Sociological Film Analysis: Lord of Flies (Research Paper Sample)

Sociological Film Analysis: Lord of Flies
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Sociological Film Analysis: Lord of Flies
William Golding's Lord of Flies is about a group of boys on a deserted island who rule themselves and form a society among themselves (Golding 1987). Due to the lack of adult assistance, the boys turn to violence against one another. As foreshadowing, the film opens with a display of pictures and tribal drumming. According to the photos, the film looks to be set during a global war catastrophe. Historically, during times of conflict, terror in society followed propaganda (Bufkin 1965). Owing to this propaganda, an airplane carrying British schoolboys was disembarked, and a subsequent plane crash dumped them on a deserted island. As soon as the boys learn there are no elders with them, they begin by adhering to the typical norms of the society they were a part of and the social compact and general will. However, as the film progresses, one can see the boys' transformation and their subsequent deviance. Lord of Flies is an exceptional film for sociological analysis. From a sociological perspective, the film depicts man's greedy desire for power, his abuse of technology to devastation, and his descent into the inner darkness. This film demonstrates how, in the absence of social structure, social leadership, and social norms, boys lose their sense of social justice and resort to violence and murder.
         Lord of Flies incorporates a few main characters: Piggy, Jack, and Ralph, who will be the primary way of analyzing this film. Piggy is an intelligent individual with poor eyesight, an overweight issue, and asthma. This makes him the most physically susceptible to scorn and exclusion among the boys. Piggy is intelligent and well-natured, even though he seems to be from a lower socioeconomic class than the other boys, exhibits poor self-esteem, and is regularly made fun of. The film's primary representation of savagery, brutality, and the drive for power is Jack's red-haired, strong-willed, egotistical character. He was a former school "head boy" and choirmaster. His primary interest is hunting, a pursuit that starts with a need for meat and culminates in an overpowering want to dominate and slay other living creatures. Ralph is the charismatic character of Lord of Flies. He is fair-haired, good-looking, athletically built, and from an affluent, middle-class background (Li and Wu 2009). He exhibits clear common sense. Ralph conceives of the meeting location, the huts, and the fire.
Piggy is a sign of civilization and intelligence and innocence and reason. Although he serves as Ralph's advisor and is the most intellectual of the boys, he is frequently ignored, and his opinions are commonly dismissed. Piggy symbolizes humankind's scientific and sensible part, backing Ralph's signal fires and assisting with island issue solving. Also, he is the only boy concerned with the English civilization laws, namely what the adults would say when they discover the savage boys. Piggy values rules, punctuality, and order, yet as the island descends into savage disarray, his position is threatened by extreme violence. Piggy's individuality and intelligence keep him from being completely immersed in the group; therefore, he is less prone to the mob mentality that affects the majority of the other boys. Jack embodies violence and evil, the dark aspect of human nature (Guo 2019). Jack landed on the island, having exerted authority over others with considerable success by controlling the choir with his military demeanor. He is ready to establish