Documentary Ideas

By Michelle Asafu-Adjaye

Three Ideas

Documentary Ideas

BullyingThe family

Crime in London

E.G-:•How the family has changed in the last few years.•Why the family has changed/ factors that have influenced the change.•The different types of family.

E.G-:•Bullying in schools.•The different types of bullying. E.g.-cyber bullying, gang bullying etc.•How bullying has changed over the years.•How it effects peoples lives.

E.G-:•Does the area you live in affect the crime rate in London.•How has crime changed over the years. E.G- gun and knife crime•Gender and crime•Crime and ethnicity

After meeting with my teacher we decided that a documentary about family would be a good idea.

The Family

Research• One of the subjects I study at A-level is sociology and within it I learn about the family, the different types

of family and how the family has changed over the years.• During the 1950’s and 60’s, the most common type of family was the nuclear family, which consisted of a

mother, father and children. • There are many sociological theories on the function of the nuclear family and how it benefits society and

the members of the family. E.G functionalists argue that the family is functional for society and feminists argue that the nuclear family only benefits men and is unfair to women.

• The feminist theory highlights the fact the nuclear family isn't absolutely perfect and behind closed doors it could be a different story which is known as the dark side of the family. E.G domestic violence.

The dad was the main breadwinner in the family and would go out to work everyday.

The mum stayed at home to cook, clean and look after the children.

The children were expected to obey their parents and most importantly to respect their father.

Over the last 50 years it could be said that the Nuclear family is no longer existent and its no longer the norm. There has been an increase in other types of families. E.g.- lone parent families, reconstituted families, extended families, horizontally extended families, vertical extended families, matrifocal families etc.

Reasons for the changeThere are several reasons for the changing family structure. Some of these changes include:

Women now have careers due to the fact that they now get equal opportunities in employment, so they are delaying marriage and having children.

Advances in medicine mean that couples can now put off having children until they are ready. This also means that men and women can have several different partners without worrying about babies and marriage. E.g.- contraception

Equal pay act means that woman can go to work and earn the same pay as men so divorce is now affordable.

Secularisation (changing attitudes towards religion) means that people no longer view the family as an important unit and certain behaviour is more acceptable. E.g.- cohabitation, same sex relationships and marriage no longer being important.

I would like to incorporate these ideas in my documentary as well as various points in history that have influenced the change. E.g. women's right to vote.

Its easier to get divorced now whereas before you had to have it approved by a judge. E.G you van now get divorced on the grounds of irretrievable break down.

EpisodesMy first episode would be about the nuclear family and its history and the new types of family that are emerging. I would talk about when it was most popular and how it became the ‘norm’. I would put in different sociological perspectives of the family, by interviewing sociologists as well as gaining the view points of other people.

My second episode would be about how the family structure has changed over the last couple of years and what has influenced the change in the structure. As well as including the reasons I stated in the previous slide, I will include various points in history that have influenced the changing family structure. E.G. The introduction of the contraceptive pill in the UK in 1961, Women gaining the right to divorce their husbands in 1857 and the ‘equal pay act’ in 1970 etc.

My third episode would be about. ‘the dark side of the nuclear family. I will explore how the nuclear family wasn't completely perfect as some families suffered from domestic violence from the husband and sometimes the children often felt neglected. I will look at true stories of people who have been victims this

Research• Crime has risen a lot in the UK in particular gun and knife crime.• According to biologists you can tell who’s a criminal by their facial features. At one

point people who where deemed ugly by society were considered criminals. The Biologist theory also states that Biological theory states that people commit crimes because of genetic, biochemical, or neurological deficiencies.

• Psychologists say that people commit crimes because of personality imbalances developed during early childhood.

• Also the is sociological research on gender and crime which shows that males commit more crime than females.

Episodes

My first episode will explore gun and knife crime. I will look at how the law enforcement systems try to tackle the problem. I will get interviews from people on how they feel about the rise in these two types of crimes.

My second episode would be on gender and crime. Sociologists have found that men commit more crime than women and I would like to present the theories on this such as; women not having time to commit crime, socialisation in which girls are socialised at home and boys are socialised outside.etc.

My third episode will be on the psychology of crime, biological explanations of crime and sociological explanations the fear of crime and how people deal with crime in society. I will look at the extreme lengths people got to protect themselves from being victims of crime.

Bullying

First episode will be on cyber bullying and how it affects young peoples lives.

My second episode will be on physical bullying and how peers influence young people to become depressed.

My third episode will be on bullying In the home and how some people suffer violence in their houses.