Sociology Lens

Photo of Natural Resources Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

James Cameron’s Avatar has been making millions of dollars from movie ticket sales worldwide. The movie features humans invading the planet Pandora in the future. Corporate entities in cooperation with military units hope to extract natural resources from territory inhabited by indigenous people called the Na’vi. Although a human named Jake Sully initially agrees to gather intelligence for the military by using an avatar identity, he eventually decides to help the Na’vi mount an attack against the military. Regardless of James Cameron’s intention, the movie’s themes parallel several real-life occurrences such as the extraction of natural resources from the periphery, the forcible removal of indigenous peoples from their land, and the rise of transnational corporations.

Some people praise the movie for its recognition of environmental degradation, its promotion of sustainable practices, and its acknowledgement of the importance of landholding among indigenous peoples. Meanwhile, other people characterize the movie as anti-American and anti-military. Additionally, some critics consider the movie to be racist. Similar to other movies such as Dances with Wolves, the movie involves white males rescuing indigenous peoples.

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The category of the Exotic Other has embraced the African female; at least for this season.  The New York Times recently published a fashion article (see below) equating Africa, Tarzan, and tree climbing with sensuous beauty in the world of fashion.  Aside from the glaring issue of the geographic ignorance of these comments, this article reveals the explicit racism, commodification, misappropriation and sexism inherent in media and art that continue to have a negative impact on those who are being “othered.”

According to Malcolm Harris, the director of a popular fashion-focused Webzine. “It doesn’t matter who you are or where you’re from. People are incorporating bits and pieces into their wardrobes and their lives.”

Yet it does very much matter who you are and where you are from.  The models strutting the catwalks in African-inspired fashion are majority white and Western and perhaps most importantly, this is about taking bits and pieces of interpretations of “Africa” and incorporating them into the wardrobe of mostly Western women.

Perhaps most distressing in the article is the overt manipulation of cultural exoticism for capitalist purposes.  As Adorno and Horheimer remind us, “Under monopoly all mass culture is identical, and the lines of its artificial framework begin to show through.  The people at the top are no longer so interested in concealing monopoly: as its violence becomes more open, so its power grows” (Horkheimer and Adorno 1944, 121).  In other words, today Africa, tomorrow Thailand may be hailed as the new look for the season.  The marketing employed does not seek to cover up the fact that this is marketing, rather, it does so openly and freely.  In the end the only difference is that the “Exotic Other” of the season changes.

NY Times, “Designing to an Afro Beat”

Culture Industries

Jeffrey Alexander writes that “cultural trauma occurs when members of a collectivity feel they have been subjected to a horrendous event that leaves indelible marks upon their group consciousness, marking their memories forever and changing their future identity in fundamental and irrevocable ways” (2004). With this basic definition in mind, can we call the shootings that took place at the Fort Hood army base a “cultural trauma”? In this case, the identity of the United States military may have been terribly complicated. Military leaders have made many statements in the media decrying this incident as the work of a deranged individual, and have stated repeatedly that Muslims serving in the military have made sacrifices as great as those belonging to any other religious group.

However, there have been reports of growing concern in some areas of the media (such as Fox News) that directly blame the alleged shooter’s faith for the incident. Such commentators blame a climate of “political correctness” for ignoring the “warning signs” that Nidal Hasan was becoming “radicalized.” A more nuanced analysis of the situation might place Hasan in the same group of other military men and women who have been experiencing strain related to eight plus years of armed conflict in the Middle East. Although Hasan had yet to be deployed, his work as a military psychiatrist counseling the victims of post-traumatic stress syndrome made him an asset that the army could not afford to lose, and some believe that this fact above all else was the main reason that the command structure overlooked or downplayed his past disciplinary problems.

Whatever the eventual outcome of Hasan’s trial may be, the identity of the U.S. military has been thrown into a state of flux. By extension, the concept of who is a “real” American has been dealt another blow. This incident, in conjunction with the racialized discourse surrounding the birth origins of President Obama, has added to the cultural trauma of Muslim and American identity in the U.S. that has plagued the 21st century so far.

