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"FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS" (H.C. BISSINGER).
Term Paper ID:23337
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Essay Subject:
Sociological analysis of book on Odessa, Texas, high school football team & town's values, using approaches of functionalism, conflict theory & interactionism.... More...
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10 Pages / 2250 Words
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Paper Abstract:
Sociological analysis of book on Odessa, Texas, high school football team & town's values, using approaches of functionalism, conflict theory & interactionism.
Paper Introduction:
Shattered Dreams and Friday Night Lights
In Friday night lights: A town, a team, and a dream H. C. Bissinger recounts his observations of living in Odessa, Texas where he sees "high school sports keeping a town together, keeping it alive" (Bissinger, 1990, xi). With passion and sensitivity Bissinger records the triumphs and failings of Odessa's Permian Panthers. As a journalist Bissinger's aim is to explore the town's values about race, education, politics and the economy (Bissinger, 1990, p. xiii). Analysis of the sociological concepts emergent in Friday night lights will be examined against the rubric of functionalism, conflict theory, and interactionism. Since sports pervade contemporary American culture, it has become a preferred target of study for many sociologists. A new field of specialization, the sociology of sports, emerged with
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This occurs when injured players choose to play with their ankles"air wrapped" rather than succumbing to the extraordinary pain which theyare suffering (Bissinger, 199 , p. Interactionist theory might suggest that as blacks andwhites intermingle productively on the football field and mix sociallyafter the game, at least some levels of ignorance and prejudice might bediminished. Coakley, Jay J. Although the Americanmyth suggests that all Americans are born equal and that hard work willalmost always provide the stepping stone into the next social strata, thisdream does not always materialize. Power and ideology in American sport. 111). Butafter the game, we are not a part of it" (Bissinger, 199 , p. Durkheim contended that education disseminated asociety's shared values. Schools and society. 1 7).Permian's black coach and players feel this level of "self-consciousness"but the system itself does not seem to respond efficiently or graciously totheir high levels of discomfort. First, they involve themselves in"goal-seeking" so that "new external data" can be integrated within the"system whose operational channels remain unchanged" (Pankin, 19882, p.11 ). Across the country many seniors aspire tobeing admitted to Harvard. Lessinterested in the specific problem of school athletics, Durkheim's theorydoes indicate how this school activity helps to bind the system togetheroffering it excitement and prestige. 41). 1 ).Sage's observation which would be seconded by conflict theorists suggeststhat blacks will have an unduly difficult time emerging in fields dominatedby white management. Informational pooling may be identified asthe stylized manner in which news or intelligence is shared among a group'smembers. Functionalism would reinforce thegroup's need to impose solidarity by imposing a structure which clearlyestablishes group goals and values. Bissingerrecounts his observations of living in Odessa, Texas where he sees "highschool sports keeping a town together, keeping it alive" (Bissinger, 199 ,xi). MosbyCo. 1 9). As a journalist Bissinger's aim isto explore the town's values about race, education, politics and theeconomy (Bissinger, 199 , p. Boyle conducting his research in 1963 struck theposition favored by the functionalists that "sports allowed minority groupsto advance to the first ring on the social ladder" (Boyle as cited inCoakley, 1978, p. Research conducted by Stanton inthe late 198 s pinpointed the actual number of professional black athletes"as fewer than 1,2 ." In a follow-up commentary Oates cites HarryEdwards' quip that as a black athlete "you have a better chance of gettinghit by a meteorite in the next 1 years than getting work as an athlete"(Edwards quoted in Sage, 199 , p. Sport in society. 48). Nate Hearne, the only black coachat Permian in 1988, stated sadly "we fit as athletes but we really don'tfit as a part of society. 11 ). The sociological analysis of the status of the black athlete has beenshaped by controversy. ThePermian Panthers function as a subculture with their own individualizedvalues and codes for behavior. Tellingly, Chavez hadn't evenplayed in this first game due to injury and a Harvard coach finally callsGaines in bewilderment asking what number Chavez might be wearing(Bissinger, 199 , p. Shattered Dreams and Friday Night Lights In Friday night lights: A town, a team, and a dream H. For not only does the black player often fail to achieve hispotential glory but so too often the white player as well. On some Friday nights when the lights flood the PermianPanthers' stadium the entire vitality of Odessa seems dependent upon theactivities about to take place on the playing field. Durkheim's thought laid the groundworkfor sociology's functional perspective (Ballantine, 1989, p. These harsh realities indicate thatthere may be some truth levelled against what is for many the unattainableAmerican Dream. The sociological concept of acculturation helps to suggest whyvariant subcultures can be seen in competition or even at odds with oneanother in contemporary America. Yet Odessa's enchantment with football is notto be misunderstood as an anomaly. Conflict ensues. . This line of reasoning promptedBissinger to take a leave of absence from his job as a newspaper editor atthe Philadelphia Inquirer and uproot his family by moving them to Odessa sothat he could describe life in a typical small town in America immersed insports worship. . 