Sociology Issue
Sociology refers to the study of the social life of human beings as well as their societies and groups. This is an interesting and compelling topic because of its main subject matter is the behavior of human beings as social beings. Sociology has a very wide scope, which ranges from the world wide social processes investigations to the analysis of the past and current encounters between people in a public place. This scientific study that focuses on the social behavior of human beings in a collective perspective focuses on various groups of activities. Such activities include social, political, economic as well as religious activities. A sociologist would study areas such as community, bureaucracy, family, deviant behavior, social change, public opinion, social strata, social notification and particular issues of concern like divorce, crime, drug and substance abuse or addiction and child abuse. The main aim of studying sociology is to determine laws that govern the behavior of human beings in social contexts.
Since sociology is a very wide subject with scopes covering almost all aspects of human life, it can be used to explain some of the human behaviors. Sociologists usually have interest in determining why human beings behave in a certain way and why they behave in that manner in relation to the environment and fellow human beings. Through the study of sociology, it is possible to establish the best human behaviors just by studying the behaviors, their effects on an individual and those people around that individual. Sociology can help and individual to establish the best way to behave themselves and how to treat other people. It can help an individual become a sociable, friendly and likeable character in society.
In sociology, the study usually involves the study of a social issue in relation to the personal problems experienced in society. Social issues are those major issues in society that involve a collective aspect of human behavior. The social issues are the economic, political, social and religious issues. These are the broad social issues that affect the human beings’ day to day activities. It is the activities that human beings do in relation to these social issue that result in social problems. Social problems include those activities that interfere with the ethical expectations of the social issues. The personal problems include crime, child abuse, poverty, divorce as well as substance abuse or addiction. These problems are directly linked to the social, economic, political and religious issues of the society. In order to address these social issues and personal problems, the sociologists have to identify the particular area to study. Areas of study in sociology will include public opinion, community, bureaucracy, deviant behavior, social changes, family, social stratification and social mobility. It is through the sociological studies that the laws or rules that govern the behavior of human beings in social contexts can be established.
An example of the study of a personal problem which becomes a social issue is brought out clearly in a movie, the Fisher King Movie. Through this film, the issue of social issues and personal problems is well explained and demonstrated in the movie’s plot. The movie, Fisher King, focuses on a radio shock jock individual who tried all the efforts within his means to salvage himself just by offering his help to another man who led a totally traumatized life. The movie is based on the Legend of Arthur, a mythical story on redemption during the hard times in New York. The comedy film was directed by Terry Gilliam and written by Richard LaGravanese. The film stars Jeff Bridges who acts as the fallen radio star while Mercedes Ruehl stars as the owner of the video store who genuinely loves and supports Jeff Bridges both financially and emotionally. In the movie, William Robin acts as a grief stricken individual with a gentle heart but is homeless and is always disturbed by his situation to an extent that he moves around naked and occasionally is naked, causing chaos very often. The film has three main themes that are clearly brought out, humor, romance and heartbrokenness.
Mr. Bridge, role played by Jack Lucas, is a sarcastic radio host with a haughty spirit. He is affected so much that he becomes suicidal after making sensitive comments that lead to a depressed listener and caller committing a mass murder in a well known Manhattan bar. Three years after the mass murder, Mr. Bridge attempts to commit suicide. However, he did not die; thugs mistook him for a homeless individual and even threaten to burn him up. A homeless person, Parry, rescues Bridge. It is later revealed that Parry’s delusion results from the loss of his wife to the mass murder that took place three years earlier in Manhattan. Bridge obliges to help Parry search for the Holy Grail. Bridge attempts to redeem himself by hooking up Parry with Lydia. However, one day as they were preparing dinner, Parry is haunted by a red Knight and he takes off from the scene. He is later attacked by thugs. The film focuses on homelessness, explores some of the dangers of homelessness and the causes of homelessness in society that people often get exposed to.
The film brings out several issues. First, homelessness is considered a serious problem that leads to serious dangerous implications on those individuals who are affected. Homelessness is one of the sociological issues that are experienced globally since not any country has managed to eradicate this issue, as much as these countries have policies relating to homelessness management. The efforts to eradicate homelessness have not succeeded and this has become an issue of concern for sociologists bearing in mind its implications on society. Even though social stratification in society shows that homeless people are a very small minority, found in low class characterized by prejudice from other people who are well off, these people need serious attention and help so that they can access basic and important things such as social amenities and basic needs to help them lead a comfortable life.
One of the major causes of homelessness is poverty. Poor people in society usually have little or no means to access their basic needs of food, shelter and clothing. Of all the basic needs, the housing or shelter need is the one with the highest costs. This makes the poor have very little chance of affording their own good shelter. This is because whatever income the poor get, they incur it on subsistent goods like food and clothing. These individuals require public help in order to make ends meet. For example, in the film, Fisher King, the talk show host, Mr. Bridge, when introduced to the streets after being laid off from his job, he became frustrated and homeless. Other issues that lead to homelessness are also known to lead to cycle effects. The contracting job opportunities, a very common trend in many countries today where the job opportunities are few and the number of homeless individuals is high. When minimum wages decline with time, it is attributed to a weak bargaining power of employee unions. The low wages reduce the affordability of proper housing as well as increasing poverty indices in an economy.
