Social Class lecture

The discussion on social class really put a definite twist to the basic information given in the first part of the semester. The basic themes were given in that Britain’s class structure still thoroughly exists within society and shows no signs of leaving. In fact all that has really happened over the past century is that these divisions have become much more clear in society despite there being attempts to rebel against them. The classes have become much more clear to each individual in regards to those around them yet almost impossible for identifying within yourself. Class structure has gotten so complicated that most people need nine levels of economic class to define a person, yet 95% of people will describe themselves as being middleclass.
The lecture was very key in pointing out that social class structure depends on a great deal more, especially in western cultures like Britain, than economic status. Who the parents and ancestors are of an individual play a great deal into their social status, particularly in Britain because of the school systems. Britain’s best schools tend to work off people having enough money or knowing the right people and it tends to be that the connections exist if a parent went to the school as well. Ethnicity is playing a less important role in society than it was before but the factor of ancestry can be a part of ethnicity.
The film that was shown to us then had the certain twist that seemed hinted at throughout the entire lecture which was that, the upper classes, when closely examined, should be viewed with as much ridiculousness as the behaviors of lower classes. As the lecturer pointed out the behaviors of the upper classes in the United Kingdom tend to be the same sort of activities that are associated with the lower classes of the United States. This sort of familiar reference gave a great point into his implied twist that the upper class should be viewed with the same sort of thought as the lower classes at first glance.