The sociological concept of feminism

The sociological concept of feminism

The sociological concept of feminism is conspicuously exhibited in the different lives of the characters of You. Notably, the rise of feminism and the empowerment it has afforded women is masterfully highlighted. As posited by various scholars, feminism seeks to eradicate the inequalities in the treatment of women and their subsequent oppression through patriarchy. Harriet Martineau embodies this in her Society in America as follows:

“All women should inform themselves of the condition of their sex and their position. It must necessarily follow that the noblest of them will, sooner or later, put forth a moral power which shall prostrate hypocrisy, and burst asunder the bonds (silken to some but cold iron to others) of feudal prejudice and usages. In the meantime is it to be understood that the principles of the Declaration of Independence bear no relation to half of the human race? If so, what is the ground of this limitation?“

As such, women are deemed equal to men, even intellectually, and should hence be afforded the same proactive roles and opportunities as men. Of significance is that the film You portrays a significant shift of the perception of domestic purposes prevalent in the 1950s.

The empowerment of feminism gets significantly illustrated when the “weaker sex” Becks, fights back against the oppressive nature of the patriarchal system. Oppression occurs when her professor threatens to terminate her work-study and award her poor grades if she does not give in to his sexual demands. Notably, if she complained to the school administration, her claims would be dismissed, and her reputation would get ruined. As such, Becks is torn in the dilemma of foregoing her dignity by having sex with the professor or seeking to maintain her academic track record and the source of her income sustenance through work-study. In feminist defiance against such sexual exploitation, Beck and other victims of the professor’s sexual predation collaborate by gathering evidence through social media and successfully expose the professor for the rot he is, thus justice. As such, such rebellion against perceived patriarchy oppression illustrates the empowerment of the sociological concept of feminism, and its reinforcement through solidarity.

The sociological concept of solidarity denotes the essence of the unification of persons of similar interests. The concept was popularized by French Philosopher and politician Pierre Leroux, who indicated that solidarity was critically essential in revolutions and clamors for initiation of change. As illustrated by Karl Max, the only way to defeat the institutionalized beliefs and norms was for the unification of people of the classes during the revolution.

Undeniably, this concept of strength in numbers is highlighted severally in You, during Becks struggle against sexual exploitation. The film notes single-handedly, a female student cannot successfully indict the professor of sexual harassment charges, due to their unequal bargaining powers. To defeat the system, the concept of solidarity comes into play when Beck collaborates with other victims of the sexually exploitative professor to gather evidence against him. Through the strength of their collective rather than individual voices, they successfully manage to convince the school administration of the guilt of the professor.  As such, the strength of their collective voices reinforces the theory of solidarity.

The other theory postulated by the You is social constructionism, which admittedly deals with the issue of reality. Through social constructionism, sociologists question the constitution of the existing state of things in society. As noted by various scholars, the reality of a society consists of multiple factors and is collective. As such, most postulate that there is nothing such as individual reality in society, as such reality is collective. As such, our individual perceptions of reality may be defined and even influenced by others.

In You, the character Joe Goldberg falls in love with a blonde, Beck, who walks into his bookstore one day in search of a book. Her disdain critique of the works of Dan Brown sparks interest in Joe, who decides that he must get to date her at all lengths and costs. As such, Joe is seen to create and influence the reality of Beck, as he plans everything to perfection, from their meetup to date, and even stealing her phone, leaving nothing to coincidence. Admittedly, Beck falls into his trap. Such actions by Joe illustrate the creation of reality by the society, as even further postulated by the movie Truman.

The preceding concept of social constructionism inevitably leads one to question the authenticity of one’s reality. As such, it invokes the concept of authenticity, as individuals get to question their reality, whether things happen by coincidence, or its all part of a design by a higher force. Such creation of reality links to the creation of a celebrity, which Richard Dye posits that a celebrity is not a real person in his works and ideas on stars and stardom.”

Hegemony is another sociological concept prevalent in the film You. Hegemony advocates for the protection of the characteristics of a dominant group once it becomes the norm or the status quo. Notably, hegemony seeks to retain the existing state of things through employing a system of coercion and consent, maintaining an ideology of something as rational and normalizing of presumed norms and expectations.

In You, the concept of hegemony is noted in its advances of capitalism, where the existing norms is that people have to work for pay and sustenance, and those who don’t work are regarded as wayward and parasites. It is through this hegemony that the rich continue to exploit the poor through the appropriation of their labor, hence maintaining the status quo. Notably, it is through the effects of the workings of hegemony that Beck is reluctant to allow her wealthy friends to write her a much-needed cheque when she is going through tough times. She admits that in doing so would be unfairly relying on them for survival. As such, she would rather starve than let her rich friends assist her, as she would feel indebted to them. Hegemony is further illustrated in Beck’s utterances that she would soon find a job to support herself independently.

The sociological concept of self is also prevalent in the film. The doctrine posits that the self consists of perceptions of our identity in relation to ourselves, others, and extensive social systems. As per Mead, the “I” consists of the reaction by persons to the attitudes of others, while the “me” is the organized set of attitudes of others which an individual assumes. As such, a person in the society can craft his identity through certain presentations to other members of the society, for instance, through the dressing.

In the film you, Joe seemingly takes advantage of this concept of self to create an admired identity to the character Beck. Through crafting and manipulation of the Charles Cooley looking glass self-theory, “I am not who you think I am; I am not who I think I am; I am who I think you think I am.” Joe successfully manages to manipulate every detail of his relationship with Beck to make himself more appealing and dateable to Beck.  He even gauges her reaction to their encounters through her conversations with friends on the phone that he stole. He manages to convince her that he is what she needs in life, her soulmate, and they get in a relationship.

The concept of collective memory is another concept prevalent in the film. The doctrine works together with psychological presumptions, and denotes that not only do individuals remember, but also collectives as well, as indicated by the sociology scholar Maurice Hawlbachs”. As such, this allows for the conceptualization of creation of memory, and its preservation in mass form, through books, museums, artifacts, inter alia.

The sociology concept of collective memory is illustrated by the presence of literature in the bookshop run by Joe. The books, ranging from the recent works of authors like Dan Brown to old valued classic books stored in an element controlled room for their preservation, indicate the value of memories and knowledge, and consequently, their preservation. As such, and individual, even though dead a long time ago, is able to keep his memory alive through books, which act as a vessel of the collection of memories. Notably, the books come from all sorts of people and writers, and as such, they collectively store the memories of their writers. Through this bookshop, and the old classical books, the theory of collective memory is further reinforced, which is related to collective intelligence.

The concept of sociological concept denotes the workings of a group intellect when individuals start working collectively.  As such, the individuals are able to share information and intelligence; thus, they solve problems collectively, hence further promoting the greater interests of the public. In You, the conglomeration of the victims of sexual predation by the professor indicates collective intelligence. Through their coming together to share the information, the individuals are able to bring out the truth and expose the professor to the administration as the sexual predator he is. As such, the workings of the concept of collective intelligence are effectively demonstrated.