Social Contagion Theory in Pop Culture

1. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9867fnMi7Y&t=30s (The Gang Gets Crippled)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIcUgyLxNBA (The Gang Beats up Kids)

When considering Social Contagion Theory, there are perhaps no better, more entertaining illustrations of
its effects and processes than degenerate behavior. Luckily for us, there are some television shows that
are absolutely hysterical and can serve as excellent examples of the theory. The first show that comes to
mind is one of my all-time favorites: It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. The show revolves around “the
gang,” five hilariously awful miscreants that collectively run (or try to run) a pub in Philadelphia. Nearly
every episode of the show seems as if it could be taken straight out of Gustave LeBon’s description of
contagion leading to collective debauchery. If we first recap the requirements and process of social
contagion, we can then apply it to the show. First, individuals become attuned to a shared, emotional or
otherwise intense stimulus. Next, the excitement causes them to skip rational interpretation of the ideas
and behaviors being shared, leading to individuals acting purely on instinct and the cues of others in this
collective excitement and creating a closed circle of interaction. Eventually, the group becomes a
“collective mind,” each member identifying with the shared idea or behavior. Thus, individuals can act
irrationally as one and contagion has occurred.

The situations the gang find themselves in are nothing short of exciting, and every episode has them all
getting very, very into whatever it is they’re obsessed with at the time. The two examples I chose are
some that I think really show how, in the context of the theory, people can lose who they are in these
situations and submit to some crazy idea or behavior that has been communicated to and between them.
In the first example, the gang notices that local people with disabilities seem to get special treatment in
the community, so they decide to pretend to be crippled and go to stores and bars to score free stuff or
companionship. Starting with just Mac, this idea quickly circles the group until everyone is intensely in
on it, eventually in competition with one another. In the end, we see two pretend-cripples duking it out on
a mall floor. The next example involves two members tracing their stolen bike to a group of bratty kids.
Initially approaching them with a surprising amount of civility, when they learn they are not going to get
their bikes back they quickly stop thinking rationally and behave impulsively on the cue of each other by
wiping the pavement with these kids’ faces. I find both of these to be hilarious examples of how ideas can
become contagious and lead to people making uncharacteristic choices (both examples do contain vulgar
language).

2. Community: Pillows and Blankets

https://youtu.be/8JDxZ4_TjPo (Intro)
https://youtu.be/5pPdkQa0ybk (Jeff’s Speech)
https://youtu.be/ZAB-u42SYWU (Cafeteria Battle)
While speaking of hilarious behavior that illustrates Social Contagion Theory, I can’t leave out one of my
all-time favorite shows Community. The show follows the studies of a group of eccentric students at the
backwards Greendale Community College. Together they get into incredibly comical and outlandish
situations that would make anyone want to go to that school. However, most of them wouldn’t illustrate
Social Contagion as, while they do crazy things together, they still maintain their individuality and
reasoning. There is one episode though, perhaps one of the funniest of the show, that is a satire of one of
the largest, most historically devastating examples of what Social Contagion can lead to: war.

In the episode “Pillows and Blankets,” two of the show’s main characters, Troy and Abed, work together
to create a massive pillow fort all throughout the halls of the school. When the dean gets word of this, he
doesn’t shut it down but actually encourages them to go for the world record, as it would bring great
publicity to the school. Unfortunately (fortunately, actually) the irresolvable differences in their visions
for the fort arise, and following several inspiring speeches and propaganda, the fort is divided into two
warring factions. In this uproar, we see hundreds of college students get entirely invested in this childish
war, completely losing themselves. It’s one of the funniest episodes of any show I’ve ever seen, a
hysterical play on Ken Burns’ iconic Civil War documentary, and an immensely entertaining example of
Social Contagion Theory.

3. 12 Angry Men
https://youtu.be/GwIxcEvRq0g

When trying to decide what to use for my third example, I was torn between more comedy (I would have
used Trailer Park Boys) or something more serious. I opted for more serious, and one of the first
examples that I think fantastically highlights the theory is 12 Angry Men. Beyond being a great film, 12
Angry Men is a great exhibit of people acting impulsively and collectively under mental and emotional
pressure. The premise of the movie doesn’t sound very exciting–twelve people stuck in a hot room for
jury duty–yet as you watch the tensions rise as these men decide the fate of an innocent young man being
charged with murder, you find yourself just as invested in the situation as them.

In terms of emotional situations, you can hardly get more intense than sending an 18 year old kid to the
electric chair, and when all these men are in the room collectively analyzing the case, it doesn’t take long
for most of them to merge opinions and claim guilty. However, one man is not convinced and holds out
on claiming guilty, prompting heated discussion. What follows throughout the movie is a barrage of
intense communication, with several twists and revelations, all of which influence the collective thought
in the room as it slowly flips from claiming guilty to non-guilty. So here we have a unique case of
contagion, where initially the contagion is the idea of claiming guilty, but through interaction it swaps to
the other side and they unanimously decide on a non-guilty verdict. They key that connects this movie to
Social Contagion Theory is the breaking down of “Interpretive Reaction” due to the emotional nature of
the situation. Most of the people initially claiming guilty don’t do so because of critical thinking, but
rather acting impulsively based on emotion. It is this, paired with the unique behavior humans have when
exposed to each other, that allows contagion to happen.