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A Brief Summary Of The Film A Class Divided

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Caroline Vosmik March 19, 2024 SOC 153H. The documentary “A Class Divided” was released on March 26th, 1985, and was produced and directed by William Peters. It follows Jane Elliott, a third-grade teacher who wanted to teach her students a practical lesson on prejudice following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968. Elliott utilized and expanded upon William Peter’s classic study of the unique eye-color lesson in prejudice and discrimination, which she felt would best aid her students of rural Riceville, Iowa, which had an almost entirely white population at the time. This film follows the original third-grade exercise, a reunion of this class years later in 1984, and Elliott’s workshops with the Iowa Department of Corrections …show more content…

After these characterizations were established, those designated as inferior began to behave in an inferior manner, and since the only noticeable differentiating factor between the groups was their eye colors, we can observe how these groups behaved per the ideological myth that the authority figure had implemented into this environment. These categorizations are associated with the concept of reference groups and how the blue-eyed children were the in-group, and the brown-eyed children were the out-group, shown through specific limitations based on physical criteria. The out-group had less recess time, had to wait to go to lunch, didn’t get seconds at lunch, and couldn’t drink at the same water fountain as the in-group in addition to not being allowed to play with them (1985). Socialization is the overarching term for the lifelong process of “learning rules for adapting to social and cultural normality” which highlights the role of societal rules in guiding individual integration into groups and communities within a society. Individuals learn core values, beliefs, and morals through the observation of others, which builds bonds and aids individuals in developing a sense of belonging within a specific group (2019). The separation of groups present in Elliott’s simulated socialization indicates two different social classes with

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The documentary “Class Divided” is a video that was done in the early 1960s to show students how racism and discrimination is shown, and how to put yourself in that other persons shoes. The teacher had divided her students into two different groups based on their eye color. This exercise shows the students how discrimination racism can cause so much trouble and drama. It shows that we take this on because of our surroundings and how we are taught growing up. I felt that this video is perfect for what we have been learning and doing in our last discussion.

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