Vice News Tonight on HBO -- Vice Media, 2016, 2:09 -- https://youtu.be/EjkWpu9JvS0
A short clip detailing how companies can exclude racial and ethnic minority groups from seeing their advertisements on Facebook. Pardon the quality here as the original source has not uploaded the video to YouTube... yet... (but they totally should!).
Max Weber would have a fit if he saw this for here we see the iron cage of rationality applied to the home. WeWork is a company which applied McDonaldization to the work/office space and now is branching out into the home/apartment market with WeLive. The residents- in this rationally-ordered "commune" seem to view domestic life as just another burden best taken care of by some dispassionate expert. The goal seems to be a aimed at creating a maximum-efficiency environment where one can fully and completely devote their energies to their work. For $4,875 per month you can enjoy a dorm-like environment where your physical space and living schedule has been planned in a manner that can be called "the WeWork circle of life".
Here is a frightful manifestation of broken windows policing taken to the extreme. We see a police force largely composed of non-natives to the city set up a panoptical surveillance system in an attempt to combat crime. The city's residents, who were alienated from the decision-making process here, feel as if their community has been invaded by this new police force. Although the crime rate drops slightly, is it worth the social damage to the community?
“Camden, New Jersey is one of the poorest and most drug-ridden cities in the country; its murder rate is 12 times the national average. In 2011, the city cut its police force almost in half, with nearly 80,000 residents regularly being policed by 12 cops at a time. The state stepped in to overhaul the department, introducing an experimental “Metro” security apparatus equipped with futuristic technologies like gunshot detecting, triangulation microphones, and automatic license-plate readers. As similar surveillance systems are implemented across the country, Vikram Gandhi went to Camden to see how these tactics are working, how residents feel about their loss of privacy, and what the future of policing looks like.”
A look at the price differences between men's and women's items in Walmart, Target, and Hudson's Bay. Spoiler-- Women pay more across the board (this has been called a Pink Tax). We also get to see a marketing team create fictional gendered toothpaste and are given information as to how we can combat gender price discrimination. Although this video is from Canada it touches on New York City's legislation barring such discrimination. Yet laws can't solve this issue alone as a 2015 study from the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs found that, on average, women's products were 7% more expensive than similar products for men. This more recent study is discussed in another short video from CBS News.
From the show Adam Ruins Everything, this video explores the xenophobic origins of US marijuana laws and briefly touches on the political rationale behind the War on Drugs.
This fascinating video asks a question ripe for sociological analysis-- Why do we accept structural or institutional surveillance but reject individual surveillance? Are they not the same thing? In an age where cameras are ubiquitous this issue lends itself to a discussion students find engaging and meaningful. You can use this to discuss levels of analysis (institutions vs individuals), power and social control (active vs. passive surveillance), the law's ability to keep pace with technological development (personal drones, for instance), and much more...
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
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
An example of how the social class system and status symbols can be found in pop culture.
Pro-Tips: (1) Show your class the original Grey Poupon commercial before this video; (2) Buy a jar of Grey Poupon and some popsicle sticks (or small spoons) so your students can taste the opulence.
A humorous look into how modern American men negotiate the pressures of the masculine ideal. We get an outsider perspective here too as the host is from the UK. Jump to 6:09 to see what a biological determinist thinks of sociology. If you want to take this a step further with your class, analyze the comments left on this video's YouTube page. For some reason, men do not react well when their gender identity is discussed outside of the traditional macho-man context. For in the words of one particular commenter, it is the "pussification of our dignity" ...