...the canyons of Studio 5 several weeks ago, the cast of ABC’s hit series “Modern Family” was busy filming an episode. As crew members huddled around the monitors, Cam, the portly, gay Mr. Dad portrayed by Eric Stonestreet, learned some bad news. His partner, Mitchell, had failed to mail out invitations to a fund-raiser in their home that night. Cam had ordered the crab cakes and rented the harps, but he had no guests. “Get me Mitchell!” Cam shouted to his nephew, Luke. What followed was a high-tech version of “Who’s on First?” Luke doesn’t know Mitchell’s number. Cam grabs the phone and presses speed dial. Mitchell lets the call go to voice mail. Luke doesn’t know how to press redial. Cam snatches the receiver and gets twisted in his headset. We’ve had five back-and-forths in 10 seconds and still nobody has managed to communicate. Shakespeare used mistaken identities to flummox his lovers. “Modern Family” uses dropped Skype connections. In the last two years, “Modern Family” has ridden timely premises like this to surging viewership and six Emmys, including outstanding comedy series. In a rare concurrence, the darling of the critics is one of the highest rated comedies on television, and is the 20th rated show over all this season. This unusual success for a family comedy raises questions: What aspects of contemporary life has it tapped into? What does “Modern Family” say about modern families? From the beginning, the creators Steve Levitan and Christopher Lloyd...
Words: 470 - Pages: 2
...Angie Quintero 4/09/2013 p. 7 La hermosura de Sofia Vergara nacio en Barranquilla, Colombia el 10 de Julio de 1974 a sus 41 años, La revista ASKMen.com la considera una de las mujeres más sensuales del mundo. Gracias a su trabajo en la serie televisiva Modern Family, es considerada una de las mejores actrices cómicas de la televisión estadounidense. Es la actriz de televisión mejor pagada en la televisión estadounidense. En el año 2013, la revista Forbes da a conocer las cien mujeres más poderosas del mundo, donde Sofía Vergara se ubica en el puesto 32. En cuanto a su vida personal es madre de u hijo Manolo González-Ripoll Vergara de 21 años , con el a compartido todo su crecimiento desde que salio de su natal Colombia. Con Manolo su hijo, a hecho muchos proyectos de los cuales a tenido excelente resulatado economico. Sofia Vergara is happily engaged to the charming Nick Loeb and they might be bucking tradition by having him take her name. Sofia Vergara está felizmente comprometida con el encantador Nick Loeb y podría continuar la tradición haciéndole tomar su nombre. Agregando mas donde ya tiene suerte. Antes de su gran fama, Confesó para la revista Self Magazine que a los 13 años consideró seriamente que cuando cumplia 18 años iba a someterse a una cirugía de reducción de senos, lamentando, “No importa lo que me ponga, me veo como una estríper.” Sofía Vergara fue descubierta por un cazatalentos en una playa del Caribe colombiano y contratada como...
Words: 412 - Pages: 2
...behave in order to achieve solidarity, SOCIETY HAS TWO KEY MECHANISMS: SOCIAL CONTROL -rewards for conformity -punishments for deviance -ensures that individuals behave in the way that society requires SOCIALISATION -instils the shared culture into its members. -insures that people internalise the same norms and values. -so they act in the way that society requires * While functionalists see too much crime as destabilising society, they also see crime as inevitable and universal. * Every known society has some level of crime and deviance – a crime free society is a contradiction in terms. * DURKHEIM: ‘’is normal... an integral part of all healthy societies’’ REASONS WHY CRIME IS FOUND IN ALL SOCIETIES: In complex modern societies, there is a diversity of lifestyles and values. Different groups develop their own subcultures with distinctive norms and values, so what a subculture sees as normal may be seen as deviant in mainstream society. In complex modern societies, there is a diversity of lifestyles and values. Different groups develop their own subcultures with distinctive norms and values, so what a subculture sees as normal may be seen as deviant in mainstream society. In modern society there is a tendency towards anomie/normlessness – the rules governing behaviour become less clear cut. This is because modern societies have a complex, specialised division of labour, which leads to individuals becoming increasingly different from one another...
