Sociology and culture: key concepts and relationships

Sociology

Dominant Culture & Entertainment

The dominant culture of the United States is transmitted through the content of its entertainment industry. That content is shaped by those concerned with profit: the heads of media and media conglomerates, book publishers, movie studios, television networks, Web sites, and athletic teams. The dominant ideologies of the United States are regularly transmitted via the content in each of these entertainment fields. For example, imagery related to heterosexual and homosexual relationships transmits social norms and values related to human sexuality and social networking. Similarly, issues related to ethnicity, race, and religion are communicated in the pages of literature or on television. Images of beauty, of femininity and masculinity, pervade the entertainment industry. Those images become ingrained in public consciousness and shape self-image and identity in America.

Discussion 2: The dominant culture of the United States is also transmitted through the content of its new media, which has become "infotainment." Dominant ideology is evident in the types of stories that are accepted for publication or broadcasts and the tone in which journalists and editors address political or social issues. For example, health care is a hot topic in the American media. The media presents the issue of health care in ways that disparage the idea of socialized medicine. Portraying terms like "socialized medicine" in a negative light perpetuates the underlying political and social realities in the United States.

Discussion 3: The dominant culture in the United States is evident also in advertising content and imagery. Because advertising supports the American media, those product placements are integral to popular culture. Images of wealth and power, of masculinity and femininity, are as evident in advertisements as they are in the actual content of whatever those ads sponsor. Changing social values such as the increased visibility of people of color, of women in positions of power, and of gays and lesbians has made its way into all types of American media including its commercial enterprises.

The Sociology of Fast Food

Discussion 1: The sociological imagination allows a thorough investigation of the ways values, norms, and beliefs are transmitted. With an imaginative eye, the sociologist can critique social institutions and structures that would otherwise be taken for granted. The sociologist can imagine ways in which normalized social institutions and normalized social values affect the daily lives of individuals: impacting income disparity; gender relations; and race relations.

Discussion 2: The sociological imagination can lend insight into the impact of Fast Food and its associated industries, institutions, norms and values on American culture. For example, the low wages that Ehrenreich and Ritzer refer to in relation to Fast Food have an enormous impact on class structure in the United States. The low wages paid to Fast Food workers has become normalized to the extent that labor unions have become political and social pariahs in the United States. Similarly, the entrenchment of the Fast Food model in America has impacted the entire concept of eating. As Schaefer pointed out, disconnection with the product is one of the hallmarks of the Fast Food industry. Food is one of the universal features of human life and therefore Fast Food can and should be examined with a sociological imagination.