Sociology at The Movies: Presentation

Sociology at the Movies
Presentation
12/08/2021 Sociology 1
Sociologistscollect data by conducting
surveys, observational studies, and
experiments.
Why not hunt for sociological data in

movies?
Movies are as much a human product as,

say, newspapers are.
Movies as Sociological Data

Made by and about people in particular social and
historical contexts, movies can tell us a lot about:
Typicalpatterns of inequality
Form of deviance
Ways of raising children
Because movies are easily accessible and

often a lot of fun; they are in many ways an
ideal sociological data resource.
Movies as Sociological Data

One may assess a movie from
sociological, literary, historical, dramatic,
technical, philosophical, and artistic or
other points of view.
The reviewer applies different evaluative

criteria drawn from different disciplinary
perspectives.
Movies from a Sociological

Perspective
 What can we learn about social conditions in a particular
How does the movie reflect the social theories?
time and place from the movie?
For example, James Bond movies from the 1960s and

1970s have much to say about the conflict theory
through:
 the Cold War,
the rise of the United States and the USSR as superpowers,
the decline of the UK in world affairs.
Afterthe early 1990s, social and political
change influenced the way these themes were
depicted.
 It would make a fascinating sociological

project to review old and recent James Bond
movies with the aim of identifying these
changes and their reasons.
Although movies are mirrors to society, they
are far from perfect reflections
 Often they systematically distort social

realities.
Movies can therefore teach us a lot about the

prejudices, ideologies, and misconceptions of
particular times and places.
How does the movie distort social reality?
Consider
Miss Congeniality,
starring Sandra Bullock.
It is a Cinderella story
the heroine’s true self
emerges
BUT it denies
the sociological fact
that one’s identity is
always in flux.
One’s self remains true

only until social conditions
require the invention
of a new self.

However, some movies are made

in order to defend some true social facts such as independent
women and feminism.
Feminism has given birth to free and independent women as

shown in the 2008 movie "Sex and the City"
4 women have taken the right to talk, the power, and the « man »
as a disposable accessory to individual desires.
To what degree does the movie shed light on common or universal social and
human problems?
Terminator and Matrix series raise an issue

popularized during the industrial revolution and that
has become widespread:
Human inventions sometimes threaten their

creators.
We can also illustrate through the 1982 movie

Blade Runner , the theory of structural
functionalism, in a future where replicants, droids
used by men, revolt.
12/08/2021 Sociology 10
By claiming the right to be human and
feel emotions, they question the system,
which is the basis of the whole society and
can therefore only be eliminated.
12/08/2021 Sociology 11
The 1998 movie “The Thin Red Line” of Stanley
Kubrick, symbolic interactionism is revealed by
:
the soldiers behavior, whose survival depends on

a synchronization between their courage and
unlimited obedience to their leader.
The movie humanizes the soldiers who are no

longer machines.
12/08/2021 Sociology 12
To what degree does the movie provide evidence for or against sociological
theory and research?
The 2004 movie, Kinsey, starring Liam Neeson, tells the story
of the revolutionary American student of sexual behavior,
Alfred Kinsey.
Some of Kinsey’s methods were

primitive by modern standards.
From a sociological review, we can see that as an opportunity

to highlight advances in sociological theorizing and
research.
12/08/2021 Sociology 13
To what degree does the movie connect biography, social structure, and
history?
C. Wright Mills famously argued that sociology

at its best connects biography, social structure,
and history.
The novel Fight Club, released as a motion

picture starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton in
October of 1999.
Both the novel and motion picture proved to be

very successful in their release to the public.
12/08/2021 Sociology 14
One simple reason:
a reflection of the suffering experienced by
the Generation X' male.
Trapped in a world where there is no great

cause for the average North American male
to fight for.
the average Generation X' male of modern

society can relate to and understand Fight
Club.
12/08/2021 Sociology 15
The novel and motion picture = an
important proclamation regarding the
state of our modern culture.
Generation X' male also feels this way

and has difficulty coping in a society
where people are too busy to listen.
12/08/2021 Sociology 16
THANK YOU FOR YOUR
LISTENING !!!
12/08/2021 Sociology 17

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Sociology at the Movies

Why not hunt for sociological data in

Movies are as much a human product as,

Movies as Sociological Data

Because movies are easily accessible and

Movies as Sociological Data

The reviewer applies different evaluative

Movies from a Sociological

For example, James Bond movies from the 1960s and

 the Cold War,

the rise of the United States and the USSR as superpowers,

the decline of the UK in world affairs.

 It would make a fascinating sociological

 Often they systematically distort social

Movies can therefore teach us a lot about the

How does the movie distort social reality?

One’s self remains true

However, some movies are made

Feminism has given birth to free and independent women as

Terminator and Matrix series raise an issue

Human inventions sometimes threaten their

We can also illustrate through the 1982 movie

the soldiers behavior, whose survival depends on

The movie humanizes the soldiers who are no

Some of Kinsey’s methods were

From a sociological review, we can see that as an opportunity

C. Wright Mills famously argued that sociology

The novel Fight Club, released as a motion

Both the novel and motion picture proved to be

Trapped in a world where there is no great

the average Generation X' male of modern

Generation X' male also feels this way

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the average Generation X' male of modern

Generation X' male also feels this way