Eva (Peron! Peron!)

I didn't realize it the first time watching, but Evita is filled with examples of collective behavior. Evita examines the life of Eva Duarte (who later becomes Eva Peron after marrying Juan Peron) and her journey from her childhood in the lower class to her rise to power as the first lady of Argentina. Eva Peron is most known for her campaign for women's suffrage, her support for labor groups, and the organization of a welfare program that benefited the lower classes. Although Eva Peron was respected and very popular among the people of Argentina, those in the upper classes disapproved of her background, and there is still a large difference in opinion about her role in Argentine politics. In the movie version of the musical Evita, there are a lot of scenes involving different types of crowds. People form conventional crowds when Eva gives away bread, shoes, and bikes, and when they gather to listen to speeches. After Eva is announced dead, people form expressive crowds to dance and mourn outside, which is also an example of emergent norm theory. Also, acting crowds are formed during the riots following Eva's death.

May you see lots of sociology in the new year...

This weekend my cousins Robert, Anna, Kao and my family got together for lunch to celebrate Chinese New Year. They're a part of my kinship group, and I absolutely love spending time with them! Anna is one of the most fun people I know and always gets a laugh out of me. One tradition we follow is for the adults in the family to give red envelopes with money to all the kids, which my brother is always excited about (the money is nearly always used for college anyway). Since Kao is older and has already graduated from college and works, she gives us "kids" red envelopes. This tradition shows how Kao has an achieved status in our group and is an example of sociology in action. Her status as an adult means she gives us red envelopes during holidays, and this same status will apply to me after I graduate from college and start working too.

I was in choir when...

I witnessed sociology in musical form. Because we are planning on seeing Les Miserables later this month, Mr. Fantozzi showed us a video featuring the music of Les Miserables that also gave us a general outline of the plot. Around the beginning of the story, a woman named Fantine is forced into prostitution in order to provide for her young daughter. Fantine is arrested for attacking a bourgeois man, Bamatabois, out of self defense after he harasses her and throws snow down her back. Even though Bamatabois is clearly the guilty party, Fantine is arrested, mainly because her poverty causes her to be treated unjustly. Fantine's situation is an example of conflict in society due to class antagonism, which drives the story. This play demonstrates how people were treated according to their place in the caste system and how those of lower status usually got the worst treatment.