The following blog post will discuss the sociological and cultural perspectives present in cultural products including videos, memes, and political cartoons. The topics addressed will be the impact of neighborhood socioeconomic status on the quality of public schools, mental disorders and illnesses, and the debate on gun control.
The Impact of Neighborhood Socioeconomic Status on the Quality of Public Schools Displayed Through Video
The following video discusses the disparity amongst public education systems as a result of varying neighborhood socioeconomic statuses. The first video, "A Tale of Two Schools," interviews two high schools students about their respective high schools. One student, Jackson Langford, attends McLean High School in Mclean, Virginia, while the other student, Cedrick Forte, attends Heritage High School in Baltimore, Maryland. It becomes apparent after both students are interviewed that there is a significant difference between the two public schools. McLean High School offers several advanced placement courses along with leadership building classes. It also contains a production studio for filming and recording, a large auditorium with a light and sound system, and an observatory. Heritage High School offers fewer and more general courses in which teachers must purchase school supplies for their classes because the school does not have the funding to provide them. The school's entrance contains a metal detector, and the walls, graffiti that has been painted over. Jackson Langford of McLean High describes in the video how it is difficult to find parking at his school in the morning because it is so crowded, indicating that a lot of students have their own cars and drive to school. On the other hand, Cedrick Forte of Heritage High School exclaims that some students have to ride two to three buses and a subway to get to school in the morning, and mentions how the school should compensate for travel if the commute to school is that long for some students; indicating that money is of concern for students.
PBS.org gives some insights into how public schools receive funding. It states that public schools' funding comes from "sales and income taxes (both corporate and personal). But on a local level, these funds usually come from property taxes, which are set by the school board, local officials or citizens. It’s this system that causes the most dramatic differences between states, and even within districts. Depending on the property wealth of a community, its schools might boast gleaming buildings and equipment, or they might be dilapidated – struggling with the burden of outdated equipment and unpaid bills." This points to the structural perspective presented in the video above. Finally, Deborah M. Keisch and Tim Scott point out in their study "U.S. Education Reform and the Maintenance of White Supremacy through Structural Violence," that the disparity that exists amongst the quality of schools in the public education system, disproportionately impacts students of color and can be considered a form of structural violence. Structural violence "refers to systematic ways in which social structures harm or otherwise disadvantage individuals." Therefore, this study makes clear, the larger sociological problem at hand with regard to the structural violence underlying the disparity in the quality of public schools in the U.S. education system.
Mental Disorders and Illnesses Depicted by Memes and Cartoons
Finally, this meme does not contain a structural or sociological perspective, but it does point to the ignorance present in many parts of society with regard to mental illness. A structural perspective could be added if there was some context provided as to who made this meme, what its viewership is, and how institutionally these two groups impact children with autism. This information could elucidate in what populations and under what circumstances there are prejudicial attitudes towards those with mental disorders and how this ignorance can be addressed in institutions such as education.
The Gun Control Debate Depicted by Political Cartoons
Finally, this cartoon serves to make the argument that if semi-automatic weapons are banned, people will be ill-equipped in defending their homes against invasion because trespassers will still acquire these weapons illegally. This cartoon does represent a structural problem and it could be argued that sociologically, those who own homes (families and individuals) are the ones who would be negatively impacted by such a policy change. However, the only way to know is to reference research. The follow literature review titled "Would Banning Firearms Reduce Murder and Suicide?" published by the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy discusses this topic in depth if you are interested.
The above cartoons and memes do not tell us whether or not their arguments or statements are based on research and some lack a sociological perspective altogether. Therefore, I believe it is important that these cartoons and other cultural products be supplemented with evidence based on research.
Being that these are political cartoons and memes, they inherently take a stance and therefore contain bias. However, I believe that the arguments present in these cultural products would be much stronger if they were supported by or more distinctly pointed to facts rather than just opinions. I suppose it goes to show that memes and political cartoons are more often used as a means of expressing one's opinion without evidence, whereas videos can express these same opinions while providing the evidence for them at the same time. Therefore, I feel that videos are a more useful cultural product for disseminating popular media containing sociological and structural perspectives, because these perspectives can be justified with evidence based on research and not opinions alone.
The Impact of Neighborhood Socioeconomic Status on the Quality of Public Schools Displayed Through Video
The following video discusses the disparity amongst public education systems as a result of varying neighborhood socioeconomic statuses. The first video, "A Tale of Two Schools," interviews two high schools students about their respective high schools. One student, Jackson Langford, attends McLean High School in Mclean, Virginia, while the other student, Cedrick Forte, attends Heritage High School in Baltimore, Maryland. It becomes apparent after both students are interviewed that there is a significant difference between the two public schools. McLean High School offers several advanced placement courses along with leadership building classes. It also contains a production studio for filming and recording, a large auditorium with a light and sound system, and an observatory. Heritage High School offers fewer and more general courses in which teachers must purchase school supplies for their classes because the school does not have the funding to provide them. The school's entrance contains a metal detector, and the walls, graffiti that has been painted over. Jackson Langford of McLean High describes in the video how it is difficult to find parking at his school in the morning because it is so crowded, indicating that a lot of students have their own cars and drive to school. On the other hand, Cedrick Forte of Heritage High School exclaims that some students have to ride two to three buses and a subway to get to school in the morning, and mentions how the school should compensate for travel if the commute to school is that long for some students; indicating that money is of concern for students.
