INTRODUCTION
Movies provide an excellent platform for portraying sociological concepts and ideas. Analyzing these concepts and ideas can greatly aid in the insight and understanding of the viewer. The objective of the sociological analysis of The Gods Must Be Crazy was to identify the sociological themes portrayed in the movie and apply them to pertinent concepts and theories. In this analysis, it will discuss why the movie The Gods Must Be Crazy was chosen; sociological concepts displayed through a hunting-gathering, agrarian, and industrial society; and how these apply to the two main sociological theories.
DISCUSSION
Selection of Film. The reason The Gods Must Be Crazy was chosen as the film for this analysis is because of its many settings …show more content…
The Botswanan villagers belong to a pastoral and agrarian society. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, “An agrarian place or country makes its money from farming rather than industry.” (Cambridge Dictionary). The Botswanans also had a democratic government, law enforcement, schools, grocery stores, gas stations, military posts, transportation, modern clothing, and other such things. So, while most of the population appeared to be poor farmers, it seemed that the village was undergoing modernization. Modernization, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica, is “the transformation from a traditional, rural, agrarian society to a secular, urban, industrial society. “(Encyclopedia Britannica) While there is no main character from the village, it is still possible to view interactions between the villagers and the main characters. There was an interaction between Xi and a farmer. Cultural differences once again caused confusion when the farmer thought Xi wanted to shoot him with his gun. Xi also had an interaction with the law when he killed a goat. They punished him according to their laws. Interactions between Kate and the villagers can also be seen. When Kate first came to the village, all the people welcomed her with a ceremonial song while waving to her. Her pupils trusted her and treated her with kindness and …show more content…
Finally, The South African city represented an industrial society. According to Ashley Crossman, an “industrial society is one in which technologies of mass production are used to make vast amounts of goods in factories, and in which this is the dominant mode of production and organizer of social life.” (Crossman) This can be clearly seen as the movie states “Civilized man… built cities, roads, vehicles, machinery, and he put up power lines to run his labor-saving devices… The more he improved his surroundings to make life easier, the more complicated he made it. So now his children are sentenced to 10-15 years of school, just to learn how to survive in this complex and hazardous habitat they were born into. And civilized man, who refused to adapt to his surroundings, now finds he has to adapt and re-adapt every hour of the day to his self-created environment…. your day is chopped into pieces, and in each segment of time you adapt to a new set circumstances.” (The Gods Must be Crazy) It gives a beautiful summary of modernization, industrialization, clock-time, and dramaturgy
Movies provide an excellent platform for portraying sociological concepts and ideas. Analyzing these concepts and ideas can greatly aid in the insight and understanding of the viewer. The objective of the sociological analysis of The Gods Must Be Crazy was to identify the sociological themes portrayed in the movie and apply them to pertinent concepts and theories. In this analysis, it will discuss why the movie The Gods Must Be Crazy was chosen; sociological concepts displayed through a hunting-gathering, agrarian, and industrial society; and how these apply to the two main sociological theories.
DISCUSSION
Selection of Film. The reason The Gods Must Be Crazy was chosen as the film for this analysis is because of its many settings …show more content…
The Botswanan villagers belong to a pastoral and agrarian society. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, “An agrarian place or country makes its money from farming rather than industry.” (Cambridge Dictionary). The Botswanans also had a democratic government, law enforcement, schools, grocery stores, gas stations, military posts, transportation, modern clothing, and other such things. So, while most of the population appeared to be poor farmers, it seemed that the village was undergoing modernization. Modernization, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica, is “the transformation from a traditional, rural, agrarian society to a secular, urban, industrial society. “(Encyclopedia Britannica) While there is no main character from the village, it is still possible to view interactions between the villagers and the main characters. There was an interaction between Xi and a farmer. Cultural differences once again caused confusion when the farmer thought Xi wanted to shoot him with his gun. Xi also had an interaction with the law when he killed a goat. They punished him according to their laws. Interactions between Kate and the villagers can also be seen. When Kate first came to the village, all the people welcomed her with a ceremonial song while waving to her. Her pupils trusted her and treated her with kindness and …show more content…
Finally, The South African city represented an industrial society. According to Ashley Crossman, an “industrial society is one in which technologies of mass production are used to make vast amounts of goods in factories, and in which this is the dominant mode of production and organizer of social life.” (Crossman) This can be clearly seen as the movie states “Civilized man… built cities, roads, vehicles, machinery, and he put up power lines to run his labor-saving devices… The more he improved his surroundings to make life easier, the more complicated he made it. So now his children are sentenced to 10-15 years of school, just to learn how to survive in this complex and hazardous habitat they were born into. And civilized man, who refused to adapt to his surroundings, now finds he has to adapt and re-adapt every hour of the day to his self-created environment…. your day is chopped into pieces, and in each segment of time you adapt to a new set circumstances.” (The Gods Must be Crazy) It gives a beautiful summary of modernization, industrialization, clock-time, and dramaturgy