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Module 3 – Summary of a Fiction (Family Guy)

The television show, “Family Guy”, created by Seth Macfarlane, is a politically incorrect animated comedy that usually appears on Fox at around 8pm. The show is about a family of 6 that lives in fictional town of Quahog, Rhode Island. It focuses mainly on the family which includes Peter, who is the father of the family and makes inappropriate jokes while he is oblivious of certain situations. Next you have Lois, the mother of the family that is seen as the most intellectual “normal” person in the house. On to their kids you have Chris, who is overweight and seen as “stupid” just like his father. Their daughter Meg, is known to the audience as a normal teenage girl, but the characters in the show make her seem worthless because they think she is ugly. The last child they have is Stewie, who is a mastermind baby that can only be understood by their dog. The last one in their family is a talking dog named Brian, which would be odd in any setting but the society in the show makes it seem that it’s a norm (how values tell us to behave).

The show officially aired on January 31, 1999, and is still going today. Family Guy consist of almost every type of humor. This means that there things such as juvenile or slapstick humor, dark humor, and political humor. This means it can go from Peter making fart jokes, to the point about making a joke about Bill Clinton’s sexual fantasies. I think this makes the show easy to watch considering all the different types of humor it has. But not only that, I feel like the animation plays a big part in it too. If the show were to have the same types of jokes and setting in a live action show, I don’t feel like it would be as successful.

What I find to be very interesting about this show is that it is on Fox. If you are a person who generally watches the news from time to time or listen to the media, you know that Fox is a more conservative network. I find this odd due to the fact that Family Guy is a very liberal type of show that pokes fun at conservatives in various different episodes. I wonder if it’s a ploy to have Fox increase their viewers or if it’s because they don’t care or are oblivious to the sociological context of the show. It’s odd though, most of the commercials that stand out to me either show a news special that will be shown on Fox at a certain time or it will show a new episode preview of a different program.

When I watch the show after I am enrolled in sociology, I realize that the show makes various extreme gender and racial stereotypes. As I mentioned earlier, Meg is seen as the ugly person in the show. When they make jokes about her, they often will try and identify her as a man. An example of a racial stereotype they use in the show is of their African American neighbor, Cleveland Brown. You can already see the pun they make on his last name. The stereotype they make in the show is that Cleveland is just a regular guy, and the group of friends are often confused as to why he does not “act black.” Although, when they show Cleveland’s wife she as depicted as the stereotypical loud African American woman. There are not just racial and gender stereotypes though, as the show is basically a clump of stereotypes. This includes assumptions they make on the rich, women, and Jewish people.

As I am a fan of Family Guy, taking sociology has really impacted my sociological imagination (the ability to connect the most basic, intimate aspects of an individual’s life to seemingly impersonal and remote historical forces) I have had on the show. I have noticed different symbols (an image that has a certain meaning) and cultural values (moral beliefs) as I have watched certain episodes again. I understand that the show basically pokes fun at everyone but as I have gotten older I know now how certain people can be greatly offended by the content of the show.

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Goffman states that people in a social setting tend to “adapt” to everyone around them (Goffman 1). For example, if someone were to enter a fast food restaurant such as McDonalds, they would usually act accordingly to everyone else that is in the establishment. He sort of says that everyone in the back of their mind has a social norm when being in a public place. If a person does not know the social norm of a certain area, they learn from experience. People will sort of test themselves. A situation like this could be going to a party with a friend, full of people they have never met before. If you are usually a funny and entertaining person, you might try to converse with other people jokingly. But if this doesn’t work and everyone seems to act calm all together, you would eventually adapt to the way they are acting and almost “copy” them, in order to make yourself and everyone else feel comfortable. This is what Goffman tries to explain. The establishment I decided to test this theory on was the Galleria Mall in Houston.

First and foremost I will talk about how the Galleria is structured. The Galleria is a very large building near downtown Houston area that consists of two hotels and a 3 level parking garage. When you enter the building in the front entrance, you come across a very hefty smell of fragrances and expensive items. This is because you are on the floor that contains mostly female products and very luxurious clothing and bags. When you enter the main area of the mall there are 3 different floors. One floor is luxury, while the other two are your everyday retail stores. If you walk all the way to the end of one of the second or third floors, you are approached by a dead and can go either left or right. If you were to go right, you would walk all the way down until you reached the east parking garage, whereas if you were to go left, you would walk all the way down until you reached the west parking garage. That is the basic outline of the malls structure.

