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".  

Work and Social Control (Feature)

"Billion Dollar Deals and How They Changed Your World", Episode 3: Work -- BBC, 2017, 58:37 -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bI5oFe6OsRs 

How does the power elite view their employees in 2017? First off, they remove the human element by calling them "performers" (as opposed to people) and are introducing technologies that further solidify a panoptical structure of control... This hour-long episode has shocking examples of economic and employment changes which are discussed in a corporate ideological framework. Technological impacts on education are discussed too. Concepts evident here include the work/life balance, the power elite, neoliberalism, panoptical surveillance, depersonalization, class struggle, and many more...

Available FREE for a limited time on YouTube. Original video link here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0990xks/billion-dollar-deals-and-how-they-changed-your-world-series-1-3-work

Countertops and Conspicuous Consumption

"How granite countertops took over American kitchens" -- Vox, 2017, 6:16 -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXyHRnDNH64

Expensive granite countertops are examined as a status symbol. In my apartment the countertops are cheap white laminate. While I don't necessarily care about them being low quality, whoever decided that white is a good color for countertops obviously never used their kitchen. I shouldn't have to deep bleach my counters after every little spill... Just sayin... 

(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.'

Operational Definitions: The Unemployment Rate

Why the "Unemployment Rate" is Flawed -- Adam Ruins Everything, 2017, 1:47 -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVaLmnUZOjQ

A good example of how important it is to be transparent with our categorical requirements. Much of what we would normally consider "unemployed" is not officially categorized as such in the US, and with the emerging dominance of the "gig economy", underemployed people are even more at risk of becoming invisible in the struggle for fair-paying, secure jobs. 

The Problem with White Middle-class Suburbs

"The Disturbing History of the Suburbs" -- Adam Ruins Everything, 2017, 6:19 -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETR9qrVS17g

Residential segregation, redlining, generational inequality, and the racial wealth gap...

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

Credentialism: Fake Degrees

Fake degrees: Exposing Canadians with phoney credentials (Marketplace) -- CBC, 2017, 22:26 -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHTg5zzFEKE

There is a claim made in here that half of new PhDs in the US are from fake instituions where one can purchase a degree without having to complete any work. Though I wish they investigated the process of getting one of these degrees a bit more thoroughly, this video does a good job highlighting the scope of this deceptive practice.  

The Social Construction of Age

Why do Koreans have two different ages? -- Quartz, 2017, 1:55 -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjwQxV4sBrg

The concepts of nominal age, lunar age, and East Asian age reckoning (Korean Age), and why our constructions of age depend on societal contexts.

Spiritual Robots for Funerals

A robot that can conduct Buddhist funerals -- Quartz, 2017, 1:26 -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGQQEO6oBOI

A short video briefly detailing how robots may be used in funerals. The discussions we can have here are endless and it would be interesting to explore this idea in class.

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.

Science, Intuition, Experience, and Tradition

Equipment Reviews: Best Cutting Boards -- America's Test Kitchen, 2013, 3:10 -- https://youtu.be/lPyhS2LX_Co

I've been looking for a way to incorporate America's Test Kitchen into my classes and believe their equipment reviews are an excellent example of competing sources of knowledge. 

From my own experience, every cutting board I've ever owned cracked and warped. Although I must admit I bought these cheap, experience would tell me to purchase the thickest, heaviest board available. My intuition tells me a different truth. If I was interested in purchasing a new cutting board, I would be attracted to the most vibrant colors and the sexiest design. Intuition also tells me that the most expensive board would be the best board. Tradition tells me a different truth as well. I can vaguely remember the cutting board my parent's owned and if I wanted traditional advice, I can call my parents and ask for their suggestion as to the best board. But a scientific approach to "the best cutting board" reveals a different truth than these former sources of knowledge. Gadget Guru Lisa McManus shows us her sample, method, and results from testing a variety of cutting boards, and the winner of this evidence-based approach differs from what my experience, intuition, and tradition would tell me. The best cutting board isn't the heaviest, sexiest, or most expensive, and the video above proves this with empirical data and methodological transparency. Another video that works with these 4 competing sources of truth is their review of collanders.     

Violent Protest in Charlottesville

Charlottesville: Race and Terror -- Vice News (HBO), 2017, 22:04 -- https://youtu.be/P54sP0Nlngg

With the start of the semester approaching in a national climate of civil unrest, many students may be keen to the recent events in Charlottesville and eager to learn more. This is a powerful (and potentially triggering) video where an embedded reporter gives us a captivating look at what happened-- the neo-nazi/KKK/alt-right provocateurs clashing with the counter protesters, the "accident" leading to the death of an ally, the heart wrenching aftermath, and the continued arrogance from the white supremacists who speak openly about their desire for genocide. The video provides no narration but proceeds in an organically engaging manner. It'll certainly spark a discussion and clarify how one side started the violence. Despite what our president claims, there were no nice guys among the white nationalists. Kudos to Elle Reeve (@elspethreeve) for an outstanding job capturing the event.

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.   

Colorism in Ancient Art

Marble Helped Scholars Whitewash Ancient History -- Vice News Tonight (HBO), 2017, 4:02 -- https://youtu.be/86PD8o6xe_4

I became so mad after I saw this news segment on the whitewashing of sculptures. I never knew these iconographic works of art were originally painted and I now feel duped by the numerous museums where these statues are preserved. If they were intended by their creators to be colorful, then they should be presented as such. This revealing clip speaks to the concepts of colorism, whitewashing, imagined communities, and the white racial frame (among others). I bet students may find this to be an awakening moment too. I certainly did!

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".