Crash

Last week we watched Crash, and it was a very entertaining movie. It was about how various lives of various people intertwined and all coincided with eachother. The movie had great acting and a great plot, but the best part was the way racism was talked about. Racism is a very tough subject to talk about because it leads to feelings being hurt sometimes, but this movie brought up racism in ways that people are too afraid of bringing up. This movie made a point that racism is everywhere, and that people are completely racist sometimes without even knowing that they're being racist. I hope it really opened some people's eyes if they have not known how society really is, because this movie really mimicked real society in a visceral way. In relation to Socioloy, I think this movie really related because it did not just show people and their racist opinions, but it showed how their opinions and feelings impacted other people. It showed that society will be impacted even if only a few people around you is a racist, because the effects of racism travel very far.

Living in the ghetto

We watched a video in class yesterday about different people who are growing up in poverty. For example it showed a young black boy who was homeless with his mom and siblings. This was hard to watch because it showed them living with their grandmother at one point, who said something along the lines of she would rather do crack instead of buy bread for her family. It is crazy how things are in different parts of the country. Another example was of a Mexican kid who had to live with a large family in a small building that had cockroaches crawling everywhere. The kid was a hard worker and came home from school to go directly to work everyday. I think that's good that he is helping his dad out but I couldn't help but notice something. They kept talking about how poor they were but I saw stuff in the background like stereos and electronic equipment and I wondered maybe they are staying poor because they spent some of their money on things that weren't essential. I hate to say that because I feel very bad for their situation but it was just an observation. This video really opened my eyes to the way that society is in parts of the country that I don't live in. I think that most people are very focused on their life and don't really see how others live their life. Sometimes it's good to take a step back and see how others are living their life, and maybe try to help them out.

30 Days on Minimum Wage

Last week we watched another installment of Morgan Spurlock's show 30 Days. This episode I don't think was as good as the last, but it was still very interesting to see how life is while living on minimum wage. Morgan Spurlock decides to live with his wife on minimum wage and various things happen to him that show how scary life really is on minimum wage. This was probably not a good idea because he ends up facing hardships that must have sucked to go through. The worse part I think is that he hurt his hand and since he had no insurance or money he had to go wait in a line at a hospital's emergency room and got denied. He ended up going later, but still it must have been very hard for him to deal with his problem. This really helped translate the issue of poverty in society to me because I have always known about poverty. I just have not gotten such an inside look into the life of someone who has to experience poverty firsthand. Society is made up of many people who are stricken with poverty, and it is important for more people to know how terrible life is for people who have no money.

Video about Class

Last week we watched another video in class about different types of people and they ways they live. For example, the video showcased a lady from a trailer park, and a very rich stuck up man from a mansion. It really contrasted different ways people live and how people perceive the middle class. In one part of the video, a middle class lady was being groomed to become a classy, upper class woman who was going to bid on art. When she is finally groomed and taught how to act like them, she goes to an art auction. when she approaches the real rich people, she seems awkward and it seems like the people can tell that she is not one of them. This shows that you cannot be groomed to become an upper class person, you pretty much are who you are. In relation to society, this shows that people need to strive their hardest in life to make their way, but they should not be pressured to be someone they are not. Society is separated into many different types of people, and they all play their role in society as a whole.

30 days in Jail

We watched a show the other week about how Morgan Spurlock spent 30 days in jail. The show was very interesting because it showed how life is in the biggest county jail in the nation. Jail life was a little more civilized than I thought it was going to be, however it was still very different than usual life. Morgan met various types of people in the jail and they all interacted in very interesting ways. I think that this related to sociology because people as a whole think of prison as a very scary and traumatizing place, but in reality, it isn't that bad. It is a lot different than people think, and especially the people in the jail. When one thinks of jail, they think of very hardened criminals and people that will hurt by coming in contact with you. The situation was very different in this jail and I think a lot of people in society would be surprised if they saw this show.

Freaks and Geeks

A few days ago we watched another episode of Freaks and Geeks. Without a doubt, the main issue regarding Deviance was the way the bully put peanuts in Billy's sandwich. During their lunch break, the bully placed peanuts in Billy's sandwich which was very deviant, because it ended up sending Billy to the hospital. What was especially deviant about this is what happened after. The bully explained his whole story and why he treated Billy and his friends like that. That was also deviant of the bully because he was stepping out of the shoes he normally fills and becoming humble. This relates to sociology because it really shows how deviance can happen in the school system, and how different people react to it, whether they are bullying or being bullied.