Now let’s talk about my observations, I will start with the parking garage. I decided to go on Black Friday, so parking was ridiculous. While I was circling around the parking garage, I noticed that most people were upset with it taking so long, so everyone had to act aggressive with one another in order to get a parking spot. When I went inside I noticed most people who also entered around me were more relaxed and relieved that they could finally enter the building. When I was on the expensive floor, I noticed the people who worked at the stores would look at me in a judgmental way. I don’t know if it was because of what I looked like or the way I presented myself, I just know that I was judged. Most people in this area seemed to put on a “front” because of the environment they were in. When I went to the more common retail area, it seemed like most people there knew they were being watched by an audience, but did not seem to care what other people thought of them. For example, I saw what I presume was a gay couple holding hands, laughing and talking. They both dressed very flamboyantly and looked as if they did not care what others around them were thinking. However, when it was time for me to actually go inside a store, more people seemed to be actors, but not in a snobby way. I think that people inside the stores did not want to look like they didn’t know what they were looking for, as they could think it would make them appear to have less confidence in their shopping. Also, when checking out an item, the conversation with the cashier was a social norm conversation. It would usually go as follows- Cashier: Hi did you find everything alright today? Customer: Yes I did thank you. Cashier: Alright good can I ask who helped you today? Customer: Yes … helped me find what I was looking for. Cashier: Great that will be (total amount). Customer: *pays*

Cashier: Alright thanks for coming to … have a great day! Customer: Thank you, you too (conversation ends). When I would watch the cashier and customer talk with one another, it seemed as if the cashier was trying to make pleasant conversation more than the customer. I assume this is because they want to make the customer feel comfortable enough to come shop at that store again.

While I was conducting observations, I also wanted to conduct some field notes at the food court. The notes go as followed.

I see people of many different races. I see people looking to for a place to sit down. Most people are frustrated like they were in the parking garage. I don’t know if it is because they are hungry or they need a place to sit down. I see people laughing and eating. I see people trying to eat more conservatively so they don’t get their outfits dirty. I see some people with less manners when they eat. I see people asking others to hold their spot in line while they go off to the bathroom. I see some people eating conservatively because they know they are being watched as they eat. Some people are not talking while they eat because they are too focused on being hungry. There are an abnormal number of people sitting down at the food court and talking instead of buying food and then sitting. I see janitors watch other people finish their food so they can clean the table for the next set of people. I see some people get food and leave because they do not have time to wait for a seat. I see people taking pictures. I see myself being looked at because I am observing everyone so intently.

All in all, my trip at the Galleria was way less eventful than I had thought it would be. There have been times where I have not gone as a sociologist and seen things such as fights break out, people in a dancing ring, and people caught stealing items. It just seems that the one time I use my sociological imagination, I only got to observe basic societal functions.

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Photographical Essay (photos in links)

The pictures you see before you are random images of “rich people” as Google would like to show. I have no prior knowledge as to what is happening in the photos and who these people are, I just chose these pictures because I would like to conduct an analysis on them. There are a number of common things I notice on each photo. One of which is that most of the people in each of these photos appears to be Caucasian males. I then looked up information to find out how many millionaires fit this criteria. I found that approximately 76% of people in 2013 were Caucasian males. This can explain why Google showed me these images when I searched this topic. Another thing I notice with these photos is that all of men in these photos are wearing some sort of suit. I think Google is trying to convey that “rich people” are a part of a group of people that want to appear luxurious or professional. Another thing I notice in each of these photos is that most of the individuals appear to be smiling. This could be due to the fact that society says that money can buy happiness. And then of course, rich people would be considered to be one happy few. The last thing I noticed with each picture is that they all appear to be drinking an alcoholic beverage. This is a stereotype that became popular in the 20th century. It goes hand in hand with the whole “luxury” idea that rich people tend to have. I find this odd because the richest people in the world such as Bill Gates (creator of Microsoft), Jeff Bezos (creator of Amazon), and Mark Zuckerberg (creator of Facebook), all tend to dress and act like “normal” people, while still being very influential people in today’s society.

The last picture I decided to do analysis on was a picture of a Trump rally. I do have prior knowledge of this picture such as, I know that this was taken in 2016, and I know who won the election, but that still won’t make me think any differently when I’m conducting sociological analysis. When I look at this photo, I see a mostly Caucasian audience who seem to be clapping for Trump. Taking what I know from research, most of Trump’s voters during the election were white people, even if he didn’t win the popular vote. I also see people wearing Trump merchandise and holding Trump posters. This signals their devotion as Trump supporters. I also see what people like to call the stereotype, “rednecks.” From what I have seen online, rednecks tend to wear camo/trucker gear, dress averagely, and can have the tendency to be overweight. As you can see from the bottom right and the top left portions of the photo, there are 2 people who fit the criteria for “redneck.”

Between both different topics of photos I chose, there are connections between the research I conducted and what you see in the photos that fit each criteria. You have to be careful not to be swayed though, because a lot of photos can be too stereotypical and promote propaganda to make the viewer have a certain opinion on the picture.

