Movies linked to the text

Hierarchies

1984(version with John Hurt and Richard Burton) is Orwell’s fantasy of a Hobbesian society in which allegiance to Big Brother is maintained by extensive monitoring and sanctioning.

Brazil is set in a dystopian world run by a bureaucratic, totalitarian government. Civil servant Sam Lowry gets caught in the bureaucratic machine.

Gandhi provides an illustration of Weber’s ideal type of charismatic order, which rests on values rather than externally-provided incentives. The beginning of the film shows how Gandhi mobilizes a following among the coloreds (Indians) in South Africa without any material resources to dispense.

The opening scenes of The Godfather, Part 1 provide a brilliant example of Weber’s ideal type of patrimonial domination.

Norma Rae and Bread and Roses provide descriptions of collective action in response to the subjugation of subordinate groups. These examples should be compared to the lack of collective action in Willis’ secondary school.

To Sir with Love has one of the best depictions of countercultural norms and legitimacy challenges in lower-class schoolrooms.

The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner has a study of a British worker who adopts countercultural norms by refusing to assimilate to middle-class behavior.