Words: 764 - Pages: 4
...Examine and asses the usefulness of a theory of crime and deviance in terms of explaining crime and or social problems in modern society. This essay is going to examine and asses the usefulness of labelling theory in our understanding of crime and social problems in modern society. This essay is going to firstly look at what labelling theory is and also look at the key writes that have influenced and help to develop the term labelling theory. The essay will then go on to look at empirical research that has been carried out such as Jock Young’s study of marijuana users and their experience of labelling which in turn led to further deviance and also different examples that will help illustrate the key points being put forward in the essay. Finally it will look at some of the criticisms labelling theorists face. This essay will draw information from academic books, websites and articles to illustrate and support the points of few being put forward in the essay. Interactionist generally sees society from the point of view of individuals. They believe that individuals are creative free thinking people who are able to choose their own behaviour and the also believe that behaviour is self-directed based on the interactions we have with one another. The labelling views on deviance is generally grounded in what is now known as labelling theory which emerged in the 1960’s from the work of American sociologist Howard Becker. Labelling theorists are mainly concerned with how and why certain...
Words: 1428 - Pages: 6
...AND DEFINITION OF DEVIANCE Sociology defines social deviance as an act of omission or commission of an offense where perpetrators risk facing state prosecution and legal punishment. Therefore, the sociological study of deviance looks at various social laws, their influence on the individual and societal behavior, and potential punishments for lawbreakers. Indeed, Kubrin, Stucky, & Krohn, (2009) note that sociology appreciates the fact that social norms vary in description across societies. This implies that an action that is deviant to one community may be morally acceptable to another. Moreover, sociology recognizes that while societies play a more important role than individuals do in creating and imposing norms and rules. This means that views on deviant acts existing in individuals more likely relate to their society’s responses to the behavior (Kubrin, Stucky, & Krohn, 2009). Norms are rules and expectations by which members of society are conventionally guided. Deviance is a failure to conform to these norms. Social norms differ from culture to culture. For example, a deviant act can be committed in one society that breaks a social norm there, but may be normal for another society. Over the years, sociologists have come up with numerous theories and concepts that help explain the causes, effects, and solutions to deviance. For instance, originally studied at the Chicago School, the social disorganization theory owes its application to deviance as a social issue...
Words: 1338 - Pages: 6
...explanations of the causes and extent of deviance. (21marks) Functionalism is based on the idea of each members of society sharing a common culture and one value consensus, which provides solidarity and binds individuals together by directing them what to strive for and how to conduct themselves. In order for solidarity to be achieved, society must have two main mechanisms; socialisation which instils the shared into its members and social control mechanisms which include positive sanctions for conformity and negative sanctions for deviance. Functionalists view crime and deviance as a positive feature of society which is inevitable and universal. They argue that every known society has some form of crime and deviance, a crime free society would be a contradiction according to Durkheim ‘crime is normal… an integral part of all healthy societies’. Functionalists maintain that there are two main reasons why crime is found in all societies. Firstly not everyone is equally effectively socialised into the shared norms and values thus some individuals are prone to deviate. In addition to this, in complex modern societies there is a diversity of lifestyle because different groups develop their own cultural norms and values what each subculture see as normal, mainstream culture may see as deviant. For example; in parts of Africa polygamy is allowed where as in mainstream western culture it is illegal. Durkheim’s develops this further and maintains that in modern societies there is a tendency towards...
Words: 1745 - Pages: 7
...Sharna Luscombe Outline and asses the functionalist explanations of crime and deviance. Functionalist ignore deviance; they look at society as a whole and ignore individualism. Functionalism is a structuralist approach (also known as a consensus theory) they believe that individuals are shaped by society and social facts. A limitation of functionalist is that they ignore certain groups within society, such as women and people with disabilities. They also ignore factors such as ‘race’ and social class. They believe that society will maintain stability if the institutions still exists and the factors that may cause conflict – are ignored. I will assessing the functionalist contribution to explanations of crime, to how useful it is and if those explanations have been applied within modern day society. Also how useful the explanations are at reducing crime. Deviance is a normative approach, it is associated with behaviour that differs from the set norms and values set out by society. Deviance is linked to informal social control through sanctions (not by laws or government policy). In a Post Modern society – this definition of deviance would be problematic because it refers to societal norms (which would have disappeared; due to individualism making it hard to follow set norms and values). Deviance could collapse in a post-modern society. Durkheim (1895) is a positivist who proposed the concept of anomie; as an explanation as to why certain people commit crime. He believes that...
