Sociology Concepts Overview

Functionalism

• Identifies the various structures of society
• Describes the function of these structures in maintaining the social system

Moral Panics

• Media often uses moral panic to "stand out"
• Moral panics often center around behaviors or practices constructed as warnings signs

Critical Race Theory

• Studies how popular culture perpetuates stereotypes against African Americans
• Argues the media often portrays African Americans as inherently criminal

Sociological Imagination

• Allows us to connect our personal lives to the broader context of society
• Helps us understand how history, social issues, and the individual all interact

Cultural Industry

• Views popular culture as residual, meaning it's leftover from higher forms of culture
• This view suggests that popular culture is designed to accommodate content that doesn't meet the standards of high culture

Wayward Youth

• Refers to the collaborative study of youth behavior by police, government agencies, psychologists, and sociologists
• This field emerged in the 1920s, focusing on understanding and addressing youth delinquency

Critical Race Theory & Race

• Examines the societal construction of race and its representations in culture
• Focuses on tracing the meanings embedded in cultural representations of race within social fields

Jouissance

• Refers to a type of pleasure that is visceral and primal
• Can be linked to desire, melancholy, and bliss

Folk Devils

• Term often used to describe teenagers or youth groups that are demonized by the media
• This concept is related to the idea of moral panic

Womblike Conditions

• According to Christian Metz, the cinema space creates a feeling of regression and unconsciousness in viewers similar to dreaming

Strange/Familiar

• Recognizes the phenomenon of finding the strange within the familiar
• This idea challenges the notion that human behavior is solely based on rational choices

Mirror Stage

• A term from Jacques Lacan's psychoanalysis
• Describes the moment in early childhood when a child develops a sense of self and recognition

Emancipated Spectator

• Suggests that films are open to interpretation and are not owned by any particular meaning
• Focuses on the ability of viewers to engage with films in their own way

Discourse

• Judith Butler defines discourse as the limits of acceptable speech
• It's essentially a framework that determines what we can and cannot say about a particular topic

Deviance Marketability

• Suggests a fascination with youth subcultures and their potential for profit
• This concept explores how youth culture can be exploited commercially

Celebrity Capital

• Refers to the power and influence of a celebrity's public persona
• This concept explains how an individual can use their fame across different platforms, like film and music

Lived Experiences

• Refers to the lived realities of individuals and groups, including their experiences of inclusion, exclusion, equality, and inequality
• Focuses on the intersection of social structures and individual realities

Successful/Not Successful in Popular Culture

• This distinction highlights the power dynamics within popular culture
• Success often depends on conforming to industry standards, potentially limiting artistic expression

Symbolic Racial Signification

• Refers to the use of symbols, objects, and styles in cultural texts to convey meaning about race
• Often examines the way race is represented through visual cues, fashion, and music

Cornel West

• Emphasizes the historical and cultural specificity of racial meanings
• Argues that race has different meanings depending on time, place, and social context

Youth Culture

• Refers to the shared values, beliefs, and behaviors of young people
• Explores how media constructs and portrays youth culture

Perverse

• Suggests that all viewers engage with films in a way that is not necessarily aligned with the intended meaning
• Highlights the complexity of viewer interpretation and potential for personal agency

Miserable at the Dissolution of his Marriage

• Represents a possible interpretation of the male character's emotional state at the end of the film Somewhere
• Focuses on the visual cues and emotional weight of the final scene

Culture

• Culture is NOT determined solely by place of residence

Agenda Setting

• Refers to how media shapes public perception of issues by framing them in a certain way
• Makes certain issues appear more important than others

Stuart Hall

• Developed the concept of Reception Theory

Juice Value

• Explores how a commodity, like sneakers, can have both transformative and transformative properties
• Explains how consumer products can be both personal and socially symbolic

New Black Cinema

• A period of cultural production that marked a shift in the representation of Black characters and narratives
• Emerged in the 1970s and 1980s with films like She's Gotta Have It

Marketing

• Keith Harris argues that New Black Cinema often showcases the dynamics of marketing
• This perspective suggests commercial considerations played a role in the development of the genre

High Culture

• Refers to art forms and cultural practices associated with sophistication, erudition, and intellectualism
• Often distinguished from "low" or popular culture

Pseudo-Individualism

• Describes how films, particularly in genres like romantic comedies, may appear to be unique but often conform to standardized conventions

Race Based Stereotypes and Community Identity

• Do The Right Thing explores the complex representation of race and class in America and its impact on community identity
• Examines how race-based stereotypes influence social interactions and perceptions

Habitus

• Refers to the internalized dispositions, values, and practices that shape our tastes, preferences, and behaviors
• Focuses on how cultural immersion shapes our sense of ourselves and our place in the world

Polysemy

• Suggests that cultural texts can have multiple meanings and that interpretation is subjective
• Emphasizes the viewer's role in constructing meaning

Basic Instinct

• Challenges conventional Hollywood representations of power, authority, and intimidation
• Encourages viewers to actively participate in the film's narratives and interpretations

The New Economy of Speed

• Refers to the rapid production, consumption, and distribution of goods within a contemporary capitalist society
• Focuses on rapid technological advancements and their impact on the economy and culture

Socialization

• Refers to the process by which we learn the values, beliefs, and social norms of our culture
• Shapes our identities and worldviews

Buggin' Out

• In Do The Right Thing, he becomes enraged when someone steps on his Air Jordan sneakers
• This moment emphasizes the role of material culture and its social signification within the film

Subculture

• Refers to groups with distinct values, beliefs, and practices that may be seen as challenging dominant norms
• Can reflect the presence of hegemony and the struggles for cultural power

Linguistic

• Refers to the study of language and its relationship to social phenomena
• Examples include the analysis of words and phrases to understand how they reflect, shape, or reinforce social meanings

Dualistic Approach

• Not a foundational theory in Sociology
• This approach would suggest a divide between two distinct and opposing forces, which is not central to sociological thought

Linguistics

• The study of language, including its structure, function, and evolution
• Emphasizes the role of language in communication and social interaction

Commodity Fetishism

• Refers to the situation when the symbolic meaning of a good outweighs its actual value
• This concept helps explain why we may value items like designer clothes and branded products beyond their material worth

Taste

• A site of power struggles within cultural fields
• Taste reflects the cultural capital and social capital of individuals, shaping how they consume and interact with culture

Reality

• Within Symbolic Interactionism, reality is not objective but socially constructed
• This perspective emphasizes the ways in which people collectively create shared understandings and meanings