343). Analysis of the sociological conceptsemergent in Friday night lights will be examined against the rubric offunctionalism, conflict theory, and interactionism. Social approaches to sport.Rutherford, NJ: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. With passion and sensitivity Bissinger records the triumphs andfailings of Odessa's Permian Panthers. 59). A unifiedreader. In Social approaches to sport Pankin stresses the importance ofsubculture and informational pooling (Pankin, 1982, p. In contemporaryAmerican society education is integrally linked to social stratificationand upward mobility (Collins in Ballantine, 1989, p. 3). (1978). References Ballantine, Jeanne H. Class, sports and social development.Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press. xiii). 279). Bureaucracy does not respond efficiently to innovativechallenging of its system. According to research conducted by Deutsch in 1951, groups tendto be characterized by three distinctive kinds of information: first,information which is external to the system or organization; second, thatwhich relates to the past, especially the group's pertinent history; andthird, the "internal operations of the system itself" (Deutsch as cited inPankin, 1982, p. High school isseen as the place where those not choosing to advance to college must learntheir trade. Rather it illuminates the high level ofvalue given to sports in contemporary American culture. Bissinger's book suggests that thesubculture generated by the Permian Panthers and football dominates Odessato an extraordinary degree. (Ed.). C.(199 ). Conflict theorists favor an educational processwhich encourages volatility and flexibility in the classroom (Ballantine,1989, p. Significantly, one of the few Panthers to emerge victorious with ahappy post-Panther life is Brian Chavez who is admitted to HarvardUniversity. Sometimes even the highly successful black athletesremain scarred by their heightened experiences of prejudice as was the casewith Jackie Robinson. We know we are separate until we get on thefield.. Chavez's turning aside from football marks his process ofacculturation. Functionalists contend thatcontinuity of the system is needed to preserve its efficacy. The hegemonic model of society claims that"one way of thought is socio-politically dominant" (Sage, 199 , p. 11 ). One of the first educators to apply sociological theory tothe study of education was the French thinker Emile Durkheim. The third form of feedback emerges as "consciousness or self-awareness" where the "feedback of new internal data occurs via secondarymessages", that is, messages which reinforce the need for "changes in thestate of the system parts" (Pankin, 1982, p. The interactionbetween the coaches' strategic instructions and the players' talent andmotivation is what repeatedly creates a winning team. On the high school playingfield in Odessa, the team victory is seen as the ultimate good.Consideration for the individual's own particular needs and aspirations isusually overlooked so that the status quo, the winning, can continue.Teams which are not perceived as winners are actively called losers andridiculed by the masses needing so desperately to emerge as better than thenext town. A new field of specialization, the sociologyof sports, emerged with intense popularity in the 196 s. . In tandem, highschool athletics is often believed to be the best path for upward mobilityfor many disadvantaged students. He is actively engaged at Harvard in the process of beingconditioned to patterns and customs of a new culture. In Friday night lights Bissinger set out tounveil small town life in America as an index to the values and aspirationsof the entire country. Change is seen occurring within the organization of the system.When the Permian coaches were exasperated by their players' intoxicationduring the championship season, they chose to post a letter which calledthem "losers" and a group who had "contributed nothing" to the gloriousPanthers tradition (Bissinger, 199 , pp. In "Functional andConflict Theories of Educational Stratification" Collins highlights howfunctional theory empha-sizes trends in technical skill required byindustrial societies (Collins in Ballantine, 1989, p. The subculture of Harvard University inverts the value of sportsathletics insisting that intellectual prowess serve as the dominant valueinstead. In seeking to achieve amiddle ground between the more extreme interpretations offered byfunctionalism and conflict theory, they might conjecture that the limiteduse of such negative forms of coaching might be acceptable and evenlaudable under these controlled circumstances. . Yet Olson writing only five years later in 1968scoffed, saying "Look what sports has done for the Negro" and then listinga litany of harassments and inequities (Olsen as quoted in Coakley, 1978,p. St. Interactionist theorists would observethat Chavez chose to play while injured on his own volition although almostunduly influenced by peer pressure and a desire not to disappoint thepowerful coaches. Conflicttheorists would cite this form of hard-line bullying as exploitative. Desire to win allowedthem to err on the side of harshness or even cruelty in the hopes of rilingtheir squad, hoping that they would respond by playing an even moreaggressive game and emerge victorious. (199 ). Champaign, IL: Human Kinectics Books.----------------------- 1 If onedoes not follow the unwritten rules of the community in which one lives oneis to be seen as a traitor. Sage, George H. 279). The statusquo is not to be observed cynically as a trap but as a means of maintainingcommunity stability and a smooth functioning of its services. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Publishing Co., Bissinger, H. 2). Deutsch's classification of these three types ofinformation helps to highlight how the Permian Panthers continue todominate large sectors of the Odessa community. 48). 1 9).A subculture may be identified as a group within a society of individualsof the same age, social or economic status and ethnic background. 