Sitting in my grade 12 English class, we watched a documentary called People Like Us: Social Class in America. This film really made me take a step back and question how our modern society operates. Here's a link to read more about the film: http://www.pbs.org/peoplelikeus/
The film highlighted the heavy stereotyping we all do in our daily lives. We make preconceived judgements on a person the moment we meet them based on their appearance, family, background, education, and financial situation, whether we are conscious of this or not. And this way of "sizing someone up" is embedded in our culture as we try to be the very best we can be. But if our North American dream is to have equal and fair rights to opportunities, aren't we holding ourselves back with these social class divisions?
Particularly in this documentary, financial status was emphasized as an indicator of class. A women, Tammy, is shown in the film to be of a lower class because of her financial and living situation. She lives in a small trailer with her family and walks miles every day to work at a fast food restaurant because she does not own a vehicle. Immediately, she is placed in the lower class of society, regardless of her strenuous efforts to make things better for herself. Even more considerable in the effects social class play on us is the story of her son, Matt, who dreams of becoming a lawyer. Because of this distinction of lower class his family has received, he fears he won't be able to reach his goals and is ashamed of his background. Clearly, we are lacking equal opportunities for all.
Another example of social class touching our daily lives is the story of a member of an elite social class entitled the White Anglo Saxon Protestants, who gives extensive lessons on what it is like to be a WASP member. They attest to be simply "better", and hold themselves in high esteem. This status as a member cannot easily be attained either. It is inherited through family, making an equal opportunity at being in the prestigious and haute society of America impossible. Why does this class even exist? It unquestionably contradicts the principles of the "American Dream".
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| There are clear distinctions between haute society and bourgeois, which we continue to uphold in society. |
So does social class really matter to us today? More than we know. It predetermines our opportunities in life and separates us all into social cliques and niches with similar backgrounds. An example I've even noticed in my high school is a division in academic levels of study. One stream prepares you for future studies in college, while the other is tailored to university. I have taken classes at both levels and have noticed a general trend. College level classes and the students in these classes are looked down upon, seen as underachieving and put in a lower regard than university stream level students, who are held in high esteem to be very bright and have good, numerous opportunities in life. This is an unfair and untrue statement, but we hold these judgements because of our developed notions of class. Students may simply be in a lower level class because it is not an area of study that is of great interest to them or they simply do not want to spend the amount of time in post-secondary education that university requires. Why should we judge? We shouldn't, but we do.
Regardless of our idolized "North American Dream", we do have certain barriers in society that will judge us and determine who we are before ever even knowing us. |
| Haven't we all felt trapped in this system of social class? |
