Hey guys! So this is a bit time sensitive, and also for those who enjoy/have time for a little editing or making suggestions. My stepson's wife is in college and swamped with work, so she recruited my help to take her rough work on a sociology essay and spruce it up while making it cohesive. She's turning it in around 6pm (EST) So if you have any suggestions before then, let me know!
The intention of this essay is to analyze the coffee industry and its effects on modern society through the lens of structural functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism. In doing so it is my hope to have a firmer grasp on each of these sociological perspectives, which will in turn help me to better understand that social constructs are man-made, and therefore temporary and subject to change.
Symbolic Interactionism plays a major role in coffee culture. During the discussion of fastfood I made several correlations to the coffee industry, particularly in terms of this perspective. The logos for places like Dunkin Donuts represent an American way of life, much like McDonald's. One glimpse of the pink and orange double D symbol and my mind supplies "American runs on Dunkin". If asked what type of coffee was in my house growing up I immediately feel the desire to hum "The best part of waking up, is Folgers in your cup". And even though Maxwell house wasn't a favorite in my household, I still see the blue can and think "Good to the last drop". And the interaction of symbols doesn't stop with logos, jingles and slogans. Also like the fast food industry, the uniforms and layouts of places like Dunkin and Starbucks tell us the roles of employees and customers. With few exceptions, the baristas take your order at the register, then direct you to the end of the counter for pickup. We've become so accustomed to this order of operation, that even smaller coffee shops follow the same protocol, including the use of the same sized cups. And as I learn more about how sociology works I can see that his familiarity of routine is a support system for the perspective of structural functionalism.
Coffee plays an instrumental role in the "Get up and go, go, go!" society we currently live in. Looking at it from the broad scale of structural functionalism, many businesses- and many people- would find it difficult to function without it. From the extra boost of energy the caffeine provides, to the ritualistic nature of its consumption, it is arguably the most important morning staple in the US.
"You could say this nation runs on two dark liquids — petroleum and coffee," said Bob Thompson, a professor of popular culture at Syracuse University who once taught a course on Starbucks and the coffee phenomenon. And it goes far beyond a wake up routine, it is also a mid afternoon pick me up that is so pervasive that the phrase "coffee break" is used to describe most any Time-Out in a person's day. And last, but certainly not least, coffee is a social gathering favorite, from the beverage itself, to the shops that serve it.
Much like the fast food industry it also has a wide variety of latent functions. Such as fueling the economy with international trade, and creating jobs in many fields like retail, packaging, delivery, and marketing. It also supports the advertisement industry, and serves as sponsorships to activities from sports to politics. Coffee is so vital to the running of the US that if its production were to halt, a certain amount of chaos would absolutely ensue. This was known even as far back as WW2, when coffee was rationed here at home to ensure that the soldiers overseas received their share to help motivate them to keep going. And when the war was over, it was the first product to be removed from the rationing list, because people did not like having to limit themselves.
Structural functionalism runs into trouble when we take a look at the ever changing social scene surrounding coffee culture, as well as the decidedly "white" nature of its target marketing and advertising. This is where conflict theory comes in. Before the advent of the internet, specifically Wi-Fi, coffee shops were a place where people would meet to socialize. Now many of these places function as either a quick stop for a To-Go latte, or a hip, electronic library. Starbucks being the most obvious example, and while they have made strides toward being more inclusive in terms of commercial advertising and job opportunities, everything from their high prices to the slightly pretentious names of their drinks trend toward exclusivity instead. Combine this with the fact that middle aged white male celebrities are most often used to promote these products (as we saw with former Governor Cuomo and the cup of Dunkin Donuts that sat front and center during every covid update of 2020) a certain theme emerges.
And it is evident when you take a look at the number of caucasian owned and operated coffee shops verses that of their black counterpart, and see the latter owns a small fraction of this intensely lucrative business. Which is a travesty when you consider the fact that the majority of all Coffee imported into the US comes from people of color. The root cause of this disparity might be in the findings of a survey done by the federal reserve bank of NY in the spring of 2021 which showed white owned businesses were twice as likely to be fully approved for financing as black and Latino owned firms, and this was so even when the applicant of color was in a low credit risk category. Recently a larger light has been shed on these inequalities, but knowing about it doesn't always equal taking action. This needs to be continuosly addressed until true change is made.
When I began this essay it was with the intention of better understanding sociology, specifically the perspectives. What I didn't anticipate was finding a better understanding of myself in the process. An unforeseen but welcomed consequence, to truly have a new lens through which to view the world around me. I look forward to further self-discovery over the duration of this class.
And that's what we have so far, any constructive criticism would be much appreciated!