Sociology in Wall-E (2008)

"Wall-E as Sociological Story Telling" -- Pop Culture Detective, 2017, 15:25 -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1-vPQKwXbY

Video's Description: "Pixar’s Wall-E is a masterpiece of animated filmmaking about two adorable robots falling in love, though I’d argue it also serves as an excellent example of sociological storytelling. Social systems are one of the most important, and most misunderstood, concepts in my work on media and masculinity. So in this video essay I use Wall-E's Axiom star liner (and the board game Monopoly) to illustrate how social systems operate in our culture".  

(Toxic) Masculinity and Disney Princes

"After Hours - Why Disney Princes Are Bad Role Models For Boys" -- Cracked, 2017, 9:31 -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYBeG7PxEiE

Disney teaches men: (1) They don't need to have personalities; (2) The only motivation you need in life is to "get the girl"; (3) The girl likes your privileged status as a prince rather than who you really are; (4) Be aggressive when it comes to making a move (lie, stalk, pressure them, etc.). 

Video's Description: There are plenty of discussions out there about who the best Disney Princess is, but let's have an honest conversation about who the best Prince is and which one you would want to date. Or, you know, at least who the best is out of Beast from Beauty and the Beast, Prince Charming, Simba, Aladdin, and the one from 'Little Mermaid.'

Facebook, The Benevolent Overlord

How Facebook is Changing Your Internet – The New York Times, 2017, 9:50 -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cR_XVGemAnw

We need to have a serious discussion on Internet authority and control. As Facebook has become a geopolitical force in this neoliberal era, it is disturbing to learn how much influence the business has garnered in every sphere imaginable. This is a good example of the reach of the corporate giant which raises some unsettling possibilities, chiefly “Digital Colonialism” and information control.

You can read more about this issue here: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/17/technology/facebook-government-regulations.html?_r=1

When Facts Don’t Work

Why fact checking can’t stop Trump’s lies -- Vox, 2017, 7:10 -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8DQ2kseTWw

Are humans rational thinkers? If so, then why do some people continue to hold false beliefs in the face of overwhelming proof against such beliefs? There’s a high cost to accepting evidence that contradicts our thinking, though this cost is much higher in the political field than in the scientific field. It turns out we all want to preserve our sense of self when presented with challenging information. Furthermore, the modern-day news media exacerbates this problem by frequently airing misinformation from politically-motivated parties. Even if such misinformation is later scrutinized on air, it may have already done irreversible damage since the people who have come to believe it will are now psychologically incentivized to combat countering evidence.

Doing Gender in Selfies

Why men and women take selfies differently -- Quartz, 2017, 4:17 -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jC6mR7g7ES4

An interesting example of how masculinity and femininity are found in taking selfies. Men look down at the camera (signaling dominance) while women look up to appeal to men. There's a brief discussion of online dating data as well. A downfall of this video is the interpretation based in evolutionary theory, rather than sociology.

The Music Doesn't Matter

Popstar Factory -- Vice News Tonight (HBO), 2017, 6:14 -- https://youtu.be/avp4a-WKIRU?t=16m43s

Capitalism has a peculiar way of stripping meaning from cultural arts. Here we see a rationalized process to produce musical icons where the music is the least important thing. It's almost genius-- if you can build up enough buzz around a "product" by appealing to popular trends (i.e., tennis, genderless) then you're likely to make a profit from merchandising and the initial hype. 

Max Weber would lose it if he saw this. The dream of becoming a popstar is now disenchanted and the popstars themselves are now trapped in the iron cage.   

Aspirational Lifestyles

How TV Ruined Your Life: Aspiration (Episode 3) -- BBC, 2011, 29:19 -- https://youtu.be/tNGK9ni4aSY

It's a shame Americans don't know about Charlie Brooker aside from his Black Mirror series on Netflix. But this sociological critique of aspirational imagery in the media is brilliant, hilarious, and is certainly understandable to an American audience. This episode brings up concepts such as social class, status symbols, conspicuous consumption, and focuses on how the false consciousness a la media creates misery in our lives. Television socializes us to become obsessed with the perverted rat race of opulence, celebrity, and unrealistic standards of beauty. We now aspire to a way of life manufactured by the media and have seemingly forgotten how fabricated such an ideal is. 

Subcultural Tastes

Why people keep watching the worst movie ever made -- Vox, 2017, 5:32 -- https://youtu.be/k27mr6p-yhY

Big shout out to Vox @Voxdotcom for explicitly incorporating a major sociological concept, cultural capital, into their video on fans of “trash cinema”. It’s a good example of subcultures and while there is lots of subjectivity here, the idea of having a good taste in bad taste should make for an interesting discussion. I wonder what John Waters would think…

Falsifiability & Karl Popper

Why You Can Never Argue with Conspiracy Theorists (Argument Clinic, Episode 4) -- Wired, 2017, 4:11 -- https://youtu.be/3kJp8as4fE4

A hypothesis must be able to be proven wrong in order to be suitable for logical and scientific inquiry. Conspiracy theorists tend to advance non-falsifiable arguments resulting in no amount of evidence being able to sway their (often ridiculous) stance. In the words of Shaquille O'Neal, "I drove from coast to coast and that shit looked flat to me”.

Cultural Cuteness

"How a melancholy egg yolk conquered Japan" -- Vox, 2017, 4:30 -- https://youtu.be/CTAnJTB9roI

What do we consider to be "cute" in the United States? How do other societies define cuteness? Say hello to Gudetama, an adorably exhausted egg yolk and an interesting example of cultural associations of cuteness (with a nice bit on historical context as well).

