I was watching save the last dance 1 just now. then sk called me to ask me LA. society and identity. ha. so i think i shall blog about the movie using LA? hahaha.
the female lead is white american, while the male lead is a black american.
agency is the degree of control one has over a matter. structure is the amount of control put on one. the movie emphasizes on structure rather than agency.
in the movie, there are distinct identities, which are marked by similarities and differences. for example, the female lead, sara, went to a college, where the majority of the students and teachers are black. so when she first reach the place, she was kind of discriminated. when she tried to mix, she was reminded that no matter how hard she tries, she is still different, because she's a white girl.
the movie focuses on structure, showing how the society puts constraints on the couple. Yet, George Herbert Mead's theory whereby there is a link between how we see ourselves and the ability of human beings to imagine how others might see us, was clearly put across as well.
the couple are happy in their own world, thinking that everyone else sees them as normal couples, not knowing that others actually think otherwise. therefore, they imagine how they appear to others, but was not exactly accurate.
another aspect of identity, being fluid and always changing was that - when the female lead just arrived in that town, she was rather demure and not-so-vulgar. then as she was influenced by the people around her, by the end of the show. wa so vulgar. HAHA.
got loads more, but i'll stop here. LA rocks!
qing