SA 21-K Group 2: Angelica Alberto, Denise Carino, Claudine Cu, Jiana Lee, Frances Leones, James

Miano, Bea Sioson

Inside Out (Structural-Functionalism)

Inside 11-year-old Rileys mind, her five emotions - Joy, Sadness, Anger, Disgust, and
Fear - manage how she feels throughout each day and keep track of all of her memories, the
Core Memories being the most important ones as they power up different aspects of Rileys
personality. When Rileys Core Memories are accidentally sent to Long Term Memory along with
Joy and Sadness, Anger, Disgust, and Fear struggle to help Riley cope with her familys move
from Minnesota to San Francisco. On the outside, without Joy to keep her upbeat and all the
other emotions left behind in Headquarters clashing with each other, Riley experiences turmoil
as she adjusts to her new life in San Francisco. On their journey back to Headquarters, Joy and
Sadness get up close and personal with how their girls mind operates thanks to the many Mind
Workers, meet Bing Bong, Rileys imaginary friend, and discover how much Riley needs them
both.
The film fits the Structural-Functionalism paradigm because each emotion has a specific
function in Rileys well-being. Her parents emotions (who look like older versions of hers) also
have similar functions. Anger cares very deeply about things being fair and is the emotion
needed for Riley or her father to put the foot down when things escalate. Disgust keeps Riley
from being poisoned, physically and socially, which she shows when keeping Joy from having
Riley go near the popular girls in her class. As popularity is concerned, Disgusts call is to have
the populars like Riley first before she can befriend them. Fear acts as Rileys safety patrol,
making sure she doesnt get hurt outside or gets her to wake up from her nightmares. Joy, the
de facto leader of the team, keeps Riley happy. But her dedication to keep Riley happy clouds
her judgement on Sadness, the one emotion who doesnt really know her purpose. In the end,
Joy and the other emotions realize that Riley needs each and every one of them to function
optimally, which is a reflection of the ideals of Structural-Functionalism.
In the film, the character of Riley illustrates sociological imagination. The problems she
had to deal with in her life, like being uprooted from her childhood home, witnessing her parents
fight, and being bullied at school are problems shared by many children that are rooted in
problematic social structures. Rileys familial problems (the move and parental fighting) can be
said to be a result of a competitive job market that forces families to seek opportunities
elsewhere. Similarly, being bullying is also symbolic of discrimination which is a common
structure in many societies.

Les Misrables (Social Conflict)

Jean Valjean, a convict, has just been let out on parole after serving 19 years for stealing
bread and trying to escape multiple times. His status as an ex-convict prevents him from getting
shelter and a job but a kind bishop takes him in and inspires him to change his life for the better.
Years pass and we see that Valjean has become the mayor of a small town. When inspector
Javert is assigned as his new chief of police, he is afraid that he will recognize him and bring
him back to prison as he escaped his parole years ago. A factory worker of Valjean, Fantine,
blames him for his foreman firing her thus causing her to turn to a life of prostitution. Valjean
feels pity for the girl and when she dies, he takes in her young child, Cosette, and raises her as
his own. More time passes and we see that Cosette is much older now and Valjean is still
running from Javert who has found him once again. They get caught in the events of the
revolution.
Social-conflict paradigm sees society as an area of inequality that generates change
which ultimately leads to contrasting values shaping social behavior. Two kinds of conflict can
be observed Les Miserables, namely class and gender conflict. Fantines behavior is largely
influenced by her societal class, and Valjean, a simple bread thief, turned to be a career criminal
who was shunned by everyone because he was an ex-convict. Moreover, the main revolution in
the story happens because of the death of the only person in the government who gives mercy
to the poor. His death ultimately created an uprising. The government eventually kills the
revolutionists and ends the uprising causing the poor to be silenced once more. The movie
condemns the unjust class-based structure in France by showing how this particular structure
turns innocent people into criminals, how an individuals status heavily factors in his decisions,
and how a persons social class largely influences his behavior.
Fantines decisions and fate illustrate the contrasting gender roles men and women in
19th century France. The movie showed that women in a lower social class were more likely to
be subjected to abuse, and they had limited options to alleviate their status (i.e., Fantine turning
to prostitution). Moreover, improving ones status was more difficult for women compared to
men. Cosettes father returned to a respectable life with minimal ramifications from his affair and
illegitimate child, while Fantine did not recover and was ostracized by the community. The movie
showed that women faced more social consequences from their decisions. Gender therefore
largely affects an individuals behavior.
The character of Jean Valjean fosters Sociological Imagination. His character begins as
an ex-convict who has lost hope for the world. He turns his life around once he realizes that

what he has been doing was wrong. He knows how to escape Javert, rescue Cossette, and he
is able to analyze situations and events to see what the appropriate action would be.
Breakfast Club (Symbolic Interactionism)
The movie was set on a Saturday morning when five completely different students were
sent to detention: the princess, the jock, the criminal, the brain and the basket case. In the
beginning of the film, they all were at odds with each other. Eventually, they bonded together
because of a common denominator - their hatred for the principal, Mr. Richard Vernon. As the
film progresses, we can see that the students who have always been confined by their
respectful cliques and crowd, have more things in common than what they have imagined.
John Hughes The Breakfast Club realistically depicts the congruence between the
representatives of the different high school societal subgroups. Despite the preconceived
stereotypes about each of the five students, the movie progresses to eventually show us that
they arent so different after all- as teenagers, they all experience the same struggle with their
identities. These teenagers ultimately believed that they were confined into these predetermined
labels; However, through the course of the Saturday that they spent amongst each other, they
realized that there was more to them than what these descriptions perceived them to be.
Through their interaction, an epiphany was generated- the notion of individualism developed
through the community.
The film shows the five teenagers as part of several social circles (with the exception of
one, who is characterized by being a loner and thus part of the ostracized) and yet reveal that
they are more than their expected stereotypes. In fact the film goes into depth on how they face
different issues, specifically family ones, and their performative roles are just a reaction to it.
They initially interact with each other on the level of their stereotypes, ones which are
common in the high school setting. Once they get this out of the way they see each other as
being on the same level rather than being on a social hierarchy and an exchange of ideas
occurs as they influence each other.
The contrast between each other can also be seen in their activities. Lunch, the way
they walked, the answers they gave. Their unity against a common enemy, while falling under
Social-Conflict, shows that regardless of clique or mindset, they interact as equals.