Sociological Consciousness in Sociological Debunking - Assignment Example

?Mills People in the United s tend to think of the operations in the society in personal terms because of their thinking that many issues and problems in the society can be addressed personally by the people own because the social setting was directly open only to their personal experience. Mills even indicated that upper-class people rely on solving problems of the society by providing their personal solutions. They think of these as “personal troubles” which make them think that they have to resolve these on their own even if this does not solve the operations of the society. Mills 2 When we view things on a sociological perspective, we will find out that much of what we see are interlinked or interconnected to each other and this cannot just be solved by personal milieu. Being aware and knowledgeable of our society and its structure can help us become sensible of the fact that we do not exist for ourselves; we do have problems shared by other members of the society on which we cannot resolve by own. There can be no liabilities being sociologically aware because existence of a human being is greatly affected by the society and not only by himself. Mills 3 According to Mills, through sociological imagination, men now became aware of what is going on with world as well as what is happening to their selves in relation to the society they belong. Men now become self-conscious on which they now analyze and assess what is going on with the society and his existence and they try to make summaries and conclusion or what we call facts by through social analysis. Berger 1 People can be said to have the tendency to take their own way of life for granted. This is because there are some people in any given society who do care about anything else but themselves. They are those who play the game always on a safety zone and do not care whether their own actions have any effect on others. These people are those who have no curiosity at all and prefer to believe what they were taught. This is taking life for granted because they have no sense of responsibility but of themselves whether they are affected by others or can affect others. Berger 2 Berger presents that the world is not always what it seems. Social reality always has different layers of meaning and thus there is a need to find out these layers. It is only through sociology that we understand how and why changes happen in our world. Through people who love to “see through things” and “look behind them”, we are able to explain different things happening to us and make everything clearer. Berger 3 It can be said that sociological consciousness is involved in sociological debunking. It will take all the time and efforts in studying the social systems through the roots of methods and not based on psychology. According to Berger, the unmasking of the propagandas and pretentions of the society built and created by people will lead to either disturbance or resistance of people to the newly discovered social reality. Some may experience the culture shocks especially if they did not expect things to happen their way. However, despite this, they will be compelled to open their existence to the newly unmasked social reality. Truman 1 According to C. Wright Mills, a person can become sociologically aware of its relation to the structure of society he belongs when he begin to realize that his problems are also experienced if not shared by other members of the society. Truman began to see himself relative to his society when there was a shake in the status quo of Seahaven. He never questioned his existence until the society he lived in experienced changes which he did not expect to happen and which do not belong to the routine of his daily life. He began to realize that what he expected as normal was not normal after all. The people in his society did not experience the same guts and thoughts he had which made him see himself as different from them and that started to build his curiosity and strength to find himself and people which may share the same experience as him. Truman 2 It can be said that the main issue that troubled Truman was the urge to find Sylvia who he loves and who gave him the hint that he has to find her and free himself from what he’s been into. Since then, he never stopped trying to find a way to look for her and wanted to go outside the society he is living. This urge and curiosity grew stronger with everything’s going against what he wanted. According to Mills, issues can transcend from the inner life of the person. It becomes a public issue if this will threaten a certain value of the society. In the case of Truman, it was not really a public issue per se because there was nothing in the society that is being threatened by his will to go outside the place and find the love of his life. Instead, it becomes one when we talk about the society of actors and actresses protecting the show because Truman’s urge is a big threat to the show and to each of their careers. Truman 3 When Truman became aware that he was being watched and that everything in the society is choreographed, his will to find a way to get out of the society grew stronger. He did not think of what’s going to happen next, instead, he just tried to act out of the ordinary. He went out of his box and acted against what he usually does since he was born. He tried to convince his wife Meryl to leave everything they have in Seahaven and even proved to her that everything in their place was carefully choreographed and in routine. He tried to escape from the place, but everything was going against his plan. There was no available flight to Fiji and the bus he rode was not able to travel to Chicago. When he chose to drive himself and his wife using their car, there were a lot of challenges along the way such as the forest fire and the nuclear issue. Truman 4 According to Berger, the term “culture shock” is used by the anthropologist to describe an impact to a person of a totally new culture. This impact is said to have not only cause disgust and disapproval but also excitement about the new discovery. Berger describe sociological discovery like a culture shock less the geographical displacement. According to him, not all of these sociological discoveries pertain to shock in moral sentiment; this also includes the sudden discovery about a certain aspect of human existence. Truman 5 If it wasn’t for the unexpected things that happened and shook the routine life of Truman, he would never realize that everything in the society was carefully following the same routine and time every day. These unexpected things that happened developed a culture shock to Truman because he had never expected such discoveries in the elevator, meeting his “dead” dad, and other out of the ordinary things that he experienced in Seahaven. Because of these things, he started to question the reality of his existence and the society. He was able to realize that the morning greetings of his neighbours, the dog, the daily routine of the woman wearing red and riding a bike, as well as the man holding flowers and a beetle car happen every day of his life. Truman 6 Truth in society can be described as what is being concurred and what people chose to believe in. People usually believe in these truths if they acquired proofs and experiences that will give them the reason to interpret these as something true. People learn these truths in the society they live and the people they live with. However, it can be said that this can sometimes be subjective as there already exist biases that twisted and sculpted the facts to fit the sociological culture. Truman 7 There was a shock at first in Truman’s sociological discoveries. Because of these discoveries, he had the urge to review each situation that happened to him in the past that might help him connect the dots and answer his questions. After which, his curiosity and will to discover the answers to his questions grew stronger which led him to find the end and the truth. Truman 8 The Truman show can be said to challenge the truth about the everyday life of each person. Because of this film, it opens the thought of the society that there is a possibility that what they believe as reality might just be a big choreographed society controlled by some people or just a big television show after all. In short, this film poses the question of truth and reality of the society and the culture they have. It challenges the truth about the kind of society a person belongs, whether that would be only society they can have or there are other life somewhere out there. Truman 9 According to Berger, people must stay away from sociology if they like to avoid shocking discoveries, if they have no curiosity about human beings and are contented about what they have and what they see without wondering about the people, the culture and the society. On the other hand, those who love to look beyond what is commonly accepted and wanted to understand things and how human works will certainly enjoy sociology. Truman 10 According to Mills, being a sociologist is being an activist on which a certain person wanted a change in the world even in a little way especially after realizing that not all people have the same experiences as he had. Like Truman, after finding out that he was different and there was something different in his society, that people weren’t like him and didn’t have the urge to try life outside their place, he wanted to find answers to his questions. Berger, described a sociologist as someone who is not afraid to discover the truths and the answers to the unexpected things that happen to human beings and the society. Like Truman, after learning that the truth about his society and his existence, he did not just believe on what the people taught him to believe, instead he looked and searched for the truth by himself. Truman 11 C. Wright Mills refer to “sociological imagination” as one of the most outspoken activists which encouraged collective action to change the world in some way. Berger’s “invitation to sociology” taught that things in the world are no longer what they seem. Both of these concepts talk about making a difference or trying to find answers to the different things happening in the world. They talk about sociologists who don’t believe on what i being fed on them, instead try to find the truth and answers by themselves. Truman 12 I can say that most of my world was already filled in with “truths” that the society and the people around me created. The cultures and values were already set and there were already ample lists of dos and don’ts. However, as I grow up, I learned to defy and oppose some of these “truths” and values that were set both intentionally and unintentionally. Thus, I can say that even if my world is mostly created for me, I am already starting to define my own truth and build the world that I want. Read More