Waging Living
Waging a living is an intriguing documentary that follows up the lives of poor but hard-working Americans. Low wages hardly meet the basic requirements of Americans. Around four out of ten Americans work in low wage jobs. This essay seeks to analyze reasons why earning a living in America is christened a ‘warfare.' In addition, the essay will carry out a structural functional perspective based on the analysis of some characters in the documentary.
Structural functional perspective
This is a framework that perceives the society as an intricate system whose various parts coordinate together to sponsor harmony and steadiness. The theorists who proposed the theory were Herbert Spencer and Robert Merton, the main contributors to this point of view. The theory encompasses vital ideas namely, functionalism, social arrangement, social utilities, manifest roles and latent functionalities (Waging a Living, 2005). Hence, the documentary covered all aspects of the concepts. According to the perspective of the theory, social systems dictate the directions of our lives and behavioral reactions tied to the tangible social structures found in the community.
Survival for the fittest seems to be the mantra as people strive to arch out a living (Waging a Living, 2005). The film documents the struggles, frustrations, and fights of four people in the quest to earn a living. For instance, Miss Brooks's young son, out of the five children experiences health challenges. She visits a health center, and a care provider charges her $195.
On the other hand, she works at a juvenile detention institution. Although her income increases to $450, government benefits eat into her salary (Waging a Living, 2005). Miss Brooks claims that although she works hard, her efforts are futile because the system shoots her down. In other words, it is a tag of war between the system and the individual, and as usual, the system always wins. It is important to note that Miss Brooks is the only character with a hopeful future, unlike the rest.
Immediately after divorcing her husband, Miss Venittelli's woes start. She falls from the middle class into the fangs of poverty. In addition, she is a single mother of three children. When Mary enters the job market, she finds a waitress job and earns $2.13 per hour. Other responsibilities such as babysitting and basic requirements eat into her monthly income. She seeks financial help from friends (Waging a Living, 2005). At the near end of the documentary, Mary finds a new man who shoulders some of her financial burdens. It is evident that Mary Venittelli war is between her needs and securing a financially stable future that would afford her a more humane life. Mary's situations exemplify the uncertainty of life and the need to be independent financially despite present status.
Out of the four characters portrayed in the film, there is one male but one thing remains, most of them concur with the structural functionalist perspective. It seems as if all the character works but the returns are too low to meet their needs. Mary Vitelli’s situation indeed points out to the fact that anyone can fall victim and there are no safety nets. For example, she belongs to a union, pays $530 as his monthly rent, but still earns $1.25 per hour. Hence, financial constraints can show up door. In other words, her character directly reflects the structural functionalist principles.
According to the definition of poverty is the lack of access to material things but according to the documentary film, people can have access to income but still grow poor due to meagre earnings (Waging a Living, 2005). More so, social structures put in place ensure the people suffer based on a continuous circle. All character in the book are financially unable to afford some basics compared to people with more income. Social mobility is low and the chances that one of the characters will move up the economic ladder is minimal or close to none.
Analysis
From a general point of view, all of the above characters stay within the society's guidelines but get bad results. The documentary paints a bleak picture of victims who work hard, adhere to the rules, but cannot support their own families. Although people take for granted security guards and other low wage jobs, the lives of the people that facilitate the duties are not easy (Waging a Living, 2005). Furthermore, the characters have one thing in common, their income do not match their needs and does not even meet it halfway.
The rate of unemployment can increase the probability of one landing a low-income job. This is statement illustrates the manner in which Mary and Mr. Longoria find themselves working low jobs (Waging a Living, 2005). The vice versa is also true, low rate of unemployment decreases chances of landing into a low paying work place.
In summary, the documentary offers solutions regarding shifting location and moving into an affordable neighborhood. American society has a routine of placing the blame on laziness and other negative factors revolving around a person's life. However, the film disapproves the notion and unveils poverty as a part of a system and a failing economy.
Reference
Waging a Living (2005). Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIXFyLXSBuo
