also called structural-functional theory, sees society as a structure with

interrelated parts designed to meet the biological and social needs of the individuals in
that society. 
 Functionalism grew out of the writings of English philosopher and biologist, Herbert
Spencer (1820–1903), who saw similarities between society and the human body; he
argued that just as the various organs of the body work together to keep the body
functioning, the various parts of society work together to keep society functioning.
 The parts of society that Spencer referred to were the social institutions, or patterns of
beliefs and behaviours focused on meeting social needs, such as government, education,
family, healthcare, religion, and the economy.
Structural functionalism…

 Another noted structural functionalist, Robert Merton (1910–2003), pointed out that social processes
often have many functions. Manifest functions are the consequences of a social process that are
sought or anticipated, while latent functions are the unsought consequences of a social process.
 A manifest function of college education, for example, includes gaining knowledge, preparing for a
career, and finding a good job that utilizes that education.
 Latent functions of your college years include meeting new people, participating in extracurricular
activities, or even finding a spouse or partner. Another latent function of education is creating a
hierarchy of employment based on the level of education attained. Latent functions can be beneficial,
neutral, or harmful.
 Social processes that have undesirable consequences for the operation of society are
called dysfunctions. In education, examples of dysfunction include getting bad grades, truancy,
dropping out, not graduating, and not finding suitable employment.
Conflict theory

 Conflict theory looks at society as a competition for limited resources.

 This perspective is a macro-level approach most identified with the writings of German
philosopher and sociologist Karl Marx (1818–1883), who saw society as being made up
of individuals in different social classes who must compete for social, material, and
political resources such as food and housing, employment, education, and leisure time.
 Social institutions like government, education, and religion reflect this competition in
their inherent inequalities and help maintain the unequal social structure.
 Some individuals and organizations are able to obtain and keep more resources than
others, and these “winners” use their power and influence to maintain social institutions. 
Symbolic Interactionist Theory

 Symbolic interactionism is a micro-level theory that focuses on the relationships among

individuals within a society.
 Communication—the exchange of meaning through language and symbols—is believed
to be the way in which people make sense of their social worlds. This perspective sees
people as being active in shaping the social world rather than simply being acted upon.
 Social scientists who apply symbolic-interactionist thinking look for patterns of
interaction between individuals.  If you love books, for example, a symbolic interactionist
might propose that you learned that books are good or important in the interactions you
had with family, friends, school, etc; maybe your family had a special reading time each
week, getting your library card was treated as a special event, or bedtime stories were
associated with warmth and comfort.
Symbolic Interactionist Theory…

 Symbolic interaction analysts’ studies often involve observation of one-on-one

interactions. For example, while a conflict theorist studying a political protest might focus
on class difference, a symbolic interactionist would be more interested in how individuals
in the protesting group interact, as well as the signs and symbols protesters use to
communicate their message. 
Other concepts
Alienation

 Alienation is a theoretical concept developed by Karl Marx that describes the isolating, dehumanizing,
and disenchanting effects of working within a capitalist system of production. The worker is alienated
from the objects of his production. According to Marx, its cause is the economic system itself.
 Social alienation is a more broad concept used by sociologists to describe the experience of individuals
who feel disconnected from the values, norms, practices, and social relations of their community or
society for a variety of social structural reasons, including and in addition to economy.
 Those experiencing social alienation do not share the common, mainstream values of society, are not
well integrated into society, its groups and institutions, and are socially isolated from the mainstream.
 Alienation can be found in many media texts – Grunge rock (Nirvana), Aruvi, ‘The Stranger, (Albert
Camus)’ ‘Catcher in the Rye,’ (Salinger) ‘Taxi Driver’ (Martin Scorcese)
Anomie

 Anomie is a concept defined by sociologist Emile Durkheim. Anomie, in societies, is a condition of instability
resulting from a breakdown of standards and values or from a lack of purpose or ideals.
 The term was introduced by the French sociologist Émile Durkheim in his study of suicide. He believed that one
type of suicide (anomic) resulted from the breakdown of the social standards necessary for regulating behaviour.
 When a social system is in a state of anomie, common values and common meanings are no longer understood
or accepted, and new values and meanings have not developed. According to Durkheim, such a society
produces, in many of its members, psychological states characterized by a sense of futility, lack of purpose, and
emotional emptiness and despair. Striving is considered useless, because there is no accepted definition of what
is desirable.
 Greater emphasis on ends rather than means creates a stress that leads to a breakdown in the regulatory structure
—i.e., anomie. If, for example, a society impelled its members to acquire wealth yet offered inadequate means
for them to do so, the strain would cause many people to violate norms. Delinquency, crime, and suicide are
often reactions to anomie.
Relationships and Differences between
anomie and alienation

 Alienation is a state of mind of individuals. Anomie is a state of a society or some of its

component groups.
 Anomie is the disintegration of the norms and values that were previously
common to the society while alienation is the estrangement of individuals
from some essential aspect of their nature or from society, typically resulting
in feelings of powerlessness or helplessness.
• Anomie can result in alienation.
• Both can cause despair, hopelessness, and frustration.
Bureaucracy

