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Class and Virtue
135
by Michael Parenti
"Class and Virtue"
By Sophia Cruz and Dareh Simon
Main Ideas
- Hollywood glamorizes the lives of the wealthy - "... you can't be too rich" (361).
- Working class individuals in the entertainment media are generally presented as less virtuous and less desirable than those of the upper/middle classes (362).
Main Idea
- There are multiple ways entertainment industries present this connection between class and virtue:
- Direct depiction of working class vs. upper class
- Within an individual
- Through mental health
- Through social structure
- Gender
Virtue
- Standard Definition: a good moral quality in a person, or the general quality of goodness in a person
Key Terms
- In the entertainment industry, virtue is "...visually measured by one's approximation to proper class appearances" (362).
Direct Working Class vs
Upper Class
Direct Working Class Virtues
.The entertainment media present working people not only as unlettered and uncouth but also as less desirable and less moral than other people(361).
Upper Class Virtue
.Virtue is more likely to be ascribed to those characters whose speech and appearance are sound upper-middle or upper class(361.)
Direct Working Class vs. Upper Class
Example:(Movie:Treasure Island) The squire in the movie ran the ship was looked at as the good guy while Long John Silver's gang were looked at as the bad guys. Squire and his crew were drinking brandy and dressed in fine clothes as well vs Silver's gang who were dressed sluggishly and drank rum. Virtue was measured by their appearances in the movie.
The Three Faces of Eve (1957)
Class and Virtue within an Individual
- "Sometimes class contrasts are juxtaposed within one person..." (363).
- Transformation in class style has direct correlation with mental health
Individual
Mental Health
Hollywood can contribute to our perspective on mental health and issues
Mental Health
.The BBC article How Cinema stigmatizes mental health states " Our mainstream perceptions of 'madness' are still fixated with movie scenes."
. Movies can give a perspective on how to live a better or more meaningful life.
.Example:(Movie: A Woman Under the Influence) A woman is married to a hard-hat husband, insensitive, working class man. She is convinced that she would need a kinder more middle class man to be more mentally stable.
Gender
- Pretty Woman (1990)
- "A woman can escape from economic and gender exploitation by winning the love and career advantages offered by a rich male" (364, 365).
Gender
Social Structure
Entertainment industries present the connection between class and virtue through social structure.
Social Structure can consist of the working,middle and upper classes.
. Virtue is visually measured by one's approximation to proper class appearances(362).
Social Structure
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