This week in class we watched the movie "A Brox Tale". This movie alone shows the different topics we learned about in class; the first being ingroups and outgroups. The main character, Calogero, is apart of many groups in his life. Calogero serves as a student and son-like figure to the men of his neighborhood. He is shaped by them and their ethics. He is a son to his father and mother. Calogero is also a student, and friend. His father and his mentor, Sonny, clash often, showing conflict between groups. Calogero's master status is the "gang" he is a member of. His life is shaped by these men and especially Sonny. No matter where Calogero goes, he sees himself as a member of this crew. He thinks about Sonny's opinion before even considering his father's. Because of this, Calogero's family is a secondary group to his mentor. This is opposite of my own life, as my family always comes first. My friends, boyfriend, and mentors will always come in second to them. No matter where I go, I see myself as a sister and daughter first, and a girlfriend and friend second.
This movie is also a fine example of stereotypes and catagories. Calogero and his friends are sterotyped as the "Italians" by their African American neighbors. Likewise, the African American neighbors are stereotyped as less than the Italians. These groups do not like to mix, shown in a scene where the two groups clash and end up in a fight about race. Although I have never experienced a fight solely due to race, I have experienced stereotypes. Just this past weekend, I flew to Tennessee with my dad. I specially remember hearing someone say that they stereotyped Chicagoans as rude and lacked that certain "southern hospitality" that Nashville seemed to have. Another person commenting on my choices of college mentioned that the further South one gets the more genuinely nice the people are. While the general population of Nashville was caring, I can assume that not everyone is having a good day. These comments about the south were stereotypes about the population as a whole. Though these people are from the same region, they cannot be grouped together. Ones personality changes with their mood, therefore Southerners cannot all be viewed as genuine people- I'm sure someone out there is having a bad day!
Overall, this class has taught me a lot not only about myself, but about society in general. I am now wary of stereotypes around me and how they are affecting my perspective on things.
HI Hannah,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, did I mention that I love the title of your blog. :-)
About this post, I think you can see the influence of C's groups on who he is. But for primary groups, that is a group that is smaller, intimate and you know everyone in it such as C's family, Sonny's crew. A secondary group is larger and less intimate such as Italians or Yankee fans. One other distinction is that the conflict between sonny and C's dad would be considered "role conflict" because C's role with sonny conflicts with his role as a son.