For this Application Assignment, please view the film, The Phone Call, available through Laurel Ridge and Kanopy. Please note, this film deals with the serious topic of death by suicide.
Even though the film focuses on empathy, sociologists might explore theories of deviance and social control evidenced in the interactions across the characters and portrayals in the film. For your application assignment, answer the following questions:
Describe an instance, or example, of the way Labeling Theory might contribute to deviant behavior for either Heather or Stanley.
How might Heather and Stanley’s social networks and interactions contribute to their engagement in (or not) deviant actions.
Consider Strain Theory, and identify specific cultural ideals/goals that might influence Heather or Stanley’s behaviors to accept (conformity/ritualism) or reject (innovation/retreatism) the institutional means.
Identify examples in the film where Heather or Stanley’s connections to society act as controls on their behavior, or where the absence of control leads to deviance.
In your opinion, does society consider a person with thoughts of suicide as deviant, a violation of norms? Does this impact the ways we talk about suicide? Explain
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