Cinematic Sociology: Social Life in Film

by Jean-Anne Sutherland, Kathryn M. Feltey

The only text of its kind to explore central topics in sociology through feature films

This one-of-a-kind text takes readers beyond watching movies; it helps them “see” films sociologically and develops critical thinking and analytical skills that will be useful in college coursework and beyond. Cinematic Sociology's 15 essays from expert scholars in sociology and cultural studies explore the ways social life is presented-distorted, magnified, or politicized- in popular film. Exploring a variety of captivating classic and current films such as Forty Year Old Virgin, The Devil Wears Prada, North Country, and My Fair Lady , this unique book helps students to view films sociologically while also providing much needed pedagogy for teaching sociology through film.


Contributor to THE ASA/SAGE Teaching Innovations & Professional Development Awards Fund

Genres: Sociology

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[moe · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow. Couldn’t have even bothered to ask an INDIGENOUS woman to write about Pocahontas, much less a member of her tribe? Yeah. Indigenous peoples still exist, we haven’t been killed yet, no matter how much you Americans want us to be killed off. Horrible. Indigenous academics do exist, and every single one of us would be able to tell you why Pocahontas is garbage. This drivel is despicable. It’s not “intersectionality” it’s racist colonial propaganda. Next time you want to talk about Indigenous Peoples, try asking one first before you make yourself look like a moron. I’m embarrassed to even list I read this book.

Furthermore, it’s insulting to not even address how racist Indigenous depictions in film are in America. There’s a whole genre about it: it’s called Westerns. There’s enough data to include us in the conversation about race and film, but it’s clear upon reading this useless textbook that nobody bothered to do any research on it.

Saying a movie with racist depictions of Native Americans is intersectional is racist. Don’t bother reading this book if you’re looking for accurate information about race and Indigenous representation in film, you won’t find it here.

I understand there’s more to this book than the race section, but this book is contributing to the erasure Indigenous identities in Academia and I won’t be silent about it.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a textbook. As I was to teach a "Sociology Through Film" course, a search for a valid text led me to this book. On the bad side, the text was eight years old and would be seen by most of my students as "old." Yet for me the text was a bountiful resource for the course. Utilizing a variety of writers and a deep well of films, the book provides a superlative tool for providing a "sociological eye" with which to analyze movies. If one is seeking an excellent resource, this is it.

[Titus Hjelm]

You can always debate whether and how film constructs social reality (personally I think it's a valid argument), but there's no doubt that this book can be helpful in the classroom. I was inspired to design a 'sociology through film' course myself.