General Instructions
Don't forget to sign your name to your post! Put your first name and last initial so I can record your grade.
Read all of the instructions below before beginning to work on your answer. Email me with questions.
Think about the questions below for at least 20 minutes before writing any answers down. Just read the question and ponder it for a while before you write anything.
Write your answer in a word processing program and save it. Then copy it and click on the "comments" link below this post. Paste your answer into the comment box that appears. Beneath the comment box, you'll see a drop down menu that says "Publish as:" - choose "anonymous" (unless you have a Google account or one of the other accounts listed, and you'd like to publish your comment under your account). Be sure that your first name and last initial are included in your comment. Click on "Publish." The page should reload, and you should see your comment. If it doesn't work, be sure you've followed the above steps carefully, and try again. If it's still not working, send me an email
and include your comment, and I'll post it for you.
Due Dates
Please post your response by Friday, April 11, at midnight. Then respond to one of your colleagues by Sunday, April 13 at midnight.
Question
The main characters in this film are primarily suffering from the
social enforcement of norms. What that means is that the majority in a society has certain behaviors and attitudes it considers important, and does its best to make sure that people uphold those attitudes and behaviors by imposing social costs on the people who don’t uphold them.
Think about all of the ways norms were
enforced in the film (all of the things people did in response to Raymond and Cathy's attempts at friendship, and Frank's desire to love another man). There were some violent acts, but much of the behavior was (relatively) subtle and non-violent.
By and large, our society no longer sympathizes with the norms they were upholding in the film (norms against interracial relationships and same sex relationships), and so we're also unsympathetic with their social enforcement.
But what about norms that we do think are important? Say we witnessed someone berating* her girlfriend in a way that humiliated her. We probably wouldn't want that to be illegal, but we probably also want to discourage it. We would probably behave toward that couple (with the verbally abusive girlfriend) much like the people in Hartford behaved toward Raymond and Cathy.
So, is the problem just that the norms were wrong in the 1950s? Or is there a problem with making other people’s behavior and attitudes our business at all? If you think that the social enforcement of norms is sometimes reasonable, what do you think is the difference between the examples from the movie and the example I gave (with the berating girlfriend)?
*To berate is to criticize someone angrily.
What is a Good Answer?
A good answer will reflect carefully on the various aspects of each question, and will tie an understanding of those aspects into the overall answer. A good answer will also elaborate on reasons for your answers, and explain your thinking in detail. I would expect a good answer to take up at least 3/4 of a double-spaced page in the word processing program before you copy and paste it.
A good response to your colleague will drive the conversation forward in some way. You might raise a question for your colleague, based on what she said in her comment; you might use his comment as a jumping-off spot to think about an issue raised in more depth; you might challenge some assumptions or argue against the logic of her reasons. Naturally, you'll do all of this politely and respectfully. Responses that merely agree with the comment won't be counted toward your grade.
