Film Characters and their social class

Film Characters and their social class

Mainstream films show poverty and social class inequality as the impact of personal merit and moral worth. Film and media are the most sophisticated art structure within the current generation. The film helps us understand the lives and culture of our society. Media and artists differ about the existence of various film characters in different social classes. Many film works feature characters active in the principal roles in society (Suber 40).   The significant indicators include the Aladdin and ratatouille. The figures show that the problem with poverty is the taste of the poor.

The silent movie shows the struggle within the cinema of human society. The great debate of labor against capital led to many films whose characters were in the working class—the film workers of the world with the unique name strike. The character Sergei Eisenstein made a great show of film play as a social class. The actors Kate Winslet, Jennifer Connelly, and Patrick Wilson depict the life of both the upper and middle class within the film little children. The film shows the lives of two couples from separate marriages that have had past rough experience.

Finding characters in the upper class was natural; this is because the high social level is over-represented. There is an enormous number of characters within the upper-class film industry, and critics have something about it (Suber 35). A lot of big films feature workers in leading roles in the working-class environment.  The upper class is the main exciting area for the filmmakers and the viewer’s getting on the trend. Moreover, the middle class and working-class characters are facing high exclusion from the literary works. However, the recent crop of fiction depicts middle-class livelihood as a dominant part of society. The larger group of the middle class involves a young professional who is getting into the profession. The difficulty in finding working-class characters suggests the lack of representation of the working class in literary fiction.

The characters within the upper class hold the jobs of the political sector as secretaries and permanent secretaries. The level censored films features characters within the working class as hardworking individuals. Roles within the wealthy members of society have easy access to a better school and social standards. They have a considerable influence in the community. The members of a prosperous society have links to influential individuals and know people with specialized knowledge (Freelon 43). The higher class has benefits in getting education and employment compared to the other courses.

The working and middle-class characters within the film industry are always viewed as a second class due to a lack of proper living conditions. The stereotypes within the industry give the viewers to have a different idea about level, but hard work pulls the characters out of poverty. The type of each primary role is the direct reflection of the classification of their life. The working class of the characters is considered wealthy as the characters depicted diligence and strong spirit (Ewing 39). The working and middle characters across the films had the primary role as they search for money.

Members of the middle and working class are considered inferior and lazy due to the stereotype by the media. The behavior ascribed to members of the upper level is that they are rich people that are smart and hardworking. Most parents do not like associating their children with the characters of the middle and working class. The weak characters are characterized by hardworking but still able to get ahead, which teaches the advantages of hard work. The stereotype of blacks as lazy and submissive people within the society is degrading to the characters (Freelon 73).

The socioeconomic environment that an individual grows up and live has a significant effect on their personal and social identities, and it entirely impacts their thinking and view of the social environment.  Compared to the middle class, working-class individuals define themselves by their independent and personal concepts. The working class gives explanations and interacts with other social situations with a situational response. The working class has a higher sense of empathy and lowers the sense of personal control hence help others during difficulties. It is widely known that working-class individuals are more stereotyped towards immigrant and ethnic communities who are considered an economic threat (Ewing 52).

In conclusion, the independence of upper and middle-class characters within prestigious films makes the working class people have limited chances within the prestigious film positions. Generally, the social class difference in identity, feeling, and recognition makes it difficult for working-class individuals to benefit from the high-end films. The occupational opportunities to improve the living conditions for the poor working class require the implementation of new policies. The redistributive policies help reduce the cycle of misfortunes that limit opportunities and minimize social cohesion. The films mostly feature wealthy characters to differentiate the society into the upper class and the poor. More than fifty percent of prestigious films have the main characters in either high quality or upper-middle level. In comparison to the real-world distribution of wealth, middle and lower class individuals are significantly misrepresented.

Works Cited

Ewing, Sarah Jo. Social Classes. 3rd ed., San Diego State University, 2017, pp. 37-53.

Freelon, Rhoda Yvette Robinson. Dollars And Sense(Making). University Of California, Los Angeles, 2018, pp. 57-85.

Suber, Howard. The Power Of Film. 4th ed., Michael Wiese Productions, 2016, pp. 34-56.