Application

Upward Mobility
How would your life translate into a television sitcom? There would be a set for your living room and kitchen, another set for your workplace, and probably a third locale where you and your friends would spend their leisure time. What seem like simple choices, such as which appliances to put on the counters, what the sofa should look like, and the style of the lamps, suddenly have greater significance. These are all visual cues that tell the viewer about your social class. What’s more, they may signal which social classes are desirable to consumers, which, in turn, will affect what advertisers buy commercials during your show. Now your toaster may not seem so utilitarian, and maybe you’d like to trade up.

In this Application, you will identify your social class, explore your social mobility, and examine how popular culture influences both.

To prepare for this Application:

• Review this week’s Learning Resources.

• Identify your social class and your potential for class mobility.

• Examine how modern popular culture has defined your view of class and class mobility. How have cultural messages influenced your desire toward movement or stasis?

The assignment:

• Compose a 1- to 2-page paper in which you do the following:

o Identify the social class in which you live and where you fit into it.
 To what extent can you move either up or down?

o Examine media’s role in defining the class system in which you live and possible class mobility.

o Support your assertions by making at least 2 references, in proper APA format, to your course readings.