Freaks and Geeks

This week we focused our attention on a humans desire to understand the world around them through social sciences. One of the main topics we covered was the three sociological perspectives and how each one relates to everyday life.  Watching Freaks and Geeks in class allowed me to get a better understanding of what functionalism, conflict theory, and interactionism is and it was cool to see how well this show tied into what we are learning about in class.

 I learned that functionalism is like a structure of society that maintains order and does its job. In order for this sociological perspective to function properly, it has manifest function which is an intended consequence, latent function which is an unintended consequence, and a dysfunction which is a negative consequence. The show Freaks and Geeks does a good job presenting its manifest function by showing the importance of going to school and getting an education, the latent function which represented school dances and learning how to socialize, and the dysfunction by relating it to the bullying that occurs between the different social groups. Without having an intended consequences, an unintended consequences, and negative consequence, this sociological perspective wouldn’t function the way it should because there would be no rules or no boundaries for people to follow, no place for individuals to interact or get to know one another, and no consequences that anyone would have to face.

By dictionary definition, conflict is defined as a fight, battle, struggle, or controversy. This definition resembles how the sociological perspective of conflict theory is a social living contest of who can attain the most power and is a never ending battle between all members of society. Freaks and Geeks does an excellent job displaying this theory by showing how much power the parents have over Lindsay and her brother, how the councilor makes Lindsay work at the homecoming dance, how the upperclassmen have more power over the underclassmen in school, and how the social standing in school, such as the cheerleader bringing the boy his jacket, makes the boys friends instantly assume she’s in love with him and that he should ask her to the homecoming dance. The conflict perspective is going to be present and never ending in everyone’s lives no matter if they want it or not. If someone wants something, they’ll do what they want to get it and when other people who don’t have what they have, then they will do whatever they can to attain it.

In my opinion, symbolic interactionism is one of the easiest social perspectives to understand because it’s based on how people change their understandings about the meanings of things. For example, in Freaks and Geeks the gym teacher puts the freaks and geeks on one team, and the jocks and bullies on another. This type of interaction symbolizes how the coach views the meaning of a simple game of dodge ball as a game where it’s the popular group going head to head against the non-popular group. Everyone plays a role in social interactionism so what you wear, what you eat, who you hang out with, where you come from, and so on, is how people gain an understanding about who you are and if your someone they would want to interact with.