In most cases, films are used to present particular facts about the social world and induce different perceptions relating to how social processes can be used to predict future events. This is ensured through the embodiment of cultural values including gender, ethnicity, class and religion aspects reflecting deeper assumptions such as moral redemption and other aspects related to social progress. Movies present different elements of the society that radiate positive and negative influence inducing a change in the functionality, orientation, and structure of the sociological status of a society. Dogtooth, a movie directed by Yorgos Lanthimos presents a case of three teenagers who live isolated without leaving their houses since their over-protective parents say they can only leave when their dogtooth falls out. The movie encapsulates numerous sociological factors characterizing the social lives of the identified characters based on the knowledge induced to them by their parents. Through various sociological theories, this paper presents the application of different sociological concepts in the film covering different social aspects presented in the content of the film.
A brief synopsis.
Dogwatch is a Greek Drama film produced in 2009 and directed by Yorgos Lanthimos. The content revolves around the life of a family including a husband, wife, and children, who are ignorant of the world outside their property. Their ignorance extends to adulthood. The couple has one adolescent son and two adolescent daughters living in a fenced compound. Due to their confinement in the fenced property, the children have no knowledge of the outside world. Their over-protective parents suggest that they will only leave once they lose a dogtooth and can only leave safely by car. The children entertain themselves with endurance games including washing fingers in hot water. Their parents reward them with stickers and reward bad behavior with violence. Nevertheless, the children get involved in a different era of sex life, which is introduced in the family by Christina, who is paid to sexually service the adolescent son. Uncontrollably, the children become immersed in different sex secrets without knowledge of the moral nature of the activities. For instance, one of their daughters made a Flashdance in their parent’s anniversary inducing shock and disturbance unto them.
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Application of sociological concepts
The film Dogtooth portrays the socialization of a family, portraying the interrelationship between the parents and their children. In consideration of different socially acceptable norms, the film demonstrates the need for maintaining a healthy social life (Barotsi, 2016). The children have been confined in their fenced property such that they have a very limited social life. The children’s limited knowledge of different aspects that are morally upright and in line with the social norms makes them engage in different activities that would be considered against social customs. The father, who is the only member who gets out of the family to manage a nearby factory has subjected his off-springs int0o submission limiting their knowledge on the ethical customs that are necessary for the social life of their children (Metzidakis, 2014). Christina, the father’s colleague who had been paid to release the son of his male urges gets fed of the duty disturbing the domestic balance through sharing outside information with the children.
Social norms and cultures are among the sociological concepts employed in the film. The father prohibits girls from exercising any kind of sexual freedom. The misunderstanding between Christina and the son violates the social norms characterizing the surrounding society. When Christina turns down the deal made with the father of the family, the parents opt for incest, which is against the cultures of the society. This happens when the son is told to select one of the sisters to satisfy his sexuality. Since none of them has knowledge of the immoral act, they agree and submit to their parents’ decision.
Nevertheless, the film induces the urge for critical thinking that acknowledges the possibility of escape from the norms set in the family by their parents. The film begins with instances of watching some sort of art recorded for teaching them vocabulary. The elder sister develops a capacity for free-thinking as presented by the art influence teaching her new dances from the videos loaned by Christina. The elder sister is transformed by the arts. The film presents instances where members of the family get raised under certain norms and beliefs that end up changing due to the nature of art presented during their growth (Metzidakis, 2014). The elder sister gets over the norms integrated into them by their father and attempts to escape from the confined environment.
Conclusion
In most cases, the social norms induced in children during their growth tend to shape their behaviors and their social lives as well. However, there is the influence of art as presented in the film, which tends to induce a different culture through learning foreign social cultures that stirs up the existing norms and values. Furthermore, children are always under the submission of their parents. The children keep asking, “When is a child ready to leave the house?” but the father instills different norms that are against the social norms and makes the children submit towards them. There still exist different cultural assumptions that are appreciated by society while others have a negative impact as per the social norms of the families. The film, Dogtooth, presents two different societies that hold different social norms based on sexuality. In conclusion, socialization is hugely dependent on the ways in which society accepts and perpetuates social norms.
References
Barotsi, R. (2016). Whose crisis? Dogtooth and the invisible middle class. Journal of Greek Media & Culture , 2 (2), 173-186.
Metzidakis, S. (2014). No Bones to Pick with Lanthimos's Film Dogtooth. Journal of Modern Greek Studies , 32 (2), 367-392.
