In Love We Trust

2015-2016 (Semester Two)

APSS112 Introduction to Sociology

Individual Movie Reflection Paper

Subject Code: APSS112

Student Name: WU Weilu

PolyU ID: 15101994D

Department: Accounting and Finance

Major: Accounting and Finance

Choice of Movie: In love we trust

In the movie, the heroine (meizhu) wants to give birth to a child with her former husband (xiaolu) in order to save their daughter’s life. However, at the beginning, her former husband’s current wife (dongfan) disagreed. One of the reasons is social reality. Sociologists call an individual’s interpretation of the objective world the person’s “social reality”. Give birth to a child is objective, but it is unacceptable for them to do it after divorce, which is social reality. Social reality decides what we do and how we feel. They think it should not be done and feel inappropriate.

I think another reason is deviance. When an individual acts against a social norm, he is regarded as performing a “deviant” behavior. In the movie, social norm is former wife should not connect with former husband closely. Although the aim of it is to save their daughter’ life, giving birth to a child after divorce is a deviance. I remember one sentence that dongfan has said, do other people do this when they face with this problem? It shows that it is unacceptable for most of people, which is regarded as deviant behavior.

In the movie, there are three families, one former and two current families. It is family that makes the situation more complex. Society is a “system” composed of various “sub-systems”. Traditionally, family as a “sub-system” bears various functions, including regulation of sexual behavior, reproduction, entertainment, religion, economic production, education, socialization, provision of social status. The two current families regulate their behaviors. Meizhu and xiaolu should consider their current partners’ feelings and their attitudes. And the family regulates their sexual behavior and reproduction. However, their former family makes them feel responsible to save their daughter’s life. Thus, it is difficult for them to make a decision.

In the movie, the girl leaves school because of cancer. Her stepfather asks a leave for his job and stays at home to take care of her. This situation shows the function of school education. From the functionalists’ perspective, school education can keep children under day surveillance, which makes working parents possible concentrate on their work. If the girl does not suffer the cancer, their parents can go for work without worry. Another function of school education is to enter the society. As a “mid-way” training institution, the school, as a “socialization agent”, prepares kids to adapt to the rules and regulations of society. I remember one screen that the girl’s teacher takes other children to visit the girl. They sing a song to the girl and chat with her. The atmosphere is like a small society. It shows that school teaches children socialization, like how to get along with each other.