Latest articles from sociology lens
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKx1aenJK08] What happens when the internet, a supposed open space for free speech and expression, is censored by government authorities? Early this year, the Chinese government initialized a policy focusing particularly on the “repair of internet integrity,” which basically means “anti-obscenity.” The policy aimed to break down and cast off all online websites and web pages containing contents against the Chinese government’s principle of “harmony and peace.” Under the policy, over 2000 websites and blogs are blocked and forced to...
by paulabowles Recent research commissioned by the group Women in Journalism has looked at the portrayal of teenage boys in the press. By analysing both national and regional papers, the research team hoped to gain some insight into the representation of youth by the British media. Perhaps, unsurprisingly the overarching theme was one of negativity, with labels such as ‘yob’, ‘thug’, ‘feral’, ‘scum’ and louts cropping up again and again. The only exception to this representation appears to have been...
by socanonymous A recent school shooting in Winnenden, Germany by a 17 year old teen (Tim Kretschmer) left 15 people dead and many others shaken. Initial media reports focused on the teen’s psychological depression, use of violent computer games, and access to handguns as possible explanations. Investigators prematurely categorized Kretschmer as “a classic case of a conflicted young man who wreaked havoc in real life after savoring imaginary violence in the digital world.” The chief of police, Erwin Hetger of...
by NickieWild This week, the American Religious Identification Survey conducted by Trinity College in Hartford Connecticut was released. Regions are seeing religious shifts – the Northeast is losing its religious population, while the South is gaining. Clearly, this is due to migration within the country, as well as the more typically religious Hispanic population increasing in numbers in the South. But there has been an overall decline in those who identify with a particular religion. This systemic change can be...
Over the weekend, The Watchmen grossed approximately 55 million dollars in its opening weekend in the United States. More than sixty years ago, sociologists Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno argued that movies no longer need to pretend to be art and are in reality, just businesses made into an ideology in order to justify “the rubbish they deliberately produce.” The recent big budget gates in hard economic times suggests a fresh reading of this classic. The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as...
by bmckernan A while back, a previous blog post wondered how Hollywood and American television would react to the current economic crisis. Would these industries continue to focus on affluent and lavish lifestyles, or would they instead redirect their gaze to more humbling “middleclass” concerns in light of the dire economic straits many Americans now found themselves navigating. Well, according to a recent article in Time magazine, at least one American television network is not only staying the course, but...
On a recent episode of ABC’s “What Would You Do?” an experiment was conducted on racial segregation. During an open house, a white actress played the role of a racist home-seller who doesn’t want to sell to “certain people”. In front of others she attempted to steer away certain racial and ethnic groups, making statements that could not be mistaken for anything other than racist remarks. The social experiment was conducted to see if bystanders would intervene and call her out. ...
nmccoy1 In a New York Times article (see below), consumers of organic food have become distressed to learn that organic food may not actually be safer than other food products. While it is clear that consumers who shop organic are right to expect higher standards, we may need to question what standards they are invoking. In an age of information, consumers are more capable than ever before of researching food product ingredients, nutrition, pesticide use, and labor rights. Yet labor...
by theoryforthemasses A recent article in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine suggests that children who display impulsive behavior in kindergarten are more likely to engage in gambling at a young age. Researchers asked kindergarten teachers to rate their students’ inattentiveness, distractibility, and hyperactivity; six years later the students were asked to report the frequency with which they participated in activities such as buying lottery tickets and placing bets at sporting events. The researchers identified a positive relationship between...
By rbobbitt A recent report from the British medical journal The Lancet reports that over 100,000 women died in fires in India in a single year (see New York Times article). These fires stem from a serious domestic abuse issues in India in which women are doused in gasoline and set ablaze, their deaths blamed on “kitchen accidents.” Domestic abuse as become a major problem in the country, as women are often killed over dowry disputes, with no repercussions sought...
by Joel Best Barbie, the teenage fashion doll, turns 50 this month. The years have been kind to Barbie; she hasn’t gained weight or lost her figure. Of course, her critics would say that’s the problem. We’ve all heard the complaints by sociologists of gender and other intellectuals. Barbie, they say, is harmful–even dangerous–because she promotes traditional gender roles. Her beauty teaches little girls that society will judge them primarily according to their looks, and not...
by linanne10 Tokyo may be one of the most extreme examples of a hybridized international city, in an age of rapid globalization. Cultural negotiation and reconciliation between Western notions of modernization and traditional Japanese civilization (or to some extent, Asian civilization) found their way in this kaleidoscopical urban space, whether in tension or in peace. The film, Tokyo! (opening on March, 6 in New York City), is a triptych by three foreign directors, Bong Joon-ho, Leos Carax and Michel Gondry,...
by socanonymous Negative immigrant sentiments seem to appear in public discourse during various times of national concern. Host attitudes toward immigrants seem to be concerned most with access to scarce economic resources and competition for jobs. It would seem logical then that during times of economic turbulence, attitudes toward immigrants would be on the rise. A study by the Institute for Public Policy Research found that contrary to popular belief, foreign migrant workers do not pose a harmful threat to...
by paulabowles Johann Hari’s recent article in the Independent focuses on the ‘credit crunch’ and crime, in the UK. He states that ‘[i]t is an iron law of sociology that when the economy falls, crime spikes.’ However, Hari is keen to put forward three ideas for tackling crime. In brief these are: • Move all mentally ill prisoners to hospital where they can be treated appropriately • Stop trying to enforce a policy of abstinence for users of illegal drugs...
by ishein1 “It takes tremendous courage to think for yourself and examine yourself, this Socratic imperative requires courage.” This quote is taken from the trailer of the second documentary from Astra Taylor and is spoken by Cornel West in the back of Taylor’s car. Taylor’s first film, Zizek, was a documentary in which the ‘intellectual rock star’, Slavoj Zizek, is shadowed on his lecture circuit. Taylor’s new film “Examined Life”, set to open in New York City, once again attempts...
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4mBRYueMss] by NickieWild Last week, a very racially charged cartoon appeared in the New York Post, featuring a couple of police officers having killed a chimpanzee, with the caption, “They’ll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill.” The cartoon was supposedly a somewhat weak joke about an animal that attacked a woman, and was shot by police in Connecticut, linked tenuously with commentary of a sort about President Obama’s economic plan. Civil rights leaders weren’t laughing....