Saints and Roughnecks

This past week we read an article titled Saints and Roughnecks. It talked about two different types of kids in a school setting, but they were not that different in reality. It explained how most of the kids were into doing illegal things, but the Saints got away with it based on their higher intelligence and ability to appear innocent. The Roughnecks got caught more because of their appearance and lack of money and intelligence. What I took from this story is that it relates very well to actual society and school. There are definitely groups like this in my school that do very bad things and get caught and get in a lot of trouble for it. But for every kid like this, there is without a doubt a kid who appears innocent but still indulges in the same illegal behavior without getting caught and maintaining the false appearance.

Seinfeld episode

A few weeks ago we watched an episode of Seinfeld in class. This episode was about how Elaine's nipple was showing in her Christmas card. This episode was very good for the deviance unit because it showed how if a guy had his nipple showing on a Christmas card, it would not be a big deal. But because it was a woman that was on the card, everyone was freaking out, especially Elaine. This relates to the unit because it shows the difference between men and women and what is considered deviant to one gender, while not deviant at all to the other gender. This also shows how much society cares when it comes down to a certain gender being deviant.

Effect of Media on Children

This week in class we have been learning about the effects of advertising and media on children. I could not agree more with the lesson in that kids are being shaped so much by the world around them, and advertisers are really forcing certain stereotypes and values on kids that should not be forced on them at that age. I remember back when I was a young kid, how much I was impacted by fads and listening to what the media portrayed as the "cool" thing to do or wear. Without the media and technology being so advanced, I really think things would be a lot different. When it comes to gender and the way kids are influenced by media, I really think the media and advertisers have way too much influence on the way kids perceive themselves and how they should grow up to be. This relates to sociology and our lesson because as a whole, kids are being influenced in a very broad way. It's not just a few kids who are being exposed to this kind of advertisement and control, it's almost all the kids in our society today. It becomes a sociological issue because of the massive number of kids being effected by media and advertisements.

Neglected Girl

Last week in class we learned about the neglect of children and how it effects how they grow up and become who they are. In particular we learned about a girl who was neglected by her mom and lived in a small room for years until she was rescued. This girl was living in a 10x10 room with a damp mattress to sleep on, and bugs infesting most of the room. She had parasites and bugs in her hair when she was found, and her vision was almost completely nearsighted because of only being able to see 10 feet in front of her for most of her life. After she was found, she was taken away by child services, which in my opinion was a good thing. According to the video, because the girl was neglected, her brain function was that of someone who was many years younger. Being neglected by her mother almost completely rendered this girl a vegetable in a way. Hopefully years of therapy and proper upbringing can turn her into a normal girl. This story really had an impact on me because of the nerve of the mother to not at least call child services herself. On the other hand though, this story really shows nature vs. nurture because of the fact that this girl had virtually no nurture at all. Without nurture this girl was basically a primate and this video segment really made me think how important nurture really is when bringing up a child.

Tuesdays With Morrie

This week in class we watched Tuesdays With Morrie, and it was a very good movie. Beyond having some humor and a good cast, it truly had a message that was important to understand. Beyond all the obvious messages that Morrie tried to portray to the audience, there was one that took a little thinking. I think that the main message was that one should always have respect for elders. In today's generation, with more and more disrespectful people growing up, less and less kids have respect for elders. I think this movie teaches that eventually everyone will become an elderly person (hopefully), and that people in general, not just kids, should have respect for what they will eventually become. This relates to sociology because people in our culture celebrate youth as opposed to being old. This leads to less people appreciating the wisdom of older people. People need to realize that they should listen to the words of older people because they have already experienced life and have more experience with life than younger people.

Community Service

Last week me and Frank went to Elgin for our community service hours. It was really tough work and I was really proud that I was able to help those people out. On our way there we kind of got lost, but we ended up getting there on time. Doing the community service was great and all, but the best part of the trip was easily something I observed while walking to a dumpster to throw stuff out. I saw a group of older people working on the other house and they seemed to be having a nice conversation. However, right when I walked past, this older white guy was handing out business cards to each of the people he was talking to.There happened to be an Japanese looking guy in the group so I started to laugh to myself thinking about our lesson about how the Japanese look at business cards and act very respectful about it. Then the funniest thing happened. While everyone else just took the business card and crumpled it away into their pockets, the Japanese guy took it with both hands and smiled and nodded his head at the card. The moment I saw this I said to myself "Wow I cannot believe I just saw that." because it was really crazy learning a lesson in class, and seeing a real life example of it literally days later.