From Vox: "When you think about the cuteness culture in Japan, the word “kawaii” comes to mind. The word, which signals more of a childlike sense of cute, came about in the 70s and it’s been used globally ever since. And Sanrio, the company that created Hello Kitty, has built an empire around the “kawaii” culture. Cuteness is a reaction. In Japan, the kawaii culture and concept is often linked to the country’s post-WWII years. The idea is that, because of its trauma and defeat, the country leaned into its vulnerability. Decades later— Sanrio’s new face of kawaii is an egg yolk with depression, questioning life".

Impression Management and Bill O'Reilly: "DO IT LIVE!"

Bill O'Reilly: "F*** It! Do It Live!" -- Inside Edition, 1989-1995, 1:35 -- https://youtu.be/Qy-Y3HJNU_s

A timeless example of impression management, the managed self, and front-stage/back-stage behavior. My favorite part of this tantrum is 1:18 when he momentarily snaps back into a composed impression. In 5, 4, 3, ... 

The Pepsi Ad and Social Protest

Yesterday on the Internet: The Pepsi Ad -- Vice News Tonight (HBO), 2017, 3:00 -- https://youtu.be/VyIqsVkJtx0

A hilarious satire on the recent Pepsi advertisement which appropriated social movements. It is important to remember the terrible violence and unrest protesters often face that is notably absent from the ad. 

Cable News and Politics

"How should the media cover a White House that isn't afraid to lie?" -- Vox, 2017, 5:20 -- https://youtu.be/Hlk3TBJdWwE 

We need to be more critical of the media in this new post-truth era, especially since they have played a large role in bringing about the current quixotic news environment. This video from Vox's sex symbol Carlos Maza raises an insightful and thought-provoking challenge to the media which involves reformulating how cable news disseminates government "facts" (or propoganda). 

Measuring Gender Bias in Movies

Google-backed AI Measures Gender Bias in Movies -- The Verge, 2017, 2:36 -- https://youtu.be/jsVZSUIv_iI

Artificial intelligence (AI) is being used to measure speaking time on screen between male and female characters. Results indicate that men get significantly more lines than women. For example, if looking at just the 2016 Oscar-nominated films, men speak 73% of the time and women 27%. This is similar to the Bechdel-Wallace Test to measure gender bias, which asks three questions: (1) Does the film contain at least two named female characters (2) who talk to each other (3) about something other than a man? Less than 60% of films pass the Bechdel Test.

Porn Sex vs Real Sex

Porn Sex vs Real Sex: The Difference Explained with Food -- KornHaberBrown, 2013, 1:37 -- https://youtu.be/q64hTNEj6KQ

Great stats on how our idealized and unrealistic view of "normal" sex compares to reality. This video does a good job on provoking audience reaction using gastronomic images. While some may see this as perhaps inappropriate for the classroom, I believe this video dispels misconceptions about sex in an edgy educative manner in line with a sex-positive ideal.

Science in Film

The Hotline Hollywood Calls for Science Advice -- Vox, 2017, 5:42 -- https://youtu.be/rXMQuHmh-3w

How accurately is science represented in popular film and television? This short video explores an organization dedicated to providing accurate scientific information to movie makers. While it would be nice if they touched a bit more on social science, we see here issues related to scientific representation and valid facts. There's an excellent bit on implicit biases as well. 

China's Rich Girls

China's Rich Girls (101 East) -- Al Jazeera, 2017, 25:40 -- https://youtu.be/MFJBgsr939c

A video detailing the extravagant lives of wealthy young Chinese women living in Canada. The main theme here is the conspicuous consumption of status symbols made possible by being born into a family of high socioeconomic status. This can also be seen through a dramaturgical perspective as staging behavior is rather prominent here, especially surrounding their image online and on television. 

Hollywood Whitewashing

Whitewashing: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver -- HBO, 2016, 4:37 -- https://youtu.be/XebG4TO_xss

A comical look at whitewashing in Hollywood, a phenomenon where white actors are cast for non-white roles. While more of a discussion on the social impacts of the practice would be good to have with a class, we see just how pervasive this practice is.

Russell Brand and Marxism

Charlie Brooker's Weekly Wipe -- BBC, 2015, 4:11 -- https://youtu.be/DEjbFBmRgHA

A brilliant satire on comedian Russell Brand's communist/socialist politics. Students generally recognize Brand (formerly married to singer Katy Perry) and although this is humorous marxist rhetoric, it is nevertheless true. In the Truevolution episodes, Brand analyzes commercials (aka "mind control pellets") demonstrating how they preserve the status quo of inequality and social oppression. The language used here is particularly impressive and serves as a fine example of the conflict perspective applied to everyday life. 

Introduction-- https://youtu.be/anc51ErPBxg?t=2m47s
Truevolution 1 (commercials & Ikea): https://youtu.be/bSmP4q3oQ6c?t=18m22s
Truevolution 2 (kids shows): https://youtu.be/3An8mzU1HGE?t=9m40s
Russell Brand as Prime Minister: https://youtu.be/EKDKt0lh3Y0

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0520y52

The Collective Shaming of Deviance on Benefits Street

Charlie Brooker's Weekly Wipe -- BBC, 2014, 6:26 -- https://youtu.be/JkrX5J73Vi4

This is a humorous example from the UK of the functional role of deviant behavior. We see society come together to shame those receiving benefits from the state (known as welfare in the US). This is also an insightful example of how deviants are exploited for entertainment and ridicule. "Poverty porn" would be a good term to discuss in addition to the many sociological concepts evident in the clip.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03qgvsc