SOC20004 Sociological Perspectives

Conflict paradigm

Weddings are extremely vital in the culture of humans, however, the cost that comes with this significant step in the marriage life is exorbitantly high. The conflict paradigm holds that social order must be maintained as stated by (Turner, 2017). The wealthier and powerful suppress the powerless and poor to maintain the social order. The wedding phenomena has caused a lot of suffering and disastrous consequences for those who struggle to maintain the social order without substantial resources. Young people are going in debt to maintain the social order. This has a lot of consequences which include the increasing number of divorce cases and separations.

Functionalism paradigm

Weddings are social functions that bring people from different social structures together (Steams, 2018). This is a social fabric that brings together people from all levels of society. Family, friends, and members of your community attend weddings, this promotes the sense of love and companionship.

Symbolic interactionism paradigm

The wedding in the clip, (The Knot, 2014), could have been better if the couple could have used a custom-built castle for the venue of the wedding. The luncheon could be more beautified with more performances and the guests given gifts in some designer gift bags. 

Manifest and latent functions.

Manifest functions are commonly recognized and intended whereas latent functions are unintended and normally hidden (Stinchcombe, 2017). I am not married myself however I have started to brace for the marriage societal marriage expectations. The manifest function of marriages is to get a family for the purposes of companionship. Marriage provides a means of getting a family; which provides a context of reproducing and nurturing of children. Additionally, marriage offers a place for the socialization of children and the passing of family values for the growth of the family. This is the latent function of marriage. The intended purpose was companionship but it has grown to a family.

References

Steams, A. (2018). Examining expensive weddings using the three sociological theories. [Blog]. Retrieved from https://sociologyinfocus.com/2016/06/i-do-examining-expensive-weddings-through-three-sociological-theories/

Stinchcombe, A. L. (2017). Merton’s theory of social structure. In The idea of social structure (pp. 11-33). Routledge, New York.

The Knot (2014, April 7^th). TheKnot.com. (2014). The Knot Dream Wedding Highlights 2014 [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpSPh-rTTWw

Turner, R. (2017). Social psychology: Sociological perspectives. Routledge, New York.