Andrew Neeiman Whiplash

The novel Our Guys, written by Bernard Lefkowitz, is a very dynamic story about the heinous actions of a dozen middle-class athletes, from a small New York suburb, against a defenseless mentally handicapped girl. Lefkowitz describes a brutal gang rape involving a baseball bat and broomhandle, which took place in this unsuspecting town, by these upstanding young group of boys, as the town would describe them. Lefkowitz looks at the incident which took place and then examines the “jock clique” sub-culture that allowed such atrocities to happen, and spawned the scandal to cover it up.

This paper will provide a sociological analysis of Mean Girls broken down into two sections. Section one will explain why a sociologist would find the movie interesting, examining the movie from a functionalist perspective, providing an example of private troubles and public issues, and comparing the movie to North American culture. Section two will discuss the themes of socialization and culture by explaining terms related to each section and applying them to the movie.

The sociological problem that’s depicted in the video and that is discussed is the issue on domestic violence. Domestic violence is where one partner in an intimate relationship seeks power and control over their partner by being violently abusive and aggressive. These negative aspects can be either shown verbally or physically and can sometimes even lead to death. Also, the video surrounds itself on the idea of domestic violence with whom it can affect. Anyone can be associated with domestic violence at any point in their life; including the male/female, children or even the animal within the household.

Costin, Lela. (1996). The Politics of Child Abuse in America. Oxford, New York: Published by Oxford University Press. Retrieved from Kaplan University’s library at: http://books.google.com/books?id=B70rt3SyhtkC&pg=PA40&dq=Effects+of+child+abuse+in+America&hl=en&sa=X&ei=bpJ1UrbkOvLdsATO54DwAw&ved=0CD4Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=Effects%20of%20child%20abuse%20in%20America&f=false.

For this assignment, I will be analyzing the 2004, blockbuster film White Chicks with specific reference to dimensions of social stratification such as gender, class, and race. White Chicks follows the story of two African American FBI agent brothers, Kevin and Marcus Copeland who accidently foil an assiduously executed undercover operation intended to capture a group of notorious Dominican drug smugglers. As a final opportunity to redeem their tarnished reputations, the two agents take on an assignment far below their customary standards when they agree to escort billionaire heiresses Brittany and Tiffany Wilson to the Hamptons in order

Next comes the phase of violence, which is characterized by hitting, slapping, kicking, choking, the use of objects or weapons, verbal threats or abuse, and sexual abuse. The final phase that sets the individuals up for the cycle to continue is the honeymoon phase. The honeymoon phase is noted by calm and apologetic demeanor. The individuals tend to go through denial about the abusive behavior, come up with excuses, and make promises about future behavior. While it is important to know how professionals define dating violence, it is also pivotal that those in the helping professions also have an understanding of how the teens themselves view the violence that occurs in their relationships. According to one study teens define abuse according to the context, intent, and actual harm caused (O’Keefe, 2005). In another study teens actually reported that in situations where revenge, retaliation, or prevention of face loss was the reason for the abusive behavior, the violence was justified (Sears, Byers, Whelan, & Saint-Pierre, 2006, p 1197). In the same study individuals reported that they also took into consideration whether the act was a result of their partner “just kidding” or a demonstration of their caring for their partner. Not only do definitions of interpersonal violence vary across the board, but they also vary significantly between males and females. Males and females have very different views as to what the purpose of

Abuse, especially child abuse, is a widely condemned social problem that remains prevalent to this day. The abuse suffered at a young age can result in an individual having a disturbed self-concept, putting them at an increased likelihood of perpetuating abuse as opposed to others who have not had similar experiences. Individuals who are exposed to abuse early on in life are more likely to have difficult relationships with others, have difficulties in school, a lower socioeconomic status, and engage in criminal behavior (Finkelhor, 2015). Factors such as these may also contribute to an intergenerational perpetuation of abuse by an individual whom has experienced familial abuse as a child. The Symbolic Interactionist perspective is useful in understanding the dynamic of abuse (Holmes, Mooney, Knox, & Schacht, 2016, p. 149) and suggests that one’s identity or sense of self is shaped by social interaction (Holmes et al., 2016, p. 13). Furthermore, this micro-sociology focuses on the psychological dynamics of individuals interacting in small groups; relating, in this case, to the familial institution (Holmes et al 2016., p. 13). In applying this sociological lens to the issue of child abuse, certain policy recommendations can be ascertained, focusing on early familial intervention.