PBS.org gives some insights into how public schools receive funding. It states that public schools' funding comes from "sales and income taxes (both corporate and personal). But on a local level, these funds usually come from property taxes, which are set by the school board, local officials or citizens. It’s this system that causes the most dramatic differences between states, and even within districts. Depending on the property wealth of a community, its schools might boast gleaming buildings and equipment, or they might be dilapidated – struggling with the burden of outdated equipment and unpaid bills." This points to the structural perspective presented in the video above. Finally, Deborah M. Keisch and Tim Scott point out in their study "U.S. Education Reform and the Maintenance of White Supremacy through Structural Violence," that the disparity that exists amongst the quality of schools in the public education system, disproportionately impacts students of color and can be considered a form of structural violence. Structural violence "refers to systematic ways in which social structures harm or otherwise disadvantage individuals." Therefore, this study makes clear, the larger sociological problem at hand with regard to the structural violence underlying the disparity in the quality of public schools in the U.S. education system.
Mental Disorders and Illnesses Depicted by Memes and Cartoons
In a sense, there is a structural perspective present in this meme. It represents the increased medicalization of mental disorders by medical institutions in today's society. I suppose it also draws attention to the fine line between diagnosing a child that, for example, is easily distracted (due to problems at home) and a child that suffers from ADHD or other mental disorders.
There is a sociological perspective present in this cartoon. It depicts how the institution of family can negatively impact those suffering from mental illness, because they will purposely avoid living near these individuals as a result of their ignorant or prejudiced views. It is possible that further research on this topic would yield results revealing some kind of structural violence impacting individuals with mental disorders/illnesses' ability to find adequate and affordable housing.
The Gun Control Debate Depicted by Political Cartoons
There is a structural perspective present in this political cartoon, but not a sociological one. Structurally, it depicts the contention between republicans (the elephant) and democrats (the donkey) surrounding an individual's rights, protected by the Bill of Rights. The contention is rooted in republicans' opposition to the war on guns and democrats' opposition to the war on drugs. This is because republicans for the large part advocate for the protection of an individual's second amendment right, the right to bear arms, and democrats generally advocate for the protection of an individual's fourth amendment right, which is argued to be one's right to privacy.
A sociological perspective would inform the viewer of this cartoon which groups of people in society (demographically) are being directly impacted by the presence of guns and drugs in society and how they are being impacted; whether it be negatively or positively. A sociological perspective might also include how certain institutions present in society are responsible for the positive and negative impacts of both guns and drugs. If a sociological perspective were present, it would further inform the structural debate that is taking place between the republicans and democrats depicted in this cartoon.
This cartoon references a phenomenon that occurs in society, namely rising gun violence. It also provides an ironic solution to this structural problem. However, this cartoon does not provide us with any sociological context because it does not reference any of the individuals impacted by gun violence or any of the institutions that impact its perpetuation or eradication. A sociological perspective would give this cartoon more context by supplementing the viewers with information regarding who is affected by rising gun violence and what institutions are involved in perpetuating and combatting this societal issue.
Finally, this cartoon serves to make the argument that if semi-automatic weapons are banned, people will be ill-equipped in defending their homes against invasion because trespassers will still acquire these weapons illegally. This cartoon does represent a structural problem and it could be argued that sociologically, those who own homes (families and individuals) are the ones who would be negatively impacted by such a policy change. However, the only way to know is to reference research. The follow literature review titled "Would Banning Firearms Reduce Murder and Suicide?" published by the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy discusses this topic in depth if you are interested.
The above cartoons and memes do not tell us whether or not their arguments or statements are based on research and some lack a sociological perspective altogether. Therefore, I believe it is important that these cartoons and other cultural products be supplemented with evidence based on research.
Being that these are political cartoons and memes, they inherently take a stance and therefore contain bias. However, I believe that the arguments present in these cultural products would be much stronger if they were supported by or more distinctly pointed to facts rather than just opinions. I suppose it goes to show that memes and political cartoons are more often used as a means of expressing one's opinion without evidence, whereas videos can express these same opinions while providing the evidence for them at the same time. Therefore, I feel that videos are a more useful cultural product for disseminating popular media containing sociological and structural perspectives, because these perspectives can be justified with evidence based on research and not opinions alone.
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