 A bureaucracy is an organization of non-elected officials of a government or organization who implements the

rules, laws, and functions of their institution, necessary as a society becomes larger and more complex.
 Major problem with bureaucracy is red tape. Red tape is excessive regulation or rigid conformity to formal rules
that is considered redundant or bureaucratic and hinders or prevents action or decision-making. 
 While recognizing bureaucracy as the most efficient form of organization, and perhaps indispensable for the
modern state, sociologist Max Weber also saw it as a threat to individual freedoms. 
 According to Max Weber, the “iron cage” of bureaucracy is the one set of rules and laws that we are all
subjected to. According to him, the shift from old forms of mobility, like kinship, to new forms, like strict, legal
rules, was a direct result of the growth of bureaucracy and capitalism.
 E.g. Works like Franz Kafka’s “The Trial,” (it tells the story of Josef K., a man arrested and prosecuted by
a remote, inaccessible authority, with the nature of his crime revealed neither to him nor to the reader)
 Movies Veedu, Thabarana Kathe, Thanneer Thanneer, Ka Pe Ranasingam
Deviance

 Deviance is a violation of social rules and conventions

 Émile Durkheim viewed deviance as an inevitable part of how society functions. He
argued that deviance is a basis for change and innovation, and it is also a way of defining
or clarifying important social norms.
 Deviance is often a response to situations in which goals cannot be achieved through
conventional behaviour. In democratic societies, people from wealthy, highly connected,
and privileged circumstances have relatively easy routes to personal success and
prosperity. When others realize that routes to achievement are blocked, they experience
strain and frustration and are likely to turn to tactics that will help them move past the
blockages. 
Marginalisation

 Social exclusion, or social marginalization, is the social disadvantage and relegation to

the fringe of society. It is a term used widely in Europe and was first used in France.
 Social marginalisation is the process in which individuals or people are systematically
blocked from (or denied full access to) various rights, opportunities and resources that are
normally available to members of a different group, and which are fundamental to social
integration and observance of human rights within that particular group(e.g., housing,
employment, healthcare, civic engagement, democratic participation, and due process).
 Such exclusionary forms of discrimination may also apply to people with a
disability, minorities, LGBTQ+ people, ex-convicts, etc. Anyone who appears to deviate
in any way from perceived norms of a population may thereby become subject to coarse
or subtle forms of social exclusion.
Socialisation

 In sociology, socialization is the process of internalizing the norms and ideologies of society.

Socialization encompasses both learning and teaching and is thus the means by which social
and cultural continuity are attained.
 Without socialization, we would not even be able to have a society because there would be no
process through which the norms, values, ideas, and customs that compose a society could be
transmitted.
 It is a form of social control.
 Family, community, etc. are major agents of socialisation
 Mass media—newspapers, magazines, comic books, radio, video games, movies, and especially
television—present a very different form of socialization than any other, because they offer little
opportunity for interaction.
Works that lend themselves to sociological
analysis

 Jallikkattu
 https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/jallikattu-how-lijo-dissolves-differences-between-man-and-beast-110913
 Lord of the Flies:
 William Golding's 1954 novel "Lord of the Flies" tells the story of a group of young boys who find themselves alone on a deserted
island. They develop rules and a system of organization, but without any adults to serve as a civilizing impulse, the children eventually
become violent and brutal. From a sociological perspective, Golding's novel portrays man's voracity for power, abuse of technology
to the point of destruction, and his venture to inner darkness. ... Throughout Lord of the Flies is a display of humankind's thirst for
power.
 Fight Club:
 Insurance drone Jack (Norton) can't sleep, and haunts self-help groups for fatal illnesses until he encounters Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt), a
charismatic anarchist who invites him to move into his decrepit house after his condo is blown up. Jack and Tyler have recreational fist-
fights, which expand into an underground masculinist movement. Tyler, portrayed with utmost confidence, has everything figured out and
speaks to a post-capitalist malaise where men, trapped by crummy jobs and “cheated” out the things they were “promised” (being millionaires,
movie gods, and rock stars), can only feel alive by beating the living daylights out of each other in darkened basements. Tyler Durden’s philosophy
is essentially one that pinpoints a real problem—the disconnect of the postmodern age fueled by capitalism and alienation—and offers a child’s
solution. Fight Club doesn’t offer answers to the struggles of the world, but a critique. It’s not a celebration of directionless men, but rather that the
modern world had commodified everything to the point where toxic masculinity becomes its own brand. 
 Crash:
 A group of strangers in Los Angeles grapple with issues of race, class, family and gender
in the aftermath of the September 11 terror attacks in New York.
 Falling down:
 The film stars Michael Douglas in the lead role of William "D-Fens" Foster, a divorced and
unemployed former defense engineer. The film centers on Foster as he treks on foot
across the city of Los Angeles, trying to reach the house of his estranged ex-wife in time
for his daughter's birthday. Along the way, a series of encounters, both trivial and
provocative, causes him to react with increasing violence and make sardonic observations
on life, poverty, the economy, and commercialism. April Wolfe of LA Weekly wrote that it
"remains one of Hollywood's most overt yet morally complex depictions of the modern
white-victimization narrative, one both adored and reviled by the extreme right".