Popular Conceptualization of African-Americans in Sitcoms Essay

Popular Conceptualization of African-Americans in Sitcoms - Essay Example Series’ like this one show that change has to come from within the African American community before it can occur elsewhere because the community is actually damaging itself with shows like this one. This sitcom was based on Jamie King, who was a musician from Texas who moved to Los Angeles to follow his dream of becoming a musician. This basic premise was actually pretty good, as it could have been used to present King as a hardworking individual who wanted to follow his dreams. In addition, the fact that he went to work at his aunt and uncle’s hotel is a positive statement, since it shows African American business owners succeeding in life. That is where the positive interactions stop, however, as King’s interactions with Fancy are very stereotypical in a negative sense. King comes off as a womanizer who believes that treating a woman like an object is acceptable, although he does begin to realize the error of his ways as the seasons progress. Another negative stereotype that is shown in this series is the Braxton P. Hartnabrig character, who is constantly chastised for the way he acts in relation to Jamie. This is a problem because it portrays acting as a womanizing clown as being cool, while acting in a more serious manner and taking an interest in moving forward in life is seen as being uncool. Also, the fact that Jamie is attempting to break into the music industry, rather than something that calls for a higher intellect, is disturbing because it portrays the stereotype that African Americans can only be successful through music or athletics. This series also featured countless black related jokes that are meant to achieve cheap laughs while furthering certain stereotypes, which definitely could have been changed into something more positive. â€Å"The Parkers† is another show that exploits certain stereotypes in the African American community through its characters. For starters, Nikki Parker is a single mother, which perpetuates the absentee father

Sociology of work assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Sociology of work assignment - Essay Example Man actually abhors unemployment as it dissociates him from society. The psychology of work according to sociological theories have made way for a pragmatic approach that relates the manner and circumstances available for ‘doing’ work, while constructing ‘work identity’. This has given rise to inevitable contradictions as contemporary issues have evolved as strong determining factors. The nature and dignity of a person is ought to be defined and protected through contemporary working life. There is continuous physical transformation of our environment due to several volatile factors working in tandem. Work being a part of social life, integrity and coherence in modern work aspects in religious and ethnic background, cannot be a criterion according to Durkheim. He explained the different social components by relating them to their contributions and evolved the concept of Functionalism. For him, society was beyond just a summation of its components or ‘methodological individualism’. Through his concept of Division of Labor, Durkheim classified Traditional and Modern societies and added the theories of social evolutionism. Traditional Societies were mechanical. Collective consciousness dominates the individual consciousness and the strength of social norms makes social behavior highly regulated. In Modern Work Society, the division of labor is extremely complex. This results in Organic Solidarity. Social roles are variegated and employment is specialized. This results in a dependency that tie people as they no longer feel to assume all the variegated roles by themselves. This is a state of enhanced division of labor that differs and is often in conflict with collective consciousness. (Emile Durkheim, Durkheim Suicide, 2006) Richard Sennett discusses the impact of capitalist economy on workers’ lives. He considers every life as an ongoing story, illustrated by progression of time and characterized by notable events