Throughout the novel many problems occur. Some of the main problems are racial and equality issues. Events in this book show how prejudice and intolerance can ruin numerous friendships and change lives.

The route the children are designated to take, in addition, is specified in the writing to inspire in the audience fear. The segregated school for Black students is located within a mass of railroad tracks, warehouses, and red-light districts, all notably dangerous locations for children to be in. By specifically mentioning that Ellison had “forbidden words” added to his vocabulary, he implies that he had interacted with the many unsavory individuals in the area to the extent of learning immoral materials or skills (Ellison 4433). This emotional appeal enforces the idea that impressionable children are innocent and that their actions were forced upon them by the adults in control. It also appeals to the parental instinct to protect children and preserve their future. By being forced to maintain continuous exposure to dangerous environments and professions of ambiguous morality, the Black children are victims of tarnishing and possible injury by the White authority purposefully segregating the children to hazardous areas. The strategy in specifying the unfortunate circumstances the African American children are facing is for causing the White adults to appear as villains who impose professionals of socially denigrated on innocent children. In contrast, Ellison, despite not doing anything particularly virtuous, is designated the ‘hero’ to be cheered for along with all his associates and peers, who are also victims.

There are two sides of abuse to every harmful relationship: the victim and the victimizer. This relationship can tend to put stress on someone in order to have them do something they wish not to do or experience an event they wish not to experience. This aspect represents the victim side of abuse. The person or oppression in the relationship that puts stress on another is the victimizer as this side of the relationship can attempt to force ill-will upon their targets. This is the forceful side of the destructive relationship and is always the root of the problem. The characters from Generation X, Less Than Zero, and Twelve undergo a series of harmful relationships that can be construed as a relationship between a victim and victimizer. Some of the characters from each book are the victimizers, while the others are the victims.

In showing the youth of his mother and her abusive father, McBride identifies the racism of the South in 1940s. With mentions of his past he highlights the racial segregations in order to portray a more equal way of life.

In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Sherman Alexie tells a story about how a boy switches schools to try to better his life, and learns that violence isn’t how everyone deals with things. This is shown when Rowdy punches Arnold when he touches his shoulder, to help calm him down (210). While people at Wellpinit are kind and welcomed him (192). This shows that violence depended on how you were raised and how your community is, this is shown because of Arnold experience at Rearden and Wellpinit and how different they were.

The only true bias in this film is the suggestion that only kids of upper classes families were trying to rebel and commit juvenile acts. Towards the opening of the movie one of the main characters parents arrive at the police station to pick him up, the father is dressed in a dinner suit and it is learned that they had to leave an affluent dinner party at the ‘country club' to get their son. As seen in our text and through films of this genre, it is known that youth from all social classes were lazy, promiscuous and of a delinquent mentality.

In more specific terms, the theme regarding strife is defined by the various hardships these teenagers presently encounter such as race, crime, education, family issues, and poverty, all of which can be related to our class lectures. Firstly, race is a basic component in the strife that these teenagers experience. In Canada, those who are black are considered to be part of a minority group. Thus, they are usually at a disadvantage in a mostly white society. An example of this is found in the documentary, where the boys mention that they have been stopped by police for no

3. The first identified population is the black youth in the neighborhood. One of the reasons for their high risk factor is the role models shown in the film. At the basketball court, during the scene when the young black male shows his "mentor," where Daniel is pointed out as "the one" who is slated to be shot, the victimization of the impressionable youth is apparent. If my "hero" is talking about "he ain't nothing," then for sure that is where my mind is going to be. By not having role models that portrayed societal norms, these youths are placed at risk If no one I know behaves in a manner that conforms with society, how can I be expected to understand what society expects. In the bathroom scene, when Daniel stands up to the three black youths, and tells the beaten white youth he has to stand up for himself, he is a marked man.