Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
Sociology 001
16 July 2017
In Edgar Wrights 2007 action comedy film, Hot Fuzz, the story of a police officers
strange experience in a small, sleepy town evidently proves to be an example of the significant
and intricate ways in which society functions. In the film, Nicholas Angel, a well-renowned
police officer, is transferred from the city of London to the little town of Sanford. Known for
consecutively being awarded the title Village of the Year, Sanford is not entirely as flawless as
it seems. Upon his arrival, Officer Angel becomes increasingly aware of illegal activity that
occurs in the town, including underage drinking, shoplifting, illegal possession of firearms, and
even murder. However, upon persistent questioning, Officer Angel finds that all of these aspects
are concealed by the authority figures of Sanford. Towards the end of the film, it is revealed that
the towns Neighborhood Watch Alliance has been the source of these suspicious occurrences. In
order to maintain the faade of Sanford being the perfect, most beloved village, they would
ignore crime and even murder those that threatened their title.
Because of its representation of the complex relationships within a society, Hot Fuzz can
be interpreted in many ways, especially by the sociological perspectives of Auguste Comte, Karl
Marx, and Emile Durkheim. According the Comtes positivism perspective, this scene
effectively illustrates exactly what Comte was against. Comtes law of three stages, the
theological, the metaphysical, and the positive, ultimately argues that the central goal of society
should be that individual rights and free will are respected above all else. Therefore, because the
authority figures of Sanford care more about their reputation than the individuals that make up
their society, Comtes perspective of positivism is contradicted by the film. When observing this
scene through Karl Marxs Conflict Theory, it is possible that this social paradigm applies in
some ways. The Conflict theory states that social order can only be seen as a competition for
material, cultural, and social resources. Although there is not a specifically obvious sense of
competition between social classes in this film, there is a recognizable difference between the in-
group and out-group of Sanford. For example, the elite members, such as the Neighborhood
watch Alliance and the police, have authority over each individual in their community. Because
their actions directly affected those that were outsiders to their group, it is possible that this
unbalanced power played an important role in this society. Also, because Marx strongly
advocates for change, he might see the dysfunctionality of Sanford and the disparity of power as
Due to this scenes overall representation of how the town of Sanford operates as a
whole, Emile Durkheims functionalist perspective serves as the most accurate viewpoint to
depict this society. According to Durkheim, the functionalist perspective can be exemplified by a
living organism in which all of the unique parts work with one another in order to operate
efficiently. When this kind of balance is achieved, society is able to grow and maintain a solid
foundation. This perspective becomes evident when Officer Angel finds that the goal of this
specific society is to function perfectly. One significant aspect that is mentioned throughout the
film several times is the greater good being the most important goal to maintain as a society. If
everyone does their part by being a quality citizen, this society can function properly and is able
to prosper. However, when a part of this society is not working towards this goal, the people of
Sanford will go to whatever means to resolve this issue, even if it includes eliminating certain
individuals from their community. As a result, Emile Durkheims functionalist perspective