Works Cited

Research:

https://www.statista.com/statistics/300528/us-millionaires-race-ethnicity/

Images:

https://www.cnbc.com/2016/10/11/8-ways-rich-people-view-the-world-differently-than-the-average-person.html

https://nordic.businessinsider.com/a-man-who-studied-rich-people-for-5-years-found-there-are-3-aspects-of-etiquette-they-never-shirk-2017-2/

https://www.thesun.co.uk/living/2730687/these-are-the-very-simple-money-making-secrets-that-wealthy-people-swear-by-and-are-surprisingly-easy-to-follow/
https://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/donald-trump-scott-walker-hillary-clinton-iowa-120626

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With my last module, I want to talk about a topic that no one wants to speak on. That is the growing rate of depression among young people. Since 2014, people between the ages of 18 to 29 I have talked to numerous people about this subject, whether it be my mother, friends, or fellow students. The main thing I noticed talking about this subject, is that it is something that most people know a lot about, but are hesitant to speak about, which is understanding. Surprisingly, the people who seemed to be more open to talk about depression were my classmates that I hardly knew, which was odd.

When I spoke to my friends about this topic, they were very hesitant to speak about depression until one of us had brought up an example that maybe all of us had gone through. Even then, during our conversation, each of us seemed to have barriers put up between us. My friends would act completely abnormal when we had this discussion. For example, there would be a lack of eye contact, shuffling, and their voices would tend to increase in pitch. This was to naturally hide and blanket some of our feelings about the subject. And after we would be finished having this conversation, it would be awkward for days later when we would speak again, knowing that there was always some sort of elephant in the room.

When I decided to speak to my mom about depression, she immediately activated “mom mode,” which I like to say is something she does when she gets very defensive and protective for me. When I first brought the subject up, she immediately asked me all sorts of questions. These were questions like, “Are you feeling down?” or, “Do you need a professional to talk to?” These questions occurred without me ever bringing my own name into the conversation. I think this is something most parents would tend to do because depression is a shaky subject, especially with your children, because it is something that every parent hopes their child DOES NOT go through. Even though parents may be very defensive on this topic, I feel that most are okay to talking about this with their children, according to my research. I asked quite of few people who are my age if they had spoken to their parents about this topic and most said that their parents were very saddened to hear about it, but were very open to talk about it because they wanted them to feel comfortable.

I found it very odd that when I spoke to my classmates about depression, most were very open and almost relieved to talk to me about it. In fact, in my English 1301 class, we had an entire group discussion on depression with college students. As it turns out 8.3% of college students experience suicidal thoughts while 1% of students had attempted suicide. I think this statistic shows that many students in college can be experiencing depression, and almost feel relieved to talk about it with other students, because they know that they me going through the same struggles as you. Bear in mind, this statistic only shows students that have been vocal about suicide, not even counting the others who do not feel open telling strangers.

With all the discussions I had, I had actually gone into sociologist mode, and wrote a research paper on students who experience depression. I had found that over 40% of students had either depression or anxiety with at least 10% causing them to drop out of college. Overall, depression is a sad and scary topic to talk about because it can usually end very badly short term or long term. I’m just glad I was able to record some notes and talk to different categories of people.

Works Cited

https://www.childtrends.org/indicators/young-adult-depression

https://www.healthline.com/health/depression/college-students#1

https://www.csus.edu/aba/police/documents/depression-college-students.pdf

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I have learned numerous things on my journey with this course. It took me a while to be able to use my sociological perspective without being biased but now I think I have a sharp understanding on the subject. I think the most important thing in sociology that I learned was asking questions. This is important because not everything you see or hear is 100% correct. There is always a causation that is behind it. This can be used for any sociological topic such as, “Why are females still treated less equal in society?” or, “Is it true that the justice system has it out for minorities?” I think without asking questions sociology loses its meaning and then you are just an observer instead of a sociologist. With knowing that, examining everyday life sociologically is also extremely important. Throughout my time being in this course, I have passively started to ask sociological questions when I’m just doing my daily routine. When I am on campus, I start to analyze the people I walk by. This includes, if they are wearing a stylish outfit, listening to music, or generally have a poor attitude written on their face. Honestly, I do feel like I could have done a better job in semester with keeping up with the essential questions that were due during class and not trying to last minute some assignments. I think this will naturally get better with time though. I think the most important thing I learned with developing my sociological skills was to learn not to be biased. I think throughout the course, I have learned that everything has a deeper meaning and it’s important to look at both sides of things instead of just using your previous knowledge. When I think about Berger and other sociologist such as Max Weber, I realize they were almost the philosophers of sociology. I feel like Berger did a great job pioneering sociological theory and led the path for other sociologists. I feel like that made more people not so hesitant to ask questions without feeling bad about it. I think most people have been afraid to ask questions simply because they do not want to be judged for thinking outside the box. But that is what makes sociology so great, you get to ask the questions and find out certain truths while developing statistics in the process. Overall, sociology really made me become a better PERSON and a better researcher.