Definition Of Social Constructionism In Brokeback Mountain

“Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They do not don’t belong no place” (Steinbeck 13). The society in Of Mice and Men is on a smaller and simpler level but has the same principles: Work hard which shows (functionality), stay in line which shows (strict conformity), and keep your head down which shows the (intolerance for the unique). That is all society expects from the population. There are no laws or “Amendments” to enforce these expectations. Instead society controls the population through peer pressure and desire to conform. If someone were to stand out as an individual they would be punished in the form of examination, judgement, and exposement to others who will also examine and judge the individual. This is seen as a terrifying process to the individual and therefore avoided by conforming. “ I don’t know why. Maybe ever'body in the whole damn world is scared of each other” (35). Individuals fear others will see something about them themselves that makes them different. And to be different means to stand out, which results in society taking notice. When society takes notice of that individual it will begin the process of: examination, judgement, and exposement. The reason the ranchers fear each other can be a simple primal fear of physical pain. But on a larger deeper level it is a fear of judgment and being found lacking, or simply different. The society found in Harrison Bergeron is similar to that of Of Mice and Men in the representation of society being focused around strict conformity, intolerance for the unique, and functionality. The society of Harrison Bergeron is different from Of Mice and Men because of the militant portrayal of society. Whereas Of Mice and Men shows society in a more traditional

Sexual transgression and sexual exploration is one of the most highly talked about topics in today’s society. The path to sexual liberation within society begins with experimentation and exploration, followed by personal acceptance, and finally, although not always, societal acceptance. Although we have come a long way on the path of acceptance of different sexual transgressions, the stories of Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, Tennessee Williams’ “Vieux Carre,” and Lyle Saxon’s “The Centaur Plays Croquet” show that this type of acceptance has not always been the case. Each story plays an integral role when looking at the steps on the path to societal acceptance. Chopin 's story dives deep into the area of experimentation and exploration, whereas Saxon 's story looks more at the areas of personal acceptance, and Williams ' story lies more along the area of societal acceptance, and whether or not acceptance is always the end result.

With her West Virginia upbringing and living in a coal town, she was inspired to write about “rednecks” in a more positive way. The main way of her doing so was to bring to light the characters of the novel and their loyalty to family, the land and values. The characters are very relatable, the characters manage to wiggle their way into the reader’s heart. It is easy for the reader to become attached characters and to the issues arising in the book. It is in fact a part of our history, native to Appalachia or

In the article “Is Texas America?” by Molly Ivins, she explains certain stereotypes of Texans that she has come across for example that “all the cowboys are brown”, and that “Cowboys mostly stink”. She goes on

In Harry Benshoff’s article, “Brokering Brokeback Mountain”, he touches on how in the movie Brokeback Mountain, there are many queer references that are made and thus created quite a bit of controversy in Hollywood and also to the moviegoers in the audience. In Benshoff’s article, he attempts to help the reader understand the phenomenon surrounding homosexuality. To complete his study on how the audience in North Texas was receptive of this film, he utilizes his own personal experiences and surveys from the people of North Texas. Benshoff analyzes the opinions of homophobia from the viewers by reviewing their responses to the film and how they generally feel about the reality of the film. Despite the mixed reviews that this film received, it allowed the film industry to “[open] up an important public space for discourse on the place and meaning of queer men in the United States” (2-3).

Throughout the novel McCarthy discusses how John Grady Cole’s beloved cowboy culture is slowly dying. John Grady Cole's father says “People don’t feel safe no more, he said. We’re like the Comanches two hundred years ago. We don’t know what’s going to show up here come daylight. We don’t even know what color they’ll be” to tell John Grady Cole about his grandfather's cowboy way of life (pg 60). His Father continues to talk about their beloved cowboy way of life, that is dying because of the industrialization that is making its way to west. With industrialization slowly heading towards the west, the cowboy way of life started to become uncertain just like how the Comanches life was uncertain 2 hundred years previous. The parallelism here shows the reader how the ending of the cowboy culture made John Grady Cole leave Texas and got him in trouble in

Appearance is now a visual image that is introduced into the stereotypes of men in Appalachia. In the films Lawless, The Dollmaker, and Songcatcher the men are consistently trying to prove themselves to outsiders. In the films the men are portrayed as the stereotypical mountain man based on their appearance and actions. There is a clear distinction between the outsider men and the Appalachian men, simply by their physical appearance. The way the men dress in the films confirms the stereotypical idea of how people in Appalachia dress, reinforcing stereotypical ideas that they are untrustworthy and not equals. The majority of the Appalachian men wore overalls, dirty or torn clothing, and had dirt on their face. In the eyes of the outsiders, the Appalachian men could not be trusted because they looked dirty therefore were worth less than outsiders. In comparison to the eyes of the Appalachian men, those who dressed in more formal clothing could not be trusted. In Lawless, the Bondurant brothers dressed this way and outsiders believed they are not trustable because they fell into the stereotype. In The Dollmaker, before the move to Detroit, Clovis dressed the same way, as well as the other Appalachian men shown in the film. Also in the film Songcatcher, we see the Appalachian men dress in similar ways. Once Jack Bondurant obtained money to afford to buy new clothes, he was taken seriously and no longer threatened by the outsiders when he sold the moonshine (Lawless). When Clovis moved into Detroit and obtained credit or money, he changes his appearance to conform to the ways outsiders dressed therefore he no longer fit the stereotypical Appalachian man in his appearance (The

As a society, we feed off of each other for what a proper response to something may be. As children, we first look to see our mother’s reaction after falling down; if she is calm, I should also be. We look to each other for what a definition of things should be, as well. In the 1950’s, it was generally obscene for a woman on television to show her belly button, whereas today we will show nude breasts on primetime programming. This follows the sociological theory of symbolic interactionism, where society and individual social interaction provides a subjective meaning to deviant behavior. Many social definitions change for the better, however some change for the worse. One such example was once viewed as normal, with no second thoughts given to it, but now is seen as an actual social problem affecting some groups aversely. This is the topic of homosexuality, a subject that has been on the receiving end of both accepting and discriminating cultures for thousands of years.

