My Final Reflection

As I looked back on what I first posted- the main theme of that post was being through difficult times and to be strong throughout the tough times. Since learning about sociology, I have absorbed information about culture, social class, and race. I am now more aware of what is going around me. The way I have grown up I now know is because of the people that I have been surrounded by. I have also been more aware of how different genders view themselves. It is very important to know this because the media has shaped both boys and girls to become a certain way just because their role model looks like that. After watching the movie Crash. I have become also more aware of race. The implicit racism is held by everyone whether you know it or not. This class has definitely opened my eyes to the society I live in today. I have also explored other cultures. By having former students come in and talk about their adventures in the real world has made me interested in studying abroad. It is certainly something I will look into doing my junior or senior year of college.

Crash

I was really drawn in watching the movie Crash in class this past week. The way that everything tied together at the end was very genius. But, most of all the movie targeted how even the person you didn't expect to have prejudices, did. The scene that stood out to me the most was when the African American woman was stuck inside her car after being in an accident, and the only guy that could save her was the police man who had previously whisked her inappropriately earlier outside her car in front of her husband. In times like that, sometimes you just have to trust whoever it is that you have a prejudice towards and have faith that they will be able to do a favor for you in the long run. This instance also happens in another part of the movie, when the girl who works at the shop with her dad doesn't load the gun because she had known that he would do something with it. It is always important to be mindful on who you will deal with on a daily basis. Because, one wrong action can end badly. So always remember to be mindful of your surroundings.

Implicit Racism

Today in class, we saw a student take a quiz on if there's a predisposed preference between African Americans and European Americans. So, when I got home I took a similar test based on light and dark colored skin people. After taking the test it said I had no preference towards light/dark skinned people. Which I thought was surprising, because it is inevitable that everyone have racism. We even see it in magazines everyday. Also, today we watched a clip about an experiment being reconducted based on what color doll little girls and boys prefer to play with. The majority of them decided to play with the white doll. What was really sad to watch was that the experimenter asked a little African American girl who she considered the mean doll-- and the girl preceded to pick the black doll. But, then the experimenter asked what doll resembled the girl the most- and the little girl at first hesitated, then proceeded to pick the black doll, not wanting to be known as the mean person, but the nice one- which happened to be the white doll. Overall, I feel that racism will always be surrounding us.

Social Class

There was a woman in the movie we just watched in class stating that she believes that social class is all in the mind. In a way I see where she is coming from because someone may think that they have everything they need to satisfy their needs and wants, but can be in the lower class. There happened to be a quiz online where you decorate your house how you normally would and they would rank what class you would be in; they put me in the middle middle class. There are certain aspects in my house at least where I believe resembles a more of a higher class. (Which is where I am according to the social class ladder). It's all an aspect of whether your needs are satisfied and you are happy. Many people feel the need to buy a $600 pair of Louis Vuitton shoes to be happy- as discussed that Oprah has. But, you can clearly tell that certain people like Oprah and Donald Trump have the money. Oprah wasn't always wealthy though, she grew up with little money and worked her way up the social class ladder. It's those families like the Hilton's that are old money since their foundations have been established a long time ago.

Violating A Social Norm

Being deviant can either be positive or negative. One movie that relates to this concept I feel is Pay It Forward. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwHcS-XoYbc The main boy in the movie has an assignment in class to change something that he doesn't like. I feel this strongly relates to how we just got assigned to performing a positive norm. Something that isn't something we would normally do. In the movie, the main character decides to do extreme acts of kindness that would completely go against the norm. He is clearly demonstrating things that aren't seen around his neighborhood. For instance, he decides to let a homeless sleep in his home because the man has nowhere to go. The only different idea is that once he does something good for one person, that person must pay it forward- continuing the tradition that the young boy started. By being deviant, people may strike you as different ( like the man who had dinner with the man who attempted to attack him). But, I find it rewarding to violate something you normally wouldn't do. From now on, I will work harder to violate norms in a positive way like the boy did in the movie. Because it pays to pay it forward.

Growing Up

Recently we learned what society considers to be the appropriate age that you are independent. It's a scary thought to think that at the age I am right now, 18- there are so many rights I have. I believe that the age of 27 is truly the age where you become independent. That is because once you know how to have a handle on a real job, pay for a house, car, and children-- then your classified as independent. But, at the age I am right now I also feel that I can take on a lesser role of being independent. Because, next year I will be in college- where there will be less dependency for my parents. Yet, I still don't have the availability to completely support myself on my own. There are certain milestones in your life, that once you pass allows you the freedom to do more things. By turning 18 I have the right to vote, and legally buy cigarettes. Although those are minor right of passages in my lifetime, I look forward to seeing what other milestones come my way, and how I will become more independent as I grow up.

Dealing With The Media

At a young age, girls tend to turn to magazines to inspire them on how their look should be. But what is not realized is the overwhelming amount of celebrities and young women who are put into these magazines, yet they are completely airbrushed to look a certain way. Girls who are unhappy with their self-image learn from such magazines such as Seventeen and Cosmopolitan that they should be super skinny. But at our age right now, we already have learned that that is not what the ideal body should be like, and on order to have a healthy state of mind- all we have to do is eat healthy and exercise. What I believe to be the main concern for girls and their body image, is the encounter with people at school. I find that when you see girls walk through the halls, there is a factor of jealousy/judgement about what they look like. You'll hear about what someone wore to school, and judge it and base it according to if you like it. Instead of girls comparing themselves to images in a magazine, which is mainly done in your preteen years- girls at the high school age tend to focus more on who is surrounding them. There are so many types of body images at our school, but that is what makes each person unique.