Concerts

This is Diana. Central Park itself is a major place for all kinds of pleasure because there is so much to do there. Between the zoo, the relaxation of the lake and reservoir, food, and the beautiful scenery of the trees and buildings, central park is a great place for anyone to enjoy themselves.

Last week I went to a concert at Rumsey Playfield in Central Park. The whole experience of a concert is great, even when you are waiting in line. The whole day I was excited about seeing this band perform. The line was long, but my boyfriend and I got there early and we got really great spots in front of the stage.

Waiting for the opening band to come on was a bit of a pain though. However, when the bands were playing for their fans, it was a great feeling. Everyone in the crowd was all focused on the band that was performing; it was like everyone was on the same page, giving all of their attention to the same thing. I feel like this is the idea of a collective effervescence by Emile Durkheim in his book The Elemental Forms of Religious Life. He describes this theory of a collective effervescence as an energy that happens to a crowd of people. The act of congregating becomes a powerful feeling that can take over a crowd and bring them into ecstasy. He uses this experience to describe some religious ceremonies.

Whenever I experience a concert, I see that people aren’t individuals for that short amount of time. We are all concentrating on the same thing and there is almost electricity that runs through everyone during the concert. Nobody seems to be repressing much; people are getting drunk, getting high on all different drugs, eating, dancing, laughing, singing out loud – just having a great time. No one seems to be judging anyone there because we are all there for the same reason; to have a great time and see a great performance.

I suppose a concert could be looked at as a religious-like experience. I definitely feel the collective effervescence when I am at concerts, forgetting anything else and consumed by the music. I feel like everyone is at that moment. Even after the show is over, people still have that unrepressed, joyful, excited feeling running through them. As people leave the park, they are still drinking, I see people buying whipits getting high on the benches. It’s actually a funny and interesting scene. But for that night, most people let loose, enjoy themselves without any worry. Concerts, like other events where people get together for the same purpose, are really pleasurable experiences for me. 

Lasch

      This is Mary Beth, and I can honestly say that I don't believe I have ever been given a reading assignment in college thus far that made as much sense to me as The Culture of Narcissism, written by Christopher Lasch. I found myself writing side notes all over the pages that read "so true!," "sad," "my life," and "wow, I was born in the wrong era."
      There were many quotes within the reading that drew me in and made me think. One such quote was "To live for the moment is the prevailing passion--to live for yourself, not for your predecessors or posterity" (p. 5).  This quote illustrates a new theory on life that I find to ring true in contemporary society. We can witness this phenomena is today's youth, who are waiting to settle down longer and longer. Thirty is the new twenty these days. Young men and women are so focused on their own individual success, that they tend to put off having families until much later than generations before. It is not so much a concern of theirs anymore. The attitude is "someday I'll have a family, but not now," because now, they are too focused on themselves, too narcissistic. As a result, such individuals find themselves well into their thirties, successful, yet, alone.
      This is also in part due to an extreme fear of aging, which Lasch also discusses within his book. In fact, Lasch argues that "self preservation has replaced self improvement as the goal of early existence" (p. 53). The amount of plastic surgery, dieting mechanisms, etc. within our society only help to support Lasch's argument. "Through medicine, psychiatry, and the camera, the individual ceaselessly examines himself for signs of aging and ill health...." (p. 49). There are many theories on where this fear of aging stems from, but I honestly believe our generation has, in fact, fallen victim. I, myself, have a fear of aging, of looking back and wishing for my youth. This has to be a result of the society I live in. From a generalized perspective, generations past seem to have reached a point of self-actualization in their old age. Perhaps the issue is that this point of self-actualization is coming sooner for individuals in contemporary society, so that they feel they have nothing more to look forward to it. Whatever it may be, we must understand that "personality is the reproduction of society in the individual" (p. 34), and therefore, only by examining society can we make psychoanalytic discoveries pertaining to youth today.