Rodeos have been around since the day of the cowboy, they are often times credited for having Americas true cowboys. They include great display of athleticism between a cowboy or cowgirl, and the animals. Many rodeo events today, such as calf roping, are traditional farm and ranch practices. Some rodeo viewers don’t approve of what they see. Some people believe rodeos are too rough on the animals and that the animals are mistreated behind closed doors. Dr. James Furman (Beef Magazine), a professional rodeo animal practitioner, says that rodeos have strict animal policies. Cowboys will be disqualified, and often times fined for the mistreatment of animals. (Beef Magazine). Dr. Furman admits, "The rodeos do look tough on the animals, but ranchers take extensive procedures to make sure their cattle are in good health. If the rodeos truly did help the animals, would ranchers put their cattle in them." Furman also likes to add "Livestock

The Western genre tended to portray Native Americans stereotypically; males were often shown as barbaric and the antagonist to the masculine Western cowboy. This links back to the savage stereotype, and how Westerners are often shown in a positive and heroic light whereas other ethnicities are demoralized and shown as negative characters. There are a select few stereotypical representations of Native Americans which are highly common in film, for example Native Americans typically speak “with a broken dialect of ‘baby’ English. They are not able to fully understand or express thoughts in the English language” (“The role of Native Americans in film, n.d.). This representation has changed in recent years with the

The movie True Grit is set in a chaotic time period of the American Frontier known as the “Old West,” or the “Wild West.” The American Frontier describes the “edge of a settled area.” Throughout the 18th and 19th century, the frontier continued to expand westward. In the mid-1800s, the frontier had been pushed into Nebraska and Kansas. Gold mines were attractive sources of wealth for many to move West. Eventually, railroads were built that connected the Western states and the East.(“American”). Throughout the West, many towns began to flourish in population due to the attraction of mines. Gambling also became a prominent source of entertainment. Although the West holds many opportunities, it also holds its fair share of difficulties. The climate was dry, the land was difficult to farm. Money was often short. As people struggled for their opportunities, chaotic violence became a telling point of the Old West (“The Western”). The task of controlling the violence of the West often fell into the hands of U.S. Marshals. They became renowned in the latter half of the 19th century for their heroics acts of punishing the lawlessness of the frontier towns (“U.S.”).

Another example of a corrupt black cowboy was Cranford Goldsby. Known as Cherokee Bill, he was the black counterpart to Billy the Kid. He was born Cranford Goldsby into a law abiding family; his father was a Buffalo soldier in the West (Katz 155). One of the most famous cowgirls was Belle Starr, she was called the 'Bandit Queen'–a lovely lady who ruled outlaw gangs with her guns, her will and her personal favors. She has been credited with stealing from the rich and giving to the poor, cleaning out crooked poker games with her six-shooters, and galloping down city streets with pistols blazing (Arnott). These evidences tell us that there were really some famous black cowboys and cowgirls in the real West but they weren’t romanticized in western arts as much as the white cowboys. Comparing to the book Shane, homesteaders and ranchers were taking the lands of Native Americans, so there definitely was a conflict between these people. However, Schaefer never mentioned about Native, African, or Asian Americans in the book. It can be seen as a case of discrimination.

The dominant group—men, white people, upper and middle class people, and heterosexuals—are considered the “norm” and all assumptions are created off of this “norm.” The media today creates the “norm” by showing boys and men as being tough and manly, and girls and women as passive, yet also sexy and sophisticated. Also, in school we are taught that girls should not take woodworking class, and instead should take cooking or health classes. By learning these rules and roles of our gender at school and in society, we are reinforced by what we have learned at home. The article about the cycle of socialization justifies that the media, our cultural practices, and the assumptions on which our society is built “all contribute to the reinforcement of the biased messages and stereotypes we receive.” The messages from the media, culture, and our own homes have embedded in our minds what is accepted in society and how to act. In the cycle of socialization, the institutional and cultural level of socialization is enforced constantly; therefore, the people who go against societies “norms” are immediately oppressed. The results of the cycle of socialization are disturbing, for the majority of society plays their roles and simply does nothing to change the “norm.”

The film genre of the Western has long since proven to be more about the conflict and showdowns that occur in the storyline. Usually the western genre incorporates traditional western motifs and icons and adheres to those common plot structures of the genre, but Brokeback Mountain is different from what is to be normally expected because it does not seem like a traditional and conventional Western film at all. Brokeback Mountain has several different twists to it, like the more modern take on it – traditionally, characters in Western films were riding horses, but because Brokeback Mountain is a more modern movie, the two characters Jack and Ennis are seen traveling in cars and trucks most of the time. This alteration is very

What does an author hope to achieve by violating social norms in their stories? While some may solely do it for the thrill of being edgy and outlandish, many use it as a path to normalize something the author believes should no longer be ostracized in their society. This may come in the form of a woman becoming independent from an oppressive man, a man escaping a loveless marriage that he feels trapped in, or any other person escaping the societal chains which hold them back from their true potential as an individual. No matter the case, progress towards a more joyful world cannot be made through idleness. Change happens because people force change to happen, and the first step to that is to create a catalyst for deliberation. The easily consumable nature of short stories makes them an excellent tool for opening a dialogue about a social norm that an author finds off-putting or harmful.