The reduction in the levels of public help is another factor contributing to homelessness. Averagely, almost all countries in Africa have very poor policies that are designed to help the poor in society. In Europe, public help is done but it has declined significantly over the recent past. Disabled people also find it hard to find and sustain housing facilities hence; they end up being homeless. In the United States, almost all states still use the old welfare systems to consider and determine the present economic trends that help people afford basic requirements such as housing.
The inability to afford quality health care can lead to homelessness. When families struggle to afford housing then an illness occurs, there is a likelihood that they will prefer to be homeless in order to cater for their health costs. With the increase in insurance costs, the poor people can no longer afford the premiums hence depend on their small salaries to cater for their health care. Abusive marriages can also result in homelessness since the abused spouse may choose to live on the streets to avoid being abused. This mostly affects women in the poor society.
Homelessness can also be caused by psychological disorders. Those who are affected mentally usually end up on the streets homeless where they suffer. Unfortunately, these people are never taken to hospitals for checkups. Mr. Bridges and parry end up on the streets because of their mental related issues. Homelessness could also be as a result of drug abuse and addiction. Those people who are addicted to drugs end up spending much of their income on drugs and left with no money for necessities like hosing hence they end up on the streets homeless.
Homelessness results into various impacts in society. For example, when Parry and Bridges find themselves on the streets in the movie, they are attacked and beaten by thugs. Therefore, it is true to say that homelessness exposes the victims to violence. Those homeless people who engage in crime also end up being violent to earn themselves a living. They are prone to sodomy, rape and victimization. These people also face health risks since they do not have proper homes. They are likely to contract diseases from cold, dirty food and poor diets. These people also fall victims of sexual harassment hence have high chances of contracting sexually transmitted diseases.
The homeless are also victims of prejudice in society. Many people tend to assume that street people are rejects, failures, criminals and drug addicts. Most of these people have ended up on the streets due to different reasons and may not deserve such kind of prejudice and mistreatment. These people engage in drugs to try and get their minds over their problems while others engage in sexual activities at a young age to earn a living.
Homeless support programs such as homeless shelters are very important costs to taxpayers because they go towards helping the poor people in society with no shelter. However, the administration of the program is at times shoddy hence making the poor people to trade whatever they are given. This leads to various effects on the economy. First, it leads to illegal trade that is based on cheap materials which negatively affects the quality of goods and the legal trade leading to lower economic performance. Since the homeless people are mainly poor people, their contribution towards the economy of the country is very minimal. Their efforts to earn a living are always treated with suspicion hence leading to laws that regulate their activity. They also increase the government expenditure in form of judicial costs since most of them are taken to court for counts of crime and drug abuse
Homelessness has various effects on education and health. In Canada, 2% of the national population is homeless but they all have been admitted to hospital over five times. This is because these people lack proper hygiene and is exposed to harsh weather conditions. They are also more likely to engage in unprotected sex hence contracting diseases. This results into heavy government costs to cater for the health of these people. These people are also illiterate and tend not to have gone through school. This leads to things like crime, drug abuse and other social evils in society.
People on streets are also thought to be immoral and engage in social evils. Such people get involved in theft, robbery, drugs, pre marital sex, rape, gambling and fighting. These people are often vulgar and abusive in nature. This is because these people have a very weak personality with a negative self image and low self esteem. They are likely to be brutal and aggressive because they are not socially normal.
The bibliographic information of the narrative of the Fisher King is as shown below in an APA format.
Bibliography
LaGravenese, R. (1991). The Fisher king: the book of the film (illustrated ed.). New York: Applause Books.
Homelessness can be classified under the theory of social stratification. This theory focuses on the arrangement of the social classes in a hierarchical order in a society. In sociological matters, social stratification creates a hierarchy although it is not always the case in all societies. The theory of social stratification tries to classify individuals in society based on their financial or economic well being. The rich are at the top hierarchy while the poor and homeless are at the bottom of the hierarchy. This means the poor people in society are classified as the least able group financially who cannot afford their own homes hence they are likely to be homeless.
The lessons learnt from the film are that homelessness is a very serious problem that is caused by various problems. Not everybody who is homeless ended up there as their own intention; circumstances usually lead to most people being homeless. Such circumstances could be financial, health, mental and many other reasons. Since homelessness is a major social concern worldwide, there is need for all societies to start efforts to that will help eradicate homelessness. Some of these possible solutions to homelessness include the increase and the reviewing of policies of public assistance, provision of affordable housing to all people, increasing opportunities of employment in the economy, improving accessibility and provision of affordable health services in society and finally the reduction in costs of treatment for the mentally ill individuals in society to ensure they do not end up homeless and in the streets.
Burt, M. R., Pearson, C. L., & Montgomery, A. E. (2006). Homelessness: Prevention Strategies and Effectiveness. London: Nova Publishers.
Charon, J. M., & Vigilant, L. G. (2006). Social problems: readings with four questions (2, illustrated ed.). New York: Thomson/Wadsworth.
Hall, S., Powney, J., & Davidson, P. (2000). THE IMPACT OF HOMELESSNESS. New york: Sage Publication.
LaGravenese, R. (1991). The Fisher king: the book of the film (illustrated ed.). New York: Applause Books.
Levinson, D. (2004). Encyclopedia of Homelessness (Vol. Volume 1). New York: SAGE.
National Coalition for the Homeless. (2011, December 15). Why Are People Homeless? Retrieved May 23, 2012, from National Coalition for the Homeless: http://www.nationalhomeless.org/factsheets/why.html