Wish Fulfillment

           This is Mary Beth and this is my post about wish fulfillment as a source of pleasure. Yet, I will also briefly touch upon "Cathedrals of Consumption," a term used in George Ritzer's book, Enchanting a Disenchanted World.
      This past weekend was parent's weekend at Wagner College. Since I had not seen my parents in over a month, I was very excited. I asked if there was anything particular they would like to do when they visited, since we had no plans set in stone for Friday afternoon. To my surprise they answered "We'd really like to visit the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, we've never been."
      In high school, my class took a trip to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, so I had already visited, yet, I never realized that it was something my parents had not had the opportunity to do. I had heard my parents speak of their ancestry and their curiosity throughout my many years of living at home, so I could only imagine their anticipation and desire they felt to actually visit the site that their ancestors had arrived at multiple centuries ago. Finally visiting the historical sites my parents had only imagined before, brought great pleasure to them. It was visible on their faces and in the interest they exhibited while we were there. They walked slowly around the exhibits, taking in their surroundings and piecing together the histories of their ancestors.
      Yet, while we were there, I found myself looking around and witnessing how consumer-savvy the historical sites had become. Around every corner there seemed to be a shop where visitors could buy hats, t-shirts, pens, ornaments, and anything else one could possibly imagine. It was a very hot Friday afternoon with temperatures well into the high 80's, and so my dad decided to go into one of the cafe's on Liberty Island to buy us water. He returned with very tiny $3.00 bottles of water, adorned with images of Lady Liberty. Another instance occurred at Ellis Island, when I noticed how the gift shops were strategically placed at the exits, and contained very cultural items, particularly, ethnic cookbooks. The cookbooks served as a means to "get in touch with one's origin," something most visitors desired after visiting a place associated so deeply with their heritage. At this point, I had no doubt in my mind that the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island had become what Ritzer considered "Cathedrals of Consumption." They were able to use their quasi-religious and sentimental hold on visitors to draw them in as consumers.
      It was intrinsically satisfying to see my parents fulfill their dream of one day visiting both Liberty and Ellis Island. They quite obviously took pleasure in the trip and now have their $3.00 plastic water bottles to show for it.

The White Ribbon

    

       This is Mary Beth, and this blog post is pertaining to The White Ribbon. The White Ribbon is an unsettling foreign film that leaves the viewer full of unanswered questions. The film is set in a German Protestant village in the early 1900's, shortly after World War I. When mysterious events begin to occur in the inhabitant's well-ordered village, no one is sure of who to blame. The chain of events that take place within the film are undoubtedly a result of social phenomena. Therefore, The White Ribbon is the perfect film to apply to the three major sociological paradigms; symbolic interactionist, functionalist, and conflict.
     The symbolic interactionist paradigm focuses on the use of symbols to convey a certain meaning. A perfect example of this paradigm takes place within the film, when the village pastor has his children wear white ribbons as a symbol of "purity." The children are not to take them off until both the pastor and his wife can trust them again, as a result of their returning home late one night without acceptable explanation. The pastor also forbids his children from eating supper that same night, to symbolize the displeasure they had caused their parents.
       The next sociological paradigm the movie employs, is functionalist. The functionalist paradigm states that each individual is part of a whole that collectively combines to create a well-functioning and ordered society. Within the film we can see that this is certainly the case. Everyone in the village has a role to fill whether it be pastor, doctor, baron, midwife, caretaker, etc. The chief aim is to ensure stability and efficiency. Social approval is also a major theme within the functionalist perspective, which can lead to the act of repression. Throughout the film we can witness many examples of repression. In large, this is due to the Protestant ethics practiced by the village, which often repress pleasure and desire, deeming them unacceptable behaviors. Psalm 145 is mentioned in the film, and it is no mistake that the psalm reads “He fulfills the desires of those who fear him.”
      Lastly, the conflict paradigm is quite frankly, the plot of The White Ribbon. The conflict paradigm focuses on relationships between the classes, especially the elite’s influence on the proletariat and low class. The atrocities that occur within the village throughout the duration of the film are geared towards the elite. It is inferred that the violent and illegal acts were carried out by lower class workers who were angry about the way they were being treated by the upper class. For instance, a young worker destroys the Baron’s field of cabbages after a discrepancy about pay. Although it is never uncovered whether or not all acts were committed by low-wage workers, we do know that at least one was, and therefore, this is a prime example of the conflict paradigm.
      We can see that all three paradigms are employed throughout the film. Although it is a seemingly strange production, it does contain some very valuable sociological insight. It is interesting to consider that the youth within the film ultimately became the Nazi generation, and perhaps, how each of the three aforementioned paradigms contributed to their moral and ethical character.

The White Ribbon

This is our very first post!  We are just getting started.  In a few moments, we will begin viewing The White Ribbon.