Marriage in America

Paper Summary:

This paper begins by describing a functionalist's perspective of the institution of marriage and how this view would ask what is wrong about American society that is causing a decline in this institution. The paper then takes a look at the film, "Mississippi Marsala" and what it has to say about culture and marriage in America and compares marriages in America to marriages in more traditional societies. The paper also describes some of the changes that are taking place in these traditional societies regarding marriage and compares it to the way marriage has evolved over time in the U.S.

From the Paper:

"A functionalist perspective assumes that society is made up of interrelated parts, each of which contributes to the functioning of society as a whole. To the functionalist, society is composed of stable patterns (social structure) which have consequences for society as a whole. When working properly, each part contributes to the stability of the whole, fulfilling a function that contributes to a system's equilibrium. However, sometimes the parts can be dysfunctional for society. One way this can occur is when a change in one part of society disrupts the functioning of another part. A functionalist theorist examines the consequences of a specific institution for society as a whole. Therefore, in considering intimacy and marriage in the United States, we must ask, "What is wrong with American families?" Furthermore, "What is wrong with American society?""

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