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Will the Right Islam Stand Up? by Amitai Etzioni

by paulabowles

For the past few weeks the British media and public have hotly been debating the rights and wrongs of allowing the controversial British National Party [BNP] leader to appear on the BBC’s ‘flagship’ politics programme Question Time. Despite attempts to halt Nick Griffin’s appearance, the programme finally aired on Thursday 22 October 2009, with record viewing figures of 8 million.

Since the broadcast, media analysis has been at fever pitch in an attempt to make sense of the reality. Against the backdrop of debates over freedom of speech and right wing rhetoric, as well as accusations of Holocaust denial and racism, Griffin has announced he will be making a complaint over his treatment by the programme.

In essence, Griffin insists that the format of the programme was changed in order to focus purely on his party’s policies on immigration and race, leaving him facing little more than a ‘lynch mob.’ Although, many commentators have suggested that his appearance has irrevocably tarnished the limited credibility of the BNP, others have argued that he should never have been allowed to appear in the first place. Interestingly, the BNP insist that their membership has increased since Griffin’s appearance. Needless to say the debate will run for some considerable time, dragging the issue of freedom of speech once more into the spotlight.

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Tanya Golash-Boza on A Confluence of Interests in Immigration Enforcement: How Politicians, the Media, and Corporations Profit from Immigration Policies Destined to Fail

Amir Saeed on Media, Racism and Islamophobia: The Representation of Islam and Muslims in the Media

by NickieWild

What is the poverty rate? How should the government allocate local funds? How many people in an area need representation by Congress? These are just some of the crucial questions that can only be answered by an accurate census of the American people. But lately, anything associated with the Federal government has come under increased suspicion by extreme right-wing critics of President Obama.

In rural eastern Kentucky, on September 12th, 51-year old part-time census worker, teacher, single father, and cancer survivor, Bill Sparkman was found murdered. He was reported by witnesses who came across the body in a wooded private cemetery as being hung from a tree, naked, with the word “FED” scrawled on his chest and his census worker badge duct taped to his neck. While the federal government is not committing to these facts, it is clear that it is being investigated as a federal crime against someone who was working for the government.

What are the possible causes for this horrific incident? Some have pointed to Michele Bachmann’s (R-MN) anti-census tirade, in which she insinuated that the information gathered by the Obama administration would be used to round people up to put them in internment camps (based on what demographics is unclear). Some blame the newly-stoked anti-government sentiment on right-wing commentators like Glen Beck and Rush Limbaugh, whose fan base is primarily white southern males. Possibly, a return to the 90′s era Militia Movement may be imminent. Sociological theories such as structural strain were used to explain anti-government action then. But it’s hard to ignore the rampant racism and concerns over “Socialism” (thinly disguised fear of Obama’s Muslim heritage) as a potentially significant impetus for such an extreme reaction to a schoolteacher asking questions which get asked every ten years. This week, the Secret Service began investigating a FaceBook poll which asked if Obama should be assassinated.

Although the mainstream media has been adequate in their coverage of this murder, more questions and discussions need to happen in the public sphere to bring these dark malignant motivations into the light of day.

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Militias at the Millennium: A Test of Smelser’s Theory of Collective Behavior by Stan C. Weeber and Daniel G. Rodeheaver

by enteringthewhirlpool

1.) There is a conjecture that the decline of organized religion in Western societies has not led to more rational modes of thought, but rather to a disaggregation of magical thinking as people find other ways to express the innately human religious impulse. This may manifest itself, for example, through belief in horoscopes. In fact, according to a recent survey in the UK, belief in ghosts is now much higher than it was in the immediate aftermath of World War II.

2.) The recent incident in the U.S. involving the arrest of Professor Henry Louis Gates of Harvard University led to discussion of whether race was a motivating factor in the arrest. In the absence of any direct evidence of racism it was assumed by many that race must be a factor in any interaction between men of different races.

What links the paragraphs above? Well, some sociologists claim that racism, like the God of the Christian faith, is inside you whether you know it or not. In this spirit, Eileen O’Brien distinguishes two types of people who are opposed to racism: the selectively race cognizant, who oppose overt racism which they perceive outside of themselves; and the reflexively race cognizant, who “spend a great deal of energy analyzing their personal relationships and how they can reduce the racism they may unintentionally perpetuate in those relationships, both intraracial and interracial”.

