Comments on: Durkheim at the Parade

By: Thanksgiving! | soanstolaf

Thanksgiving! | soanstolaf — Tue, 25 Nov 2014 16:00:47 +0000

[…] http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2012/11/22/durkheim-at-the-parade/ […]

By: Bill R

Bill R — Thu, 28 Nov 2013 16:36:00 +0000

Spongebob is god;I live and learn…

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

By: Link Dump #016 « Holding Down the Zankapfel Homestead

Link Dump #016 « Holding Down the Zankapfel Homestead — Sun, 09 Dec 2012 20:10:45 +0000

[…] Durkheim at the (Macy’s) Parade – A theory breakdown of the Thanksgiving Day Parade […]

By: Anders

Anders — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 18:38:00 +0000

“Jew York”

i really hope this was a typing error…

By: Lunad

Lunad — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 23:02:00 +0000

We do not pray or make sacrifices to these commercial entities – but they are symbols. They represent fun, or toys, or childhood, or heroism. We make sacrifices (of money) to bring these symbols into our homes. While I myself try to avoid commercialism when I can, and do not watch the parade, I can understand people who wish to stare at the spectacle or participate in the rituals of commercial life. Moreover, in ancient times religion often had commercial aspects – simply because religious and secular life were not as separated as they are in our modern society, so it is probably false to reject the similarity between religious and secular parades.

By: Concerned

Concerned — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 22:18:00 +0000

Indeed, an arrogant article. The author is also embarrassingly ignorant of ancient Greece:
‘We’re not Athenians. Instead, we throng the streets for icons like
Snoopy and Spiderman, Pikachu, Bullwinkle, and Spongebob, but the idea
is the same. They are our totems, our gods.’
The above objects are not ‘our gods'; we do not pray and make sacrifices to Spongbob, etc. I, for one, find the commercialism of Jew York sickening.

By: WG

WG — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 23:10:00 +0000

Glad you agree.

By: Ericalas

Ericalas — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 22:51:00 +0000

I think that there is only one god being honored in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, particularly now. That is the American Marketplace, just about every float, balloon, and act is something up for sale. It’s a kick off for the holiday season of shopping and spending on a grand scale. For me it’s the parade of “Things My Niece and Nephew are Gonna Want”. What more could we expect from a retail funded parade?

By: Origami_Isopod

Origami_Isopod — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 16:47:00 +0000

"... And this float arrangement, class, symbolized a sacred ritual of Spider-Man's submission to Uncle Sam."

By: TJ

TJ — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 05:05:00 +0000

WG – I agree. How dare the author use his imagination to envision the emotional reaction of another academic while describing a sociological phenomenon related to his research! For too long the writers on this blog have used “humor” and “narrative” to relate sociological concepts without being chastised for their arrogance. It’s time somebody stood up to them, and that person is clearly you.

Jay: wonderful. Have you read “American Gods” by Neil Gaiman?

By: Anna

Anna — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 20:28:00 +0000

It’s a sly joke. Hermes was the Messenger god, a pre-Christian angel-like and alternately, fallen-angel kind of figure, but it is also the name of a well-known luxury goods company, noted for its scarves and handbags.

I wonder if Jay Livingston knows that Hermes was also the primary god of commerce, and thus would certainly not be out be out of place in an ancient Macy’s parade, luxury brand reference aside.

By: Annie

Annie — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 19:53:00 +0000

Is this a reference to something?

By: tree

tree — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 19:00:00 +0000

Hermes (god of silk scarves)

A+

By: WG

WG — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 18:29:00 +0000

Astounding projection. Certainly the parade can be viewed from a functionalist perspective, and that perhaps Durkheim might come to the same conclusion, but how can anyone possibly say whether he would or would not “love” something. Science is not about likeing, loving, etc., it is about the explanation of phenomena in an attempt at limiting bias. Furthermore, it wouldn’t matter if he “loved” the phenomena even if there was some way to prove that. The phenomena either fits the theory or it doesn’t…there is no emotion about it that changes that process, if done correctly. Jay, if I had the power, I would vote no confidence in your sociological insight. Your contribution is with little to no merit.

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 18:08:00 +0000

This is a beautiful article–well-written, with a light amount of distance with which to view our own culture. Thanks for sharing. :)