Free Essay with Sociological Movie Review: The Big Bang Theory

The Big Bang Theory is a globally acclaimed television sitcom that was first released in 2007. The television show is authored and directed by Chuck Lorre, Bill Prady and Steven Molaro and it premieres on CBS movies production network. Currently, the show streams on Netflix and it is in its twelfth season that contains 24 television episodes. The television centers around five characters Sheldon Cooper, Leonard Hofstadter, Howard Wolowitz, Raj Koothrappali and Penny who lives in Pasadena California. In total, the show has a total of 263 episodes detailing the lives of the four characters and their interactions within their social environment. Sexuality and group theories are major themes that can be manifested in the composition of the film the Big Bang Theory.

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Sociological Review of the Film

Sociology can be manifested in regular day human activities in the course of their interaction (Fellis and Stein 2). An array of sociological aspects can also be illustrated through popular art, books, films and television shows among others. The Big Bang Theory is a good film that can be related to a range of sociological argument dimensions. The film can be watched by young adults and all other grownups and it can be employed as a learning tool for discerning various sociological aspects in its composition. For instance, the film is developed on a rich plot that illustrates the importance of group and sexuality facets in developing healthy and functioning social relationships.

Analysis of the Film Using Structural Functionalism and Symbolic Interactionism Theories

Structural functionalism is the first theory manifested in the film the Big Bang Theory. It is a theory that strives to provide an explanation of why society functions the way it does (Thompson 179). In the plot of the film, structural functionalism theory can be used to explain the reasons why Copper, Hofstadter, and Wolowitz expect Koothrappali to have a relationship with a man instead of a lady. In this context, based on how Koothrappali dresses and speaks makes the society around him to assume he is gay. Symbolic interactionism theory focuses on linguistic and gestural communication in making perceived conclusions (Redmond 1). In respect to the film, symbolic interactionism can explain why Koothrappali's friends assume he is gay just because of how he speaks verbally and through his actions.

Discussion of How the Film Impacts of the Understanding of Sexuality and Group in Social Interaction

The film, The Big Bang Theory, chooses a single primary character, Koothrappali, to illustrate how sexuality can affect a person's ability to fit in his/her close social environment. Through the challenges of emotional expression encountered by Koothrappali, I learned the importance of expressing individual sexuality to friends and family members. That is because the denial of sexual orientation like the way Koothrappali did could immensely compromise an individual's ability to form healthy and long-term emotional relationships.

The film also developed my understanding of the relevance and importance of groups in people's social interactions. The roles of the four friends in the film enlightened me that groups can be a perfect source of emotional support when a person is facing certain tribulations in life. However, the relationships of the four primary characters in the film enabled me to understand that it is imperative to choose or form the right type of group in a social environment, to attain a healthy emotional development.

Group Theme in the Film

Groups are key facets of social interactions, and they are made up of persons with common social agendas. Such agendas could be the search for friendship or companionship among others. The concept of the group has been vastly depicted in the film The Big Bang Theory. That is because the plot of the film is centered on a group of friends that work at Caltech. The four characters, Copper, Hofstadter, Wolowitz, and Koothrappali four a friendship group through which they interact through sharing meals and playing video games. It is also through the group that the four middle-aged men discuss their social life.

Sexuality Theme in the Film

Sexuality is a major theme manifested in the film the Big Bang Theory. It is also a major facet of the characters' dialogue that has been illustrated when they are interacting with each other from the first to last episode. Some of such sexuality interactions have resulted in marriage, where Copper, Hofstadter, and Wolowitz get partners and wed. However, the striking feature of the theme of sexuality that has made the film interesting is the depiction of a gay character - Koothrappali, who brings a different and uncommon form of sexuality to the plot of the film.

Impact of Social Location and Biases on the Movie's Watching Experience

The film the Big Bang Theory is set on a comedy genre, which makes the film perfect for watching with friends and family. The last social location I was in when watching the film was amidst my school friends who were ignorant about the rights of the LGBT community. The group was biased about the gay people since they would always make rude comments whenever Koothrappali was on the scene. Subsequently, this made my watching experience of the television show uncomfortable and generally unexciting. Conclusively, from the experience, I realized that watching the film with the right group of people can make the film enthralling to watch.

Effects of Watching the Movie through a Sociological Lens

An evaluation of the film through a sociological lens has been both a learning experience and realization of the challenges that the marginalized social groupings go through in their social environments. The LGBT community is now a fully acknowledged social demographic in the United States. Nevertheless, the social grouping is yet to be fully accepted as a primary population in regular social groups in some parts of the nation. The same phenomenon has been illustrated in the film The Big Bang Theory through the character Koothrappali who fears to acknowledge his homosexual sexual orientation to his friends in his immediate social environment.

Throughout the film, Koothrappali is depicted as an emotionally unsatisfied character, who strives to date attractive women to conceal his gay status to his friends. His struggles are futile since he is unable to develop a long-lasting relationship with any of the women he dates. The personal analysis of the film through a sociological lens enlightened me that the American society is yet to come to age in fully accepting and recognizing the LGBT community as an important parcel of nation's social demographics. The lessons also educated me on the need to understand the gay population and to shun away by ignorance of their existence in the society's regular social groupings.

Conclusion

In conclusion, sexuality and group theories are major themes that can be manifested in the composition of the film, The Big Bang Theory. Structural functionalism is a theory manifested in the film the Big Bang Theory and it strives to provide an explanation of why society functions the way it does. In addition, symbolic interactionism theory is also depicted in the film and it focuses on linguistic and gestural communication in making perceived conclusions. Conclusively, The Big Bang Theory is a good film that can be related to a range of sociological argument dimensions like sexuality and group social interactions.

Works Cited

Ferris, Kerry and Jill Stein. The Real World. New York: W W NORTON & Company Incorporated, 2018. Print.

Redmond, Mark V. "Symbolic Interactionism." English Technical Reports and White Papers 4 (2015): 1-6.

Thompson, Michael J. "A functionalist theory of social domination." Journal of political Power 6.2 (2013): 179-199. Doi: 10.1080/2158379X.2013.805922