Social Mobility :: essays research papers

Forrest Gump coined the phrase â€Å"Life is like a box of chocolates† from the movie Forrest Gump, released in 1994. In 2001, I am putting a spin on it in terms I understand: The M&M class structure. Growing up, red candies were the most coveted of all the candy-covered chocolate treats. Once the Mars Chocolate Company introduced the blue M&M in ‘96, in became instantly popular. Even though they were not around as long as the others, they still took over the throne as the ruling upper class in the M&M world. The orange and green were a step down in the upper-middle and lower middle classes respectively. Last, and definitely least, were the yellow and brown ones: The lower class candies that no one cared about and had no fair chance of making it big. M&M’s serve as a parallel to what it is like to live in America and many other countries alike. There are many different social classes in America: The primary upper class, which have the most influence and power of all the classes. Then there are the corporate and working middle-classes. Thirdly there is the lower class. Upon being labeled within that specific group it is particularly difficult to move up the socioeconomic ladder, and obviously achievable to move down it. Once in a while, people can make leaps and bounds up the ladder (though it’s quite unlikely). A one famous television theme song depicts: â€Å"Movin’ on up.† The purpose of the research in this paper is to define these classes, explain what seems to be the reason mobility it is so difficult throughout these classes, and how and why these classes are formed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   For the purpose of this paper it is important to properly define exactly what a socioeconomic class structure is. One definition that has been accepted more often than, according to Parkin is that class is a concept that allows us to organize our differences by grouping things or people in categories based on their resemblance, or non-resemblance to each other in accordance with a certain criteria (4). We are free to choose whatever criteria we like. Class is not a new subject. Social and economic groups have been around since man has been dominating the earth. In medieval and roman times right through until the industrial, status was defined by to how much land a person owned. Nevertheless, classes are made to categorize people: whether it is how much land a person owns or how big their SUV is.