Undefeated is a 2011 documentary about the Tigers of Manassas High School, more specifically their football team. This documentary centers on how the coach, Bill Courtney, helps form a team of academic and athletically strong men to attempt a winning season after years of losses. While analyzing the performance of the team three sociological perspectives explains their wins and losses. The first perspective is the functionalist theory, which emphasizes on the stability of what holds the football team together. Conflict theory is the second perspective which emphasizes on the competition, or source of power. Lastly, the symbolic interactionist theory which emphasizes the importance of symbols.
The Functionalist Theory main characteristic is the five social institutions: …show more content…
Courtney was a father figure to the boys who grew up in a single parent household, consisting of only their mother and siblings. Money, OC Brown, and Chavis looked up to Courtney because he leads by example and built a culture of trust. After every game they would chant “team first”, and after the last game of their high school career they exchanged “ I love yous” . A player to player and player to coach relationship is important, this football team built a family where everyone was included. The next two institutions, government and the economy go together because Manassas High School did not have a booster club to fund their athletic programs. For years the Manassas football team would get their butts kicked by 3A and 4A schools for $3,000, this money went towards equipment and anything else to keep their program moving forward. Even though the district's student spending is $10,550 which is higher than the state average of $8,563 it goes more towards their education, which is another one of the social institutions. The district that Manassas High School is in, Shelby 2-School District, graduation rate is 72% which is 11% below the average of the
The Functionalist Theory main characteristic is the five social institutions: …show more content…
Courtney was a father figure to the boys who grew up in a single parent household, consisting of only their mother and siblings. Money, OC Brown, and Chavis looked up to Courtney because he leads by example and built a culture of trust. After every game they would chant “team first”, and after the last game of their high school career they exchanged “ I love yous” . A player to player and player to coach relationship is important, this football team built a family where everyone was included. The next two institutions, government and the economy go together because Manassas High School did not have a booster club to fund their athletic programs. For years the Manassas football team would get their butts kicked by 3A and 4A schools for $3,000, this money went towards equipment and anything else to keep their program moving forward. Even though the district's student spending is $10,550 which is higher than the state average of $8,563 it goes more towards their education, which is another one of the social institutions. The district that Manassas High School is in, Shelby 2-School District, graduation rate is 72% which is 11% below the average of the