268-9). Interactionism couldobserve a bit more dispassionately that many athletic coaches often rely onreverse psychology and negative conditioning to force their athletes topush past their subconscious points of blockage. Sadly what all too often occurs is thatthey privilege their athletic experiences and aspirations above theireducational ones. Pankin concludes that "decisions aboutsports involvement are goal directed", that is, "influenced by one'ssubculture" (Pankin, 1982, p. 355). It wasn't the purpose of his being there, and for thefirst time in his life he was in an environment where football had nospecial cachet. he had once received astanding ovation at an elementary school assembly" where all the childrenclapping dreamed of being exactly like him someday (Bissinger, 199 , p.344). Since sportspervade contemporary American culture, it has become a preferred target ofstudy for many sociologists. Functionalism traditionally has viewed sports as a primary localewithin American society where minorities can advance easily since sportsare allegedly "meritocratic" rather than class biased (Sage, 199 , p. Yet according to Sage, American society must first be recognized ashegemonic rather than pluralist in structure. At Permian the head coach Brian Gaines chose not to contactthe Harvard football program upon Chavez's behalf. Gruneau, Richard. I know that I am a black man in a white world"(Robinson quoted in Coakley, 1978, p. 343). The plight of the aspiring blackathlete serves as one of the most compelling examples of the shattering ofthe American dream. Inthis instance, coaches attempt to brain wash impressionable youths intothinking so negatively of themselves that they will play football with theadditional adrenalin rush provided by anger and the compelling force toprove themselves, especially their worth and manhood. Bissinger concludes the Epilogue to his work by observing "ThePermian Panthers ended the decade exactly the same way they had begun it.Two days before Christmas, they became the state champions of Texas"(Bissinger, 199 , p. Scrutiny ofsports offers "unique context for the study of social processes andrelationships" revealing how complex organizations operate through"controlled size" and strict "regulation of the relationships" between itsdiverse elements (Coakley, 1978, p. (1989). Durkheimargued that education was a central institution within society contributingto its societal cohesion and order. To apply these same values to the restructuring of highschool sports programs would benefit many diverse students across a variedassortment of backgrounds. 279). 3). Acritical perspective. As the collapse of the many once-star players ascatalogued by Bissinger at the end of Friday night lights concurs, very fewhigh school athletes reach the big time. (1983). Eventually when askedby the Harvard staff to supply a game film of Brian, Gaines chose to sendthe film of the first game of the season. In contrast, conflict theory was pioneered by the writings of KarlMarx and Max Weber. These variant sociological theories of functionalism, conflicttheory, and interactionism have been employed to analyze how sportsfunction in America and, in particular, in Odessa. C. Pankin begins his study which attempts to validate and underscore thesocial nature of sports by citing Weber's definition of the social.According to Weber, a social act is determined by these three qualities:first, the act must be "intentional"; second, it must be "oriented towardthe actions of others"; and third, it must be "goal oriented" (Weber asquoted in Pankin, 1982, p. Although pluralism imagesencourage Americans to believe that multiple options are open to them in asociety which runs according to "a broad set of organizational rules", inreality this is not the case. Friday night lights: A town, a team, and a dream. (1982). (Ed.). The Panthers' historyprivileges this otherwise easily forgotten town. Pankin, Robert M. Second, "learning" occurs when the feedback of new external datatriggers the "need for changing their operational channels" (Pankin, 1982,p. Glory is attached totheir illustrious name and its achievements by inhabitants of Odessa andeven Texas. Functionalism would suggest that at least some degree ofguilt in this travesty in the players, parents, and coaches who encouragestudents to neglect their studies and that necessary amassing ofeducational skills for this potential future gain. Since their victories bring status to Odessa,their standards and codes of behavior are given a disproportionalsignificance within this community thirsting for both greatness and greatervisibility. New York:Harper Perennial. In observing Odessa, Bissingercontends that despite desegregation, the Permian Panthers "is still a whiteinstitution" (Bissinger, 199 , p. 11 ). Clearly Gaines expresses his hostility of hisstar player choosing to value educational prestige over a school with asolid sports program by passively trying to block this opportunity. Interviewed in 1972, he observes that despite allhis amazing successes, he feels "I cannot stand and sing the anthem. In order to sustain their "greatness" the Permian Panthersparticipate in the standardized three kinds of feedback in distributinginformation and analyzing its reception. Conflict theorists would be morewilling to see that group solidarity is to be valued in this setting overindividual rights and comforts. When it comes time to play the game, we are a part of it. When he was at Permian . Louis: C. After all the coaches aremerely tapping into the youths' wild desire to win. V. Marx countered that institutions are controlledby the wealthy and perpetuates the given class structure. Arriving at Harvard, he goes out for the team but "it nolonger felt right. It is paradigmatic within many cultural codesfor success. 1 6). Ironically,although many players participate in school sports to advance past theircurrent limited statuses, often times when they fail, they are ridiculedand even further maligned by the groups which they hoped to impress.Rather than helping students achieve their highest potential, toofrequently educational systems are structured to maintain the status quo bycatering to mediocrity rather than excellence. Icannot salute the flag. The thorny issue ofrace might be productively examined in this context. By scrutinizing Odessa and its esteemed footballteam, the reader more clearly sees how strictly success is structured inAmerica.
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