Toilet

This week in class we learned about people's different types of cultures and how they all interact across the world. It was particularly interesting while learning about toilets and how there are so many different ones across the globe. One of my favorite examples was one of the toilets in Japan, which was basically a hole in the ground. This relates to sociology because most people are used to using their own toilets or customs, but when in a different country, they are forced to use a new culture's ways and traditions, or in this case, toilets. My relation to this topic really doesn't have anything to do with toilets, but it does have to do with experiencing a new culture from a different part of the country. A few years ago I visited Boston, and I noticed that whenever someone wanted to cross the street, they simply did it. Most people disregarded cross-walks and just jaywalked everywhere. I know people do this in the city of Chicago too, but in Boston it was about 100 times worse in my opinion. This just goes to show you that a culture or custom can be radically different even across the U.S., not just across the entire globe.

A Bronx Tale

Last week we watched A Bronx Tale in class. Not only was it a very good movie, it passed along some very positive messages. This movie dealt with some sociological issues such as racism and conformity. I think that this movie suited our unit very well because it had a lot to do with the way people perceive other people. However, the biggest learning moment for me came after the movie ended. When we found out about the life of the actor who played the main character, it was very surprising. In the movie, there was a semi-happy ending and for the most part everything turned out ok for the main character because he did what was right. However in real life, the choices he made were the complete opposite of his character in the film. The saying "The worst thing in life is wasted talent" was mentioned a lot in the movie, and it was very ironic how the actor wasted his talent by getting involved in a robbery and ending up in jail. It is a very normal thing for an actor to play a part and continue acting, but in this case the actor's real life played out in the same way his character did, but he made bad choices in real life. The sociological part to this equation is that I'm sure acting in A Bronx Tale had a profound impact on the actor's life socially. This probably led to him becoming like the character in the movie and thus getting in a lot of trouble.

Article about violinist

Today in class we learned about a famous violinist who played some very famous music outside a subway as part of a social experiment. I was honestly not expecting many people to give the violinist a tip, let alone stand and watch him. I believe that people tend to follow the norm socially and are not very open to paving new ways sociologically. Since this random violinist was not the norm, I think people were a tad scared to be seen watching him or giving him money. I also think that it also depends on the people in the subway. I think that if the right people heard his music, they would appreciate it and realize it was a famous artist. Not only does the outcome depend on the people that walk in, but their attitude sociologically. I think that if it was a music that was more well known around that area, more people would have given money or stopped to watch because it would have been more normal music in that area that many people listen to. This was a very cool article to read because it really tested the limits and boundaries of how people react to certain sociological situations.

Relation to boat activity

Today in class we did a very different boat activity. This activity really related to sociological mindfulness because it put my classmates in a situation that required a lot of thought and intellectual decisions. This activity also related because it wasn't just an activity that the students did by themselves. This activity was done in a group and therefore forced my classmates to interact and be social. This activity was a lot of fun, especially being able to watch it happen and see who got kicked out out of the boat. This lesson relates to me because I remember being in a situation like this one time with my family. We were going to go onto a professional baseball field and they were letting fans onto the field. Only 3 of us could go onto the field however, so it was an awkward situation. My mom let me and my brother and dad go because she knew that it was more important to us. That's kind of how this activity was, where the most important person, or person who could contribute the most, ended up staying on the boat.

Movie relating to Sociology

The other day I watched a movie that related to sociology a lot. It was a documentary about a serial killer who murdered hundreds of kids in the early 1900s. What relation could this possibly have to sociology? I remember in a lesson Mr. Salituro was telling us how different events impact how someone becomes who they are. So it is not as simple as blaming someone for becoming deranged or psychotic, because what happens to them early in life influences them in good or bad ways. In this case it was a bad way, because the serial killer was witness to many horrible things when he was an orphan growing up. This had to have some effect on what he became later on in his life. He was still without a doubt a terrible person for committing the crimes that he did, but with the knowledge I gained from class I learned that it's not just him that made him do what he did. It is really cool to take the lesson we learned in class and relate it to something that I thought would have no relation.

About me

I am 17 years old and I am a senior. The biggest influences on my life are probably my family. I am planning on going to college but I am not sure where yet. One of my main goals in life is to have an exciting one.  I work at Go Roma and enjoy my job. I also wrestle for Stevenson which is fun and I like to keep in shape.