Chapter+01+Sociology



Gender-conflict approach- A point of view that focuses on inequality and conflict between men and women.

The gender- conflict approach is clearly shown when Prince Humperd inck chooses Buttercup as his bride. It is clear she does not love him and yet she can not turn down a man who wants to marry her, much less the prince of the land. It is also shown through multiple other small occurrences where there are snide comments about Buttercup not being able to do something because she is a female.

Manifest functions: The recognized and intended consequences of any social pattern.

Manifest function is seen in the society believing that those who are in love should be married. This is why it was wrong for Buttercup to marry Prince Humperdinck because she was in love with Westley and in society both in this movie but also today a person should only marry a person she loves. The consequence was essentially that Prince Humperdinck ended up alone and the happy couple was together at last.

Latent functions: The unrecognized and unintended consequences of any social patter n.

The beginning of the movie shows Westley going off to earn money to be able to support Buttercup when they would get married. The unrecognized and unintended consequences of this time is often when a male left the one he loved for a long amount of time women tended to think that they were dead. This is exactly what happened to Buttercup, she believed that Westley had died when he was away and she agreed to marry Prince Humperdinck. It was an unintended consequence of Westley leaving a not coming back for a long time which is what was socially accepted for a male to at the time.

Cause and effect: a relationship in which change in one variable (the independent variable) causes change in another (the dependent variaiable). When Westley leaves to seek his fortune in the seas, Buttercup recieves news that he has been murdered. This causes her to marry Prince Humperdinck, although she did not love him. His death was the cause which lead to the effect of her never loving again.

Stereotype: a simplified description applied to every person in some category In the movie, Prince Humperdinck fits the role of a stereotypical prince. He is handsome, strong, and knows how to fight. Just like in any princess story, he is in search for his kidnapped bride-to-be, Buttercup. He and his band of followers don't stop until they find her.

Micro-level orientation: a close-up focus on social interaction in specific situations The movie starts off focusing on Buttercup and Westley's relationship with each other. The interaction betwe en the two goes from Westley being a mere farmhand to becoming her lover. Throughout the movie, their love grows stronger. It shows the sacrifices they make for each other.