American History : American Beauty

Socialization is the process by which members in society learn from each other. This instills and carries on the intentions the society withholds. We begin being trained by others as children to gain a multitude of social skills and continue to learn from others all throughout our lives. Through socialization we are also latently taught how to perceive the world. Perception is why we have different opinions on whether a culture is strange, if our country is the best, or if going to college is essential. Sometimes, the learning is fun, as when we learn a new sport, art, or musical technique from a friend or teacher. At other times, social learning can be painful, as when we learn not to drive too fast by receiving a large fine for speeding.

As the family became immersed with the traditions of contemporary American culture, they began to forge conflicting identities and values,

When I was told to choose a movie to perform a psychoanalysis on a character. I did not know what movie to choose. After watching the two hour long film on the multiple characters that seemed to be struggling to find their inner happiness: American Beauty. I knew that I should not look any further. One character that especially stood out was, Lester Burnham. A forty-two year old father with a mid-life crisis. In the film, American Beauty Lester Burnham is portrayed as an ordinary man, with a perfect life, but of course that is far from the truth. From the outside, Lester seems to have a perfect salary, and a perfect family who lives in a perfect neighborhood. In reality, things are not

Socialization is an ongoing process in which individuals obtains a personal identity, learns norms, values and behaviour appropriate to his/her position. People constantly require approval of the things they do, they continually seek to be socially competent and to be accepted by those around them. It is human nature to want to be similar from others in order to be accepted in a certain social spheres but at the same time wanting to be different and unique. There are primary and secondary agents of socialization. The primary agents are those that are basic and fundamental to social beings, these include family and friends from which we learn behaviour at young age; they transmit norms and values to us. The secondary agents are those that are more external to us than family such as social institutions/organisations, these include schools,

“Hey Brianna, meet me at 12:00 a.m. in the cafeteria so we can discuss what happened in class today.

There are tens of thousands of “how-to” books, but “The Ugly American” is unique in that it’s actually a “how-not-to” book. Published in 1958, the action takes place in the early 1950s at the height of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States of America. Set primarily in the fictional Asian country of Sarkhan, the struggle between Russian Communists and American Foreign Service personnel plays out battle by battle through examples of military and political events riddled with “Ugly American” social faux pas.

The social change determines the behavior and norms from every individual and also about the social consequences. The definition of socialization is the process by which children and adults learn from others. We begin learning from others during the early days of life; and most people continue their social learning all through life (unless some mental or physical disability slows or stops the learning process). 4 examples of this in the film was when master shiff was teaching

The book, “The Ugly American,” by William J. Lederer and Eugene Burdick tells a fictional story of American relations in Asia during the 1950s. The book is based on true events, showing the harsh truth about American relations at the time. In this book, Lederer and Burdick accurately portray diplomats and their behaviors, identifying the good behaviors and the bad behaviors of different characters. A good diplomat is easily identified in the stories shared by Burdick and Lederer.

The term socialization can be defined as the process in which individuals learn the behavioral patterns that are most likely accepted and tolerated in society. This process includes the learning values in which children are taught and they develop the social values of their parents or guardians just by observing them. Socialization occurs from the birth of the individual and continues throughout their life. Socialization is classified as one of the most important process in the family. Of all the major sociological perspectives, symbolic interactionism has probably developed the most detailed theory of socialization, Haralambos, Holborn. Sociology -

In the film, American Beauty, Lester Burnham and Colonel Fitts have a complex relationship that creates conflict between them. Their relationship begins when Lester Burnham decides to begin working out in order to impress Angela—his daughter’s friend. Lester decides to join his neighbors, Jim and Jim, who have a same-sex relationship. As they run through the neighborhood, Lester stops in order to speak to Ricky Fitts—Colonel Fitts’ son. The conflict between Lester Burnham and Colonel Fitts begins when Colonel Fitts becomes suspicious that his son might have a gay relationship with Lester.

Socialisation is a learning process where people learn and adapt to the appropriate and accepted values, attitudes and behaviours of their society. Nevertheless, separate groups exist within societies for reasons including ethnicity, class and culture and these can bring their own set of ‘norms’. Bond and Bond in Sociology and Social Care (2009 pg28) states “From the cradle to the grave we are being socialised”. Primary socialisation occurs from infancy to early adulthood. Secondary socialisation follows into the later stages of maturity. Anticipatory socialisation is where we learn to anticipate the actions and activities deemed appropriate by society. Resocialisation occurs when we learn new behaviours in response to new situations and

“I have lost something...It’s never too late to get it back,” stated Lester Burnham, the main character of American Beauty. American Beauty is a 1999 film that provides a look into the lives of a modern married couple that is dealing with issues within their relationship. As the story progresses, it is easily identifiable that the roles of the husband and wife are not what the viewers would expect. On the other hand, the homosexual couple presented throughout the movie seems to be the normal pair. Furthermore, society’s definition of beauty and contentment is questioned. Throughout American Beauty, the homosexual couple has a healthier relationship than the heterosexual couple and beauty is falsely represented.

Burnham, “are you trying to look unattractive” or to her husband at a real estate gala “there’s a

Socialization is “the process whereby an individual acquires a personal identity and learns the norms, values, behavior and social skills that are essential appropriate to his or her social environment.” Socialization applies to our daily life and it’s the most important process of human society. Without socialization the human would not be able to take part in group life and develop human characteristics. The world wouldn’t never be organized and everyone would have their own ways of doing thing. The general rules that we follow every day tells us what we should and shouldn’t do and how we should interact in situations. There are always consequences if we violate the rules and everyone recognizes the rules. Individual personality is really important in socialization. As a child, we start to learn and imitate others behavior, and as we get older, we start to understand the social life and accustom to the environment we live in, which can have effects on our personality. Personality refers to the patterns of feeling, thought, and action that characterizes human beings. The experiences we go through in life can change our personality too. Socialization essentially represents the process of learning throughout the life course. The important theories of socialization are defined by Charles Horton Cooley, George Herbert Mead, Erving Goffman, Sigmund Freud and Judith R. Harris. Charles Cooley, George Mead and Erving Goffman mention the importance of the social side of

Socialization is a learning process that begins after birth. People act in accordance to the feedback and reactions they get from others. We learn who we are by family, friends, and the people around us. Socialization is an important process of our personality, language and behavior. It is not always a conscious or an intentional transference, and people are not always aware that they might be influencing someone in a social situation. The very structure of authority and the responsibility of families, schools, and media may determine which values, attitudes, and beliefs people adopt.