Movie Analysis : Mindwalk 's ' Mindwalk '

In order to understand the entirety of a society, we must first understand each part and how it contributes to the stability of the society. According to the functionalist

Three of the most widely used theoretical approaches used by sociologists are the functionalist, conflict, and interactionists perspectives. Functionalists highlight the contributions made by society that lead to social stability. Talcott Parsons, a key figure in the development of functionalist theory, viewed society as of a vast network of connected parts, each of which helps to maintain the system as a whole (Schaefer 2015). Conflict theorists take the approach that social behavior is understood in terms of tension between competing groups over power or the allocation of resources. Interactionist explain society by generalizing about the everyday forms of social interaction in places such as work, parks, or in public places. Functionalist and conflict approaches to the study of society focus on large scale phenomena or entire civilizations, or macrosociology, while the interactionist approach focuses on microsociology which stresses the study of small groups (Schaefer 2015). Functionalists reason that individuals are socialized to perform certain societal functions. However, conflict theorists consider that individuals are socialized by power of authoritative groups. In the interactionist view, individuals are shaped by their everyday interaction within small groups. Social order is maintained through cooperation and overall consensus in the functionalist’s perspective; laws are created to reinforce social order. Similarly, interactionists believe social order is

The Functionalist theory emphasizes the contributions (functions) that all parts of society (e.g., social institutions) make within society. This theory has contributed to sociology by providing a view “which emphasizes the way in which the parts of a society are structured to maintain stability.” (Schafer 2013, pg13)

People in present society are divided up into different positions in the work force. Durkheim sees society from a structural functionalist perspective and refers to society as a system of different organs, each with a

This perspective originated with Émile Durkheim, a French sociologist, social psychologist, and philosopher, and the one who formally established and is considered the father of sociology, as the social sciences was not considered an independent field of study separate from philosophy at the time of his writings. Durkheim was interested in how social order and society as a whole remains stable, and used a scientific approach to study society. As Kenneth Allan quotes from Émile Durkheim (2005), “…if, in addition, society lacks the unity based upon the commitment of men’s wills to a common objective, then it is no more than a pile of sand that the least jolt or the slightest puff will suffice to scatter” (p. 136). Using this view of society as a creation of a collective group of individuals that work toward a common objective, functionalism looks at the institutions of society and how they contribute to the society’s stability. These institutions include the government, family, education, medicine, the justice system, the military, mass media, and other similar formal organizations. Each of these institutions are organized to fulfill the different needs of society and are all interdependent. Functionalism focuses on the order and social stability of a society, and credits disorganization and a lack of adaptation to new and changing times as the causes of social

Other people’s outlooks disagree with this view, such as the Marxists, the Marxist Feminists and the Radical Feminists. Item B describes the way in which functionalists view the functional pre-requisites or the essentials of societies if they are to survive. Functionalists’ writers such as

Emile Durkheim came up with the functionalist theory. Functionalism sees society working together like a system. Society consist of interconnected parts that work together that keeps everything in a balanced state. Herbert Spencer gave the idea that societies are living organisms that grow and evolve. This theory emphasizes how different groups of society influence other parts of society. This could be a positive The two main principles of functionalism; The first would be that society is perceived as a functional system made of intertwining parts/groups. The second function is that each structure its own purpose that contributes to continue societies stability. If something does not contribute to society in a positive way and throws off its balance its considered dysfunctional. An example of dysfunctional would be things such as crime.

1. Jack is a dynamic character who undergoes many changes throughout the book. At first he seems to be calm, but by the end he turns to violence.

way a human does. This is of course not the case, as it is the

The reader, over the course of the novel, is lead to believe that the breakdown of the society is caused by Jack and that he becomes so obsessed with power that he ends up becoming controlled by it. This first starts off when Jack is elected a hunter and he then becomes so obsessed with hunting and the power that comes along with it and this causes him to start thinking in aggressive, savage modes of behavior.

Primarily, Jack’s character represents evil and violence. For example, he is eager to make rules and replace Ralph in the position of a leader of the group; however, he tends to break the

parts. It looks at society more as system not as an individual. Symbolic interactionism focuses on

One sociological perspective is the Functionalist theory. Functionalism is one of the earliest sociological theories. Emile Durkheim (1858-1917) was a professor and was interested in how society was possible and how society remains stable. This theory focuses on the macro-level of social structure rather than micro-level of everyday life. Functionalism sees society in parts which form a system, the parts depend on each other. Functionalist theory looks at the parts of society such as

Functionalists argue that societies consist of inter-related social institutions such as schools, mass media, political systems, the Church and the family each of which contribute positively to the maintenance of stability of society as a whole. Broadly speaking it is assumed by functionalists that societies operate in the interests of all of their members so that there is no reason for fundamental conflict in society. Instead there is a high degree of consensus that societies are organised efficiently and relatively fairly.

Structural functionalism started by Auguste Comte, and fully developed by Emile Durkheim. While conflict theory and structural functionalism both focus on macro-level orientation, but instead of the emphasis on inequality between the classes that the conflict theory uses, functionalism believes in the society as a harmonious and interacting whole to promote a state of equilibrium. “If, said Durkheim, more people could agree on wanting less, social solidarity would rise and there would be fewer strikes, fewer suicides, and so on” (Brym, 2017, pp. 13). As functionalist perspective views of gender inequality apply to the roles