Over the Summer I watched ‘Spaced’ for the first time. Have a geeze:
But now whenever Brian gets up to speak in seminars, all that goes through my head is “oh hello Brine” (quote Marsha Klein). Every time. My girlfriend’s dad is also a Brian, and I can’t explain why he doesn’t elicit the same response… Fear? Nah I drink too many beers with him on the reg.
Anyway. Institutions hey. I realised I knew more about Institutions than I gave myself credit for prior to the lectorial. I gathered that an institution is more or less about the struggles between rules and constraints. In other words, this to me suggests that an Institution has a set of conventions to adhere to. Take these examples from ‘The Wire’ mentioned in class:
- Police Force
- Gangs
- City Council
- Education
I was surprised though when we started discussing social institutions. They consume our existence, and probably go unnoticed a lot of the time. The one that struck me down was Marriage, in all its glory. The qualities of Institution can be applied to marriage to some extent. It’s bound by law, enduring and the public is certainly made aware of the status.
In ‘Spaced’ however, the two central characters, Tim and Daisy, pretend to be a couple in order to rent an apartment for an absolute bargain. This provides a lot of comic value. And it falls under the category of a social institution. Tim and Daisy have to upkeep social values and perceptions in order for them to stay in their apartment. It’s a very funny take on the idea, but it does raise the question of how people perceive marriages to be.
It brings me back to a conversation I had with my girlfriend about marriage. She mentioned she read an article about marriage being a renewable contract. I haven’t had much to say about the concept, but I certainly agree that people’s views on marriage are shifting. This has already been noted in countries such as Japan, where conventions of marriage have become so far shifted from those of the western world.
I suppose what I’m getting at is that although we are surrounded by institutions, it’s not always about abiding by the rules instated. Challenging conventions is arguably just as important. Our government for example… Quote a middle aged woman on my bus: “Those liberals all had free education”.
– Gabe