Conformity or individuality, the societal or the individual, to stand in or to stand out, these are the decisions we make and who we are. In our lives it is a constant battle between figuring out who we are as individuals and wanting to be accepted by others. Our individual history is written on these two concepts. The individual stands up and stands out. He is the one who begins a revolution and starts a social movement. He is not afraid of the consequences but accepts that his individuality is worth more than succumbing to the norms others so easily have accepted. And as heroic and inspiring as this individual may appear to the onlooker, even though we too dream of being that brave and audacious, we are more than comfortable joining the crowd and, if I dare be too cliche, fading into the sea of faces. While we as people want to claim our individuality as something so different from others and hold onto it, we are more willing to push that aside to conform to societal norms in order to be accepted by others. We are in a tug-of-war game between being a leader and being a follower, between being the individual and being the conformist. Conformity versus individuality is important to study in order to better understand people and the incentive behind his or her actions and thoughts. It is also important to keep in mind that without the intertwined relationship between the opposition of individuality and conformity the world would cease to spin as it does. Therefore, we should not judge one as being "good" or "right" and the other as "bad" or "wrong", rather we should see them both as important to our culture.
For the remainder of this study, I will post articles of research done on the topic of conformity and individuality, along with discuss how this relates to our culture and the works of other social and cultural theorists. Other posts will include youtube videos and movie clips of three films, which will be mentioned and discussed thoroughly of how they portray individuality and conformity. These films being Juno, Runaway Bride, and Pride and Prejudice. Before continuing, it is helpful to keep in mind that in these films, and many other films, we as the viewers, praise and adore the individuality and boldness of the characters we see on the screen, yet in our own lives have hard time seeing ourselves as that ambitious individual. We praise characteristics and personality traits that we are often afraid of having for ourselves. We view individuality as being set a part and significantly different than others and as a result of that, we see conformity as being something to avoid completely. There is a balance, however, between individuality and conformity and we should strive for that balance, rather than striving for one extreme, or settling for the other.
Having said that we should not judge one as being "good" or right, nor someone as "bad" or wrong.. Then if that should be the case, what should be the reinforcement for an individual to fit in so called society? Judging may not be ideally the right term but being right or wrong, good or bad were a part of a person as an individual. Praise and punishment mold a person to gain his/her individuality and so based on that, acceptance and conformity follows.
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