Words: 1616 - Pages: 7
...We now live in a decaying age of youths. We live in a world where nowadays, youths are no longer respecting their families, parents, jobs and especially themselves. It could be said that the levels of deviance in the modern day are relative to those in the past but due to web 2.0 (more known as the ‘new internet’) and the new digital revolution it has become easier – and faster – for those to report and share deviance. Maybe now in the 20th century the levels of deviance seem amplified in relation to the past. It’s surprising, that even though there has been a drop in recorded crime over the years, the concerns about deviance in young people still remain high. This shows us, as a society, that we don’t necessarily believe in the regular statistical updates about crime. This means, in reality, these stories of youths committing crimes are now fuelled by media backing. Stories involving children, teenagers and gangs (usually committing petty theft or bullying) are made out far worse than it was in the first place. Unfortunately due to the media, youths are made out to seem far worse than they are, by identifying a groups of youths such as “gangs, knives and hoodies” they can create some sense of moral panic. This behaviour can then create a threat to the stability of society and make people re-evaluate their opinions. Most of the time, youths are depicted negatively in the media, and over time this stigmatism has stuck. The media are able to get lots of stories out of youth...
Words: 1940 - Pages: 8
...Examine the role of access to opportunity structures in causing crime and deviance (21 marks) Deviance is an act that goes against the norms and values of social construction. There are many different factors to be considered when examining opportunity structures in causing crime and deviance. Functionalists, especially Durkheim sees society as a stable system based on value consensus-shared norms, values, beliefs and goals. This produces social solidarity, binding individuals together into one harmonious unit. To achieve this, society must participate in socialisation and social control. These functionalist concepts easily link to the functionalist explanation of crime where crime is portrayed as inevitable and functional for society. Whilst crime disrupts social stability, functionalists see it as inevitable and universal. Durkheim sees crime as healthy for social as society needs some individuals who are inadequately socialised and prone to deviate. Also in highly modern societies, there is a specialized division of labour and a diversity of subcultures. Individuals and groups become increasingly different from one another, and the shared rules of behaviour become less clear. This is what is known as anomie. An example of where anomie occurs is in suicide, where rapid social change in modern society, leaves individuals unsure as to where they fit in. For Durkheim, crime fulfils two important positive functions, the first of which is boundary maintenance. Crime produces...
Words: 1650 - Pages: 7
...Assess the usefulness of realism in developing our understanding of crime and deviance Sociologists, both left and right realists, have tried to develop accurate theories of crime that propose practical solutions when dealing with the worldly issues of crime and deviance. The way these two approaches pursue this is drastically different from one another, as both wings are from completely opposite ends of the political scale. Nevertheless, like all sociological theories, they have their margins and flaws, yet both approaches have demonstrated to be useful in developing our understanding of crime and deviance for a number of reasons. The origins of left realism lie in the desire to move away from “pure theory” to something which can be utilised and applied practically in order to solve the problem of crime in Britain. Left realism is predominantly useful in understanding crime and deviance because it avoids the age old divisions between structure and action. Instead, left realism sets out an outline which contains all levels of analysis, both micro and macro. Young for example, suggests that in order to truly understand and deal with crime efficiently, the interaction between micro and macro factors need to be considered alongside each other in what is referred to as ‘the square of crime’. Simply, this means that when studying the problem of crime, sociologists should consider the roles of the state (they have the power to define what is criminal and what is not), the offender...
Words: 1184 - Pages: 5
...Using material from Item A and elsewhere, assess the usefulness of functionalist approaches in explaining crime (21 marks) Deviance is defined as the state of diverging from usual or accepted standards whereas crime is defined as an action or omission which constitutes an offence and is punishable by law. Usually, we would expect that functionalists would regard crime and deviance as wholly negative. However, functionalists such as Durkheim see the “beneficial effects of crime for society” whether there are “limited” or not. Additionally, functionalists see crime as inevitable and universal. Every known society has some level of crime and deviance. Within this essay, I will be exploring the ways key functionalists such as Durkheim, Merton, Cohen, Cloward and Ohlin view crime and criticisms towards their ideas. Durkheim states “crime is normal… an integral part of all healthy societies.” There are two reasons why crime and deviance are found in all societies. Which are; not everyone is equally effectively socialised into the shared norms and values and, therefore, some individuals will be prone to deviate. Secondly, in complex modern societies there is a diversity of lifestyles and values. Different groups develop their own subcultures with their own norms and values. The mainstream culture may regard their norms as deviant. Durkheim’s perspectives highlights that crime is not just inevitable but it also fulfils two important functions. Firstly, boundary maintenance. Crime...
