Conformity and Deviance Theories of Sociology in the Comedy Named Go - Assignment Example

 Conformity and Deviance Theories of Sociology in the Comedy Named Go Conformity and deviance theories of sociology are relevant in contemporary society as they help understand human behavior and restrictions that influence the how of certain activities and decisions are conducted. The theories depict how society frequently conform or deviate from the expected norms due to social advancements and status as exemplified in the film in "GO". In contemporary society like the one that the film is staged, deviance is any behavior in an individual that violates social norms, and is usually of enough severity to warrant disapproval or condemnation from the majority of persons in the society. Deviance can either be criminal or non‐criminal. On the other hand, conformity is an alteration in behavior in an individual due to the imagined or real influence of others. The idea of deviance is complicated since norms vary considerably across times, groups, and places. This is to say, what one group may consider acceptable; another may consider deviant. Conforming behavior is one which obeys the rule, and others recognize as following the rule. In other words, the good behaviors that are considerable in a societal set up. The theories The issues of deviance versus conformity are very essential in understanding the individual behavior and how the society operates. It becomes relevant whenever an individual must decide between doing and not doing the expectation of the society. There are hence various theories that are tied to the theories of conformity and deviance such as social control, conflict theory, and labeling theory. These are the theories that give the behaviors of various characters in the film “Go “. The comedy film “Go” told from three perspectives, it is a comedy of a group of young Californians trying to obtain some cash, deal and do some drugs, score money and sex in Las Vegas, and mostly experience the rush of life. 'Go' comedy film is set generally during one Christmas Eve in the view and lives of a bunch of young adults on the scenarios surrounding a drug deal and engagements in Los Angeles repeated three various times from three different opinions. In narrowing down to the deviance theory, labeling theory is on the theory that can help explain individual’s behavior in a social set up. Labeling theory, according to Becker shows how the behavior and self-identity of individuals may be influenced or determined by the terms used to classify or describe them. Becker goes ahead to state that labeling theory embraces the view that deviance is not inherent in a deed, but instead emphasizes on the trend of majorities to negatively label minorities or those individuals seen as deviant from expected standard cultural norms (p., 41 Adler & Adler, 2012). Furthermore, labeling theory stresses the view that deviance is rather a relative term. Under this perception, individuals become deviant not due to of the act itself, but how various react to that action. Such behavior is depicted in the play in the character of Ronna. Ronna has been labeled by Simon, who they work with as desperate and allows her use his shift to enable her pay rent. This makes her eventually deal in drugs. The second theory is social control theory, and it argues that commitments, relationships, values, and beliefs of a group or society encourage conformity. According to Foucault’s Social control theory individuals, responsibilities, relationships, values, beliefs and norms encourage these people not to break the law. Hence, if moral ethics is internalized and individuals are tied into, and have a role in their broad community, they may voluntarily lower their propensity to commit deviant deeds. Foucaults also refers to it as the capacity of a given social group to regulate itself (p., 11 Adler & Adler, 2012). Social control has been referred to the way in which entire social order maintains and coheres itself- how society operates as a whole as a changing equilibrium. In the film ‘Go’, the character Ronna clearly portrays this theory because despite the fact that she needed money to pay her rent and took Simon’s shift at work, when Adam and his friend Zack went to her to get them ecstasy, from the urge of making more money she goes to Todd. Fortunately, when she’s just about to give the drugs to Adam, Burke shows up and presses her to give up the ecstasy and from the pressure, she ends up flushing the drugs and exchanging them with aspirin pills. This was more so due to the fact that she felt the urge not to break the law and also for the fear of being imprisoned for possession of drugs. The next social theory that is very important in developing a person’s behavior is the conflict theory. Quinneys in her conflict theory explains that the social order is held not by conformity and consensus but rather by power and domination. Those with power hold on to it and thus suppress the powerless. In this theory Quinneys emphasizes that deviant behaviors are as a result of influences from social groups which are due to the disparities in stratification either materially, politically or socially (p., 51 Adler & Adler, 2012). This theory explains that some people conform to doing the wrong things simply because of the inequalities that life presents them with. Most people end up behaving in a mob way without caring about the repercussions of the activities they participate in. In film ‘Go’, the characters Ronna, Claire, and Mannie are true definitions of social conflict theory. This is evident from the fact that Ronna is pushed to the wall to get into the drug deal with Adam and Zack and this makes her put her friend Claire in a fix when she leaves her at Todd’s since she did not have the cash to pay for the ecstasy. At the same time, she risks being caught by Burke, the policeman who had a deal with Adam and Zack to present to him the drug dealer. In this event, Ronna ends up being hit by a vehicle and ends up in the hospital. Claire, on the other hand, gets busted while making out with Todd and runs out of the house. Mannie is just saved from the parking lot by her friends after the ecstasy she took got a better part of her leaving her shaken and pale. All this happens because of Ronna’s need for money and her friends push by the aspect of social pressure. They got into a deal without taking note of the consequences. In conclusion, it is worth noting that conformity and deviance are critical in shaping an individual’s life. The sociological theories of labeling, social control, and social conflict are also important when trying to understand the different situations that lead people to behave in different ways. From the characters in the play, we can say that Ronna behaved in the way she did because of lack of money and also the pressure she faced socially. Her friends also just wanting to be part of the group played along and ended up in the situations they found themselves in. It was not by choice but the pressure of the various factors at hand. Therefore, for one to make a judgment of another person’s behavior, all factors affecting their decisions must be considered. The comedy film ‘Go’ provides a clear channel through which various sociology issues can be comprehended through its plot critical analysis and the characters. The film Go exemplifies, Beckers Labeling theory, Quinneys Conflict Theory and Foucaults notions of social control. Reference Adler, P. A., & Adler, P. (2012). Constructions of deviance: Social power, context, and interaction. Australia: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. Read More