People Like Us: Comparing Myself and Bill Bear

People Like Us defines class as from the really poor to the really rich. They believe those in the upper class are better than those in the lower class. They explain how America is split into a thousand different social distinctions like the neighborhood you live in, your education, the food you eat, or how you dress. In the movie class is made out to be that it is about the money and what kind job you have and how much you made out to be and how your manners are and how your parents raised you. It’s about morals whether you believe a certain situation is right or wrong, it’s about material goods because of where you shop, where your clothes are from, the car you drive, or the house you live in. I would define class based on the social and economic status you have. I believe social class can be based on looks, popularity, money, and the house you live, but there can be many levels of class.

I believe I can in some ways relate to Bill Bear who is a plumber. I believe this because he explains that sometimes he has the tendency to be overlooked because how he is dressed, that people don’t want to deal with him because he isn’t Mr. Suit and Tie. I relate because I don’t always want to dress nice and people have the tendency to overlook me and think I’m no good because of what I’m wearing or assume I have no money because I don’t flaunt my things. Just because I don’t wear materialistic items or clothes doesn’t mean I don’t have money to pay my bills, go shop at a nice store or eat at a nice restaurant.

Bill mirrors my family and myself on how people are so quick to judge based on our outer appearances without even knowing our true backgrounds. The social class who I believe I connect with is the Lower Class. I believe I belong to the lower class because of my financial stability. I work as a part-time cashier at a supermarket making $13. 25 an hour and get paid weekly for 20-22 hours a week, thus adding to about a $1, 020 a month which equivalents to about $12, 700 a year. With that being said I don’t have a high college education and both my parents came from low-income families. Americans have a difficult time talking about class because no one wants to admit that there is a class in our society. Many Americans often don’t want to be identified to a class because they feel that if they are labeled in a class they are viewed differently and judged because of where they come from. Society is so quick to categorize us without even realizing doing so. Yes, I do believe class stratification affects our life chances because I don’t think we all have the same equal chances at success in life for example; take a pair of parents who are both Harvard graduates when it comes to their kids applying to college they will probably have a higher chance of getting into an ivy league school rather than someone whose parents didn’t even graduate college. I think the foundation of class stratification falls under education because if you have a good education you can have the career you want and when you have the career you want you’re able to make the money you need to live a healthy lifestyle.

Functionalism is a theory that explains the value of inequality of work in different fields. The theory explains that certain tasks in society are much more valuable than some others. People in certain job fields that have been or are more qualified in those positions needed believe they should be rewarded more than others in less qualified positions take for example firefighters who risk their lives on a daily basis should be rewarded better than some who is a manager at a McDonald’s because there job is seen as less important.

Davis-Moore thesis on functionalism explains to society why stratification exists. Social class is needed in our world because it helps promote efficiency, good work and it makes people strive for something in this world, it allows everyone to benefit from it. Conflict theorist believes that only some will benefit from social stratification, not all of society will. For example Carl Marx basically said your either rich or your poor, if your rich you let the poor work for you and if your poor you work for the rich to benefit their profits. The rich people own the means of production, which make business owners richer and keep the workers poor. The conflict theory explains how the relationship between an employer and an employee is strained.

Symbolic Interactionism observes how social standing affects people’s everyday interactions with one another. For example; I work as a cashier at Superior and I have a friend who’s also a cashier and we have a lot of common and share many of the same beliefs rather than us associating with someone who is Model for Victoria Secret because we wouldn’t share the same lifestyle, different in common and we would assume that she comes from higher class.

I believe I closely mirror to the Symbolic theory because I rather interact with others who share the same social standing as I do rather than someone who carries as high level position because I would not like to be looked down. I believe the people in the dame social standing as me because I feel like they would understand the same struggles I do. I would feel happy and successful around people like me rather than hanging with someone who will think they are better than me. Being with people in the same class sometimes mean we can share the same equal opportunities and same views in life.