Katie: The Symbolic Interaction Theory

Katie in the film, meets Oscar in the grocery store. And like I mentioned when I was referencing the conflict theory Katie was visibly unsure of him upon meeting him. She gravitated away from him. She had learned this throughout her life, to be uncomfortable when faces with someone who is “different”. But, by giving him the chance to talk she was able to let her guard down. I think that it is a wonderful thing. Him on the other hand, he was adjusting the way he spoke with her to seem more appealing. This is a result of the symbolic interaction theory. We never know the impact someone can have on our lives, and I think that’s the point that the filmmakers were trying to make. Katie, was the one who had the biggest impact in the film, for taking
We are a society that is scared to take risks in fear of being rejected. I even found myself falling for the stereotypes before the movie got started. In the film, everyone had similar physical attributes. But contrary to the assumptions and stereotypes that the police officers had, it wasn’t any of the individuals with darker skin that was causing the problems. Until the commotion on the train, it seemed that everyone was happy and accepting of on another. Everyone, light skin, dark skin, old, and young were all coexisting until the end of the ride when the fight broke out. The African American individuals didn’t stand a chance against the police officers. We are taught as a society that we obey law enforcement, and that is exactly what all the men were doing. The officers in the film had a tainted view of the reality of how many African American’s actually commit crimes. 28% of all arrests are African American, this just happens more often in bigger cities so the officers could have got the perspective that it was without a doubt Oscar and his friends that committed the crime (Morris, 2014). Black to white violent crimes are also treated more harshly and generally serve longer sentences than black to black violent crimes (Morris, 2014). These examples are also a result of symbolic interaction. The individuals formed how they would interpret society. They formed a
Both theories are also similar because they both promote social change. For example, Katie taking the video of the police brutality against Oscar and his friends can be analyzed from either theory but the end result for both is potential social change. The two theories did a very sufficient job at analyzing the film overall. I feel that I have a strong understanding if the characters in the film as well as the events that took place and why they did. I also saw how tragedy could in turn promote social change for society.
Fruitvale station was powerful, informative, and full of real issues that many people face on regular basis in society. It is important we as individuals in society are aware of such serious topics and events because nothing can be changed if people aren’t aware. Taking time to analyze situations or films we encounter will allow us to become more familiar with how to interpret society. Specifically analyzing from multiple theories was exceptionally helpful because it allowed me to see how well two theories could