Considering such a categorization, it may be of value to consider some forms of racial awareness as sharing some characteristics of religious movements: there are initiates who engage in self-contemplation and so find “the truth”, and there are outsiders who are unaware of the racism within themselves and “may resort to defensiveness” when asked to look for it.

Furthermore, according to O’Brien, some antiracist organizations hold discussion groups with “white participants emerging referring to themselves as ‘recovering racists’, borrowing from the Alcoholics Anonymous idea that one can transition into a process of unlearning racism, but that people cannot be suddenly ‘cured’ of the racism in one short period that they have socialized into for their entire lifetimes.” There are strong elements of spirituality in Alcoholics
Anonymous programmes, with several of the “12 steps” referring to the powerlessness of the agent concerned and his acknowledgement of his dependence on God, as he understands Him. The link between antiracism/racial awareness and religious thinking may well warrant further exploration.

Read More: Henry Louis Gates arrest.

Read More: BBC News – survey of beliefs in the supernatural.

From Antiracism to Antiracisms by Eileen O’Brien

by NickieWild

Is racist language still acceptable in the United States? As with most things in social science, the answer depends on the situation and people involved. Recently, the television program on the CBS network “Big Brother” self-censored an episode where two contestants used a derogatory term to describe fellow contestants who were of Mexican descent, as well as making anti-gay remarks. Compare this incident with former Georgia Senator and Governor Zell Miller’s statement that President Obama should be prevented from making trips abroad by fixing him in place using “Gorilla Glue.” Quoting Miller:

“Our globe-trotting president needs to stop and take a break and quit gallivanting all around. I think (chief of staff) Rahm Emanuel ought to get some Gorilla Glue and put it in that chair in the Oval Office and say ‘Sit here awhile.’”

This is a real product, but the racial overtones are hard to ignore. Some have questioned Miller’s use of this terminology (instead of using the more traditional reference to “Krazy Glue”). Clearly, racial slurs, whether overt or covert, are still used frequently. But they seem to be much more likely to get negative attention than ever before. Sociologist Eileen O’Brien explores this issue and writes on why people choose to adopt “antiracist” stances.

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From Antiracism to Antiracisms by Eileen O’Brien

by paulabowles

Since 9/11, the world’s attention has increasingly been concentrated on the threat of terrorism and the mechanisms designed to uncover and combat it. Much of the focus has been on Al Qaeda; however, a recent British case suggests that this is not the only terrorist threat faced today.

On Wednesday, Neil Lewington was found guilty at the Old Bailey of terrorism and explosives offences. He was originally detained for public order offences after being drunk and abusive to railway staff, but an initial search of his luggage revealed two homemade bombs. Later examinations of his home revealed a fascination with right wing extremism, in particular neo-Nazism and the Ku Klux Klan. Although, all of the evidence under consideration suggests that Lewington acted alone, his refusal to offer any defence leaves many questions unanswered, not least where he obtained the technical information required to make explosive devices.

In spite of recent anti-terrorism legislation, it seems likely that without Lewington’s anti-social behaviour he would not have been apprehended. It is also possible that by exclusively focusing on newly identified threats, we run the risk of missing other older forms of extremism.

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Domenico Tosini on the Sociology of Terrorism and Counterterrorism: A Social Science Understanding of Terrorist Threat

by paulabowles

Ten years after the publication of Sir William Macpherson’s report into the murder of Stephen Lawrence, and the allegation of ‘institutional racism’ still hangs heavily over British policing. Although, there remains doubt over whether or not this allegation is still relevant – and indeed some confusion, for many, as to what the term ‘institutional racism’ actually means – it would seem that some positive steps have been taken.

Most recently, the British Sikh Police Association has been set up with Sergeant Kashmira Singh Mann as its chairman. Although, the association has only been in existence for a month, it has already begun to tackle an important issue for Sikh constables, that of inclusion in all areas of policing. At present, Sikh police constables are excluded from becoming firearms officers because of the lack of protection their turbans offer. However, the British Sikh Police Association is pushing for continuing research into bullet proof turbans, to enable their ‘members to play a full role in the police’.

Hopefully, by facing such issues of exclusion head on, it seems likely that the police and Home Office are still committed to the Macpherson Report’s recommendations – particularly points 64-66 – relating to the recruitment and retention of minority ethnic staff.

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Tim J. Berard on The Neglected Social Psychology of Institutional Racism