Mask Project Reflection
Sociology is the study of society. Society is based on the culture of our people. This culture is made up of beliefs, behaviors and values. This part of culture is the non-material culture meaning it is not tangible, but rather the shared ways of thinking. The material traits of culture include intellectual production of that certain people, such as the arts and technologies. Most importantly cultures are dynamic, ever changing and passed down through generations. We mostly honed in on how society socializes it's people and the different forces that are responsible for this socialization. Socialization is the process by which individuals become competent members of society, the process in which we are taught the values and norms of our culture. We are expected to follow these folkways and mores of our culture or else we may receive consequences from society. If we disobey these norms we will most likely experience sanctions. There are two different kinds of sanctions, positive and negative. Positive sanctions can include approval, rewards, high fives, money, etc. from the public. However, you can also receive negative sanctions such as harsh words/gestures, and trouble with the law when one's actions are severe. We are all influenced or socialized by our peers, media, family, school, religion, sports, etc. which are all subcultures. Subcultures are the cultures within the main culture, having their own set of values beliefs, behaviors and practices. Target and agent groups are the base structure of how power is distributed throughout our society. Target groups are the people who have less privileges maybe because of their race, sexual orientation, social class, gender, etc. Agent groups are the influences that pass on expectations about appropriate social behaviors. These forces influence us to follow the way of society, wanting us to be the mirror image of society expectations, sometimes taking away our raw individuality. We focused on how society has influenced our own identities. We were assigned to create a mask that represented our personal experiences and perspective on socialization and an essay to elaborate and further explain our thoughts.
Over the course of making my mask and writing my essay, I grew as a human being and am now able to understand how society has shaped my life and everyone else's and how society's forces have done that explicitly and implicitly such as through, the media ads and displayed models. I now see the world from a different lens after learning about the control and brainwash of our society. I think one of the most important things I learned was that even though we all seem so different, most of us are exactly the same, in the sense that we are all following society's expectations of values and how we should go about life. Most girls for example wear make up, wear tight clothes, want to be thin and fit that model image, and try to be an extroverts, in order to fit in with the mainstream population. We are trying to fit in so society will except us. Not just society in general though, the people with control of course. I never realized how much control agent groups were given. We read several inspiring articles about how the “prefect” people (male, white, wealthy, heterosexual) brainwash target and other agents. It shocked me that people were so afraid to go against the norm including myself even though targets mostly make up the majority of society. Overall, I think I learned that power and money are the main motivations that keep the social class the way it is.
The thing I learned that I related personally to was that if you never ever experience sanctions for going against the norm and just assume what they will be, you will never truly know. Many people think that not experiencing these sanctions is lucky. How I see it however, is from a very different stand point. If you never receive sanctions, than you can never relate to those who have gone against the norm and have struggled with their identity. You are just hiding from the reality that society is critical and you are trying to just fit in yourself. You may think that you are not affected by society's pressure, but you are, in fact, by just following these norms. You are afraid of what society will think of you. In the beginning of my learning, I just thought that confident people had the advantage, but I realized they were just as affected by socialization as anyone else. Overall, I feel I have gained a perspective due to my struggles no matter how minor they may be. I can understand and appreciate those who have had a crisis with their identity and have experienced sanctions because I myself have struggled with my identity and have gone against the norm.
After we went in depth on the subject of socialization and had a good platform to create our mask and essay, I was able to get working. In no time at all I had an outcome that I was blown away with and was shocked with what came out of me. It was also very therapeutic. I was able to get all of my locked emotions and ideas about myself out. In the end, I had a product that really expressed my views. I was very impressed with my original ideas that were incorporated in my mask and essay. Instead of the normal ideas such as being female, a teenager, pressured by media, etc. I talked about my size, diet, and shyness, taking it to a whole new personal level. I was really impressed with how I got right to the main point of my essay. Normally I circle around my main point, not quite puncturing it, not allowing the readers and even myself to really understand my point of view. This time I dove right in and attacked the subject. I also really liked how I brought a poetic sense to my writing. Overall, I feel overjoyed at the result of my essay. I am most proud of my unique idea about the box and the innovative materials I used in my mask. I thought if felt relaxing but at the same time intriguing. The colors were really meaningful to my realization about society and I thought that it brought an interesting look and idea to my mask. The element that I believe made the biggest statement was the doll eyes. It was very different and really grasped the ideas of socialization. It covered many concepts such as my shyness, the way I display society's norms, the way I sometimes want to be like everyone else, and my raw self that has not yet been shaped by society.
Although I am extremely proud of myself, I know I can always improve my work to be even better than before. I know for next time I would like to write even more eloquently and expand my vocabulary, which will be accomplished though advocacy and perseverance. I need to advocate for myself and take the time to learn new words that can enhance my writing to make an even greater statement. I also need perseverance because I will need to keep working at using these words and under standing how to use them, practicing and practicing. I would also like to improve my speaking performance which I know can be done after I have more practice. However, I think I should have come to the exhibition with a little more knowledge of what I wanted to say that would make people more interested in my overall project. I will need to use my perspective in a way that interests those learning about each topic we cover. If I have my perspective in mind than I will know how I want to present my ideas. I can also use refinement to improve on my speech because I can work on it and tweak it to make it even better, refining it as I go along.