Freaks and Geeks

In class we watched an episode of Freaks and Geeks, and studied the aspects of society from that episode. Examples of Manifest and Latent functions were shown in this show very clearly. At one point a high school girl is confronted my her dad at home. He says that school is for learning first, but you should also learn to socialize at school. The dad wanted his daughter to go to the homecoming dance. The dad tells us that high schools manifest function is for learning, but its latent function is socializing.

            This episode also showed an example of symbolic interaction. A “bad boy” asked a “good girl” to join him on the smoking patio. The boy could be a good kid, but because he hangs around the smoking patio it makes him a bad kid. The smoking patio symbolizes bad things.

            This show shows very clearly the way society works in high school, and gives examples of different functions in society.  

            In this article it talks about the different points of view that Manifest and Latent functions can be looked at. Schools produce a very clear view on how manifest and latent work, but there are many more examples. http://socialanthropology2010-2011.blogspot.com/2010/10/manifest-and-latent-functions.html