Words: 1277 - Pages: 6
... (Assigned by Administration) PREREQUISITES: None Catalog Description (40 Word Limit): Study of human interaction focusing on social influences shaping personality, structure and dynamics of human society. Topics include: sociological perspective, culture, society, social interaction; social change in global perspective; socialization; families; social class; and social stratification; race and ethnicity; and deviance. | | |CONTENT LECTURE LAB OUTLINE | |HOURS HOURS | Study of Sociology (What is Sociology, Methods) 5 Individual and Society (Culture, Socialization, Social Interaction, Groups, Networks, Organization, Conformity and Deviance) 10 Stratification (Class, Global, Gender, Racial and Ethnic, Aging) 15 Social Institutions (Government, Work, Economy, Families, Education, Religion) 10 Social Change (Health, Sexuality, Population, Urbanization, Environment, Globalization) 5 EVALUATION: Quizzes X Exams X Oral Pres. x Papers X Lab Work Projects x Comp.Final X Other Group Activities Textbook: Required: Title...
Words: 1165 - Pages: 5
...Cultural Diversity in Criminal Justice There are many deviance theories that can be apply to the criminal justice system. Theories examine how individuals engage in crime. Deviance is any behavior that does not conform to the normal norms of a society and behavior is unacceptable to culture. Deviance is measured by society’s reaction to the violation of their social order is defined by a culture as deviant. Deviance is a label used to maintain the power, control, and position of a powerful individual or group. People deviate from social norms while some conform because of their raising and social pressures (Hayes, T.A. (2010). Labeling theory focus on individuals who society has judged to be criminal and thus label them as such. This theory looks at how a criminal, interacts with their society. Labeling theory was quite popular in the 1960s and early 1970s. Howard Becker (1963), states that criminal behavior changes throughout time. Becker says that personal motives and the influence by society have nothing to do with criminal behavior. Specific attention is giving to those that have been label a criminal and society react and operate with them. Once a person has the label of’ criminal, it becomes a constant status, even if they are mother or father criminal is the one that sticks with them. Becker states that individuals with this label begin to be associated with the word criminal (Becker, H. (1963)). The media is one of the key contributors of stereotyped characters. They...
Words: 1015 - Pages: 5
...Crime | Behaviour which breaks laws and is punished by the legal system | Deviance | Behaviour which goes against the norms, values and expectations of a social group or society | Downes and Rock | Defined deviance: ‘Deviance may be considered as banned or controlled behaviour which is likely to attract punishment or disproval’ | Foucault | Wrote about how definitions of criminal deviance, sexual deviance and madness have changed throughout history i.e. women wearing trousers was seen as deviant, now it is ‘normal’(supports: Kuhn: paradigms) | Plummer | An act can be seen as deviant or non deviant depending on the situation * Societal deviance (that are seen by most as deviant in society in most situations) such as child abuse * Situational deviance (acts that can be defined as deviant or normal) such as killing someone, its okay if it is a soldier but deviant otherwise. | Social order and social control maintain the status quo within society and creates a value consensus of how to behave. Therefore people are socialised to follow social norms. | Some norms become second nature to people such as face to face conversations. However there are norms that we are conscious of, such as stopping at a red traffic light. | Formal sanctions (carried out by official agencies) | Positive (conforming to the norm) * Certificate for passing A level exam * Medal for braveryNegative (punishment from deviating from the norm) * Fine for breaking the law * Points on a drivers...
Words: 3301 - Pages: 14
...Socialisation – helps ensure individuals share the same norms and values. Shows the way to act. - Social control – rewards for conformity and punishment for deviance. Controls behaviour. Inevitability of crime – functionalists see crime as inevitable and universal. Every society has crime. Two reasons why crime and deviance are in all societies: - No everyone is equally socialized into norms and values. Some are likely to be deviant. - Diversity of lifestyle and values. Different groups have their own subcultures with distinctive norms and values. Some may see deviant acts as normal. > Durkheim says in modern societies there is tendency towards anomie. The rules for behaviour become weaker and less clear-cut. This is because modern societies have a complex division of labour meaning individuals become more different from each other. Crime is more likely. Positive functions of crime – it also performs two positive functions Boundary maintenance - produces a reaction from society, uniting members in disapproval of criminals and reinforcing their commitment to shared norms and values. Adaptation and change – all change starts with an act of deviance. There must be scope to challenge existing norms and values and this will seem deviant in the short run. Criticisms - Durkheim says society requires deviance to function properly but states no way of knowing how much is the right amount. - Functionalists see crime in terms of its function. Crime may not exist to...
Words: 7771 - Pages: 32
