According to Warran, “Social Problems: Who makes them?” social problems are “social” in the sense that the public recognizes them. Issues like drugs and unjustified killings catch the eye of society, making them “social”. One person is not enough to categorize it as “social”. But sometimes social problems depend upon how people perceive them. For example, if society acknowledges poverty as a misfortune, then it is not a social problem. But if it is a reason why most people tend to do unlawful acts, then it is a social issue. The common social issues are drug addiction, issues about family, peer pressure, and religion. One of the many series that portrayed these issues is the TV series from 2018 entitled Elite. This series from Netflix deals with different issues that affect the behavior of the characters. Issues that talk about drugs, family, religion, and relationships are part of the series.
Last 2018, Elite was noticed in the public. The series was created by Carlos Montero and Dario Madrona. Elite delves into teen drama ideas and themes, as well as more progressive topics and alternate viewpoints on the genre's clichés. They cover a wide range of sexual themes. Critics and viewers alike lauded the, with many hailing it as a "guilty pleasure" and praising its writing, acting, and depiction of adult themes. They also portrayed social issues about family, sexual relationships, drugs, and peer pressure. Each character in the series are dealing with these problems, and thus became a factor for the flow of the story.
One of the huge factors that influence the development of a person is its social class or status. The person’s experience of being labeled as poor class influences his self-esteem and his relationship with others (Russell 59). And it can be seen in the series. The series Elite covers the power of wealth and discrimination. The three scholars - Samuel, Christian, and Nadia receive discrimination because they belong to the lower class. For instance, Lucresia who is a daughter of a diplomat, and other rich students tell their families that they want to expel Nadia, a studious Muslim if she still wears her hijab. Nadia obeys because she needs to graduate there and go to a prestigious college. There is a scene where Lucresia tries to bribe her teacher for her grades but eventually backfires and she ends up in the principal’s office which shows that not everything can be bought with money. This makes Silvia Quer, the director of Elite drawn to the well-developed characters in this series. Moreover, the editing from the luxurious class is taking turns to the story of the poor families like the main character Samuel. Due to their status, his brother sell drugs to get a big sum of money that made him rot in jail for several months. Samuel is very angry with his brother when he finds out he’s selling drugs. Since his brother is not around, he learns how to take responsibility at a very young age. He becomes a working student to save money for their everyday lives and for the bail of his brother. In terms of the show’s visual style, the characters explicitly show how their dressing can mirror their social status. For instance, Lucresia and Carla show their sophisticated aura through their dresses, shoes, and accessories while the scholar, Samuel mostly wears his worn-out shirts and polo. The use of technology in this series brings also an impact to degrade someone else’s self-esteem. For instance, Valerio caught Nadia and Guzman hooking up so he recorded it and brought it to his stepsister Lucresia. Her sister then uploaded it that made Nadia the talk of their school and thus degrading her self-worth.
The ones who are always on the top of the social status are the ones with fame, money, and power. Ordinary people are no match for them in every aspect. That is the way everything works. You got money, you’ll get what you want or get away with anything. From the article entitled “The psychology of social class: How socioeconomic status impacts thought, feelings, and behavior” by Manstead (267), evidence shows that those with lower subjective social class are also lower in their sense of personal control, and it also suggests that this reduced sense of control relates to a preference for situational (rather than dispositional) attributions for a range of social phenomena, including social inequality. Those who grow up in lower‐class environments are likely to have fewer resources available to them, and as a result, have weaker beliefs about their ability to control their outcomes. People in the lower class tend to belittle themselves, let be pushed by other people. It shows in the TV series itself.
Family is another factor that influences the growth of a person. In this series, the characters are defying their parents and choosing to be who they are. For example, Nadia and Omar who come from a conservative Muslim family disobey their family’s culture and fight for their freedom. Another example is Ander, the principal's athletic son, does not feel the passion to play the sport his father and coach trains him to. His father knows his capabilities and pushes him to do well in this sport but Ander hides the fact that he despises playing it. Moreover, there is a big expectation coming from the wealthy family of Lucresia. They are expecting her to always excel especially in her studies that led her to feel pressure and be competitive. The character of Cayetana, who becomes a scholar because her mother is working as a janitor in their school, grows up serving others that she wants to experience being served too. She also wants to feel belong because she comes from a broken family so she disguises herself as a rich student to blend in and experience the luxurious life with plenty of friends. Her mother knows that what her doing is wrong but she still let her do it because she thought that will make her daughter happy. This shows that there are parents who will tolerate the attitude of their children even though they know that it is wrong. There is also a big change in a person’s behavior when the death of his someone special comes. In Elite, Guzman’s sister – Marina, suddenly died and they do not know who killed her. This fires up Guzman’s rage to kill. He has this urge to seek vengeance for the one who killed his precious sister who is also pregnant.
Since Lucresia is the daughter of the Mexican ambassador of Spain, it’s already a given that she should achieve greater things compared to others. Coming from a well-known family, the name “Hendrich” should not be dishonored. While Ander’s family expects him to do well in sports. He is a man, and playing sports is a man’s thing. Her mother is the principal of the school, so high expectations from him are unavoidable.
From the article entitled “Are you weighing your child down with the burden of your expectations?” by Sharma, children are here in the world to find their own purpose and create their own path and the role of parents is to merely support them in this process. Expectations can really make the environment toxic for their children. It is hard to have a positive mindset when your movements should justify their expectations.
A deeper factor lies within the culture of a person. Brown and Singelis (354) said that culture affects the individual's psychological behavior and impacts the communication with other peers. Elite shows the dark side of being tied to tradition and norms. One example is the Muslim siblings – Nadia and Omar who have challenges in growing up and hope to experience life without the shackles of their culture. They are unable to attend a party, be in a relationship with other religions or sexes, and other forbidden laws in Muslim. Unable to withstand the suffocation because their father cannot understand them, they started lying and rebelling against their parents. In addition, Elite breaks the sexual stereotyping of lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and every aspect of LGBTQ+ culture. In particular, the forbidden gay relationship of Omar and Ander, the lesbian parent of Polo, polyamorous relationships between Carla, Polo, and Christian, and the reflecting of Polo about his sexual orientation.
As of today, the LGQBT+ or Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community is growing all over the world. Written by Ali, “Same-Sex Sexual Activity & Lesbian and Bisexual Women”, Same-sex sexual activity is a taboo subject for many Muslims. People agree that Qur’an prohibits all same-sex sexual activity and the Islamic law suggests punishment for it. This issue is still ongoing in some parts of the Muslim world.
But the article posted by Dr. Kugle, the Qur’an gives rules for relationships between men and women, but it doesn’t set rules for same-sex relationships. With this said, it doesn’t prohibit relationships of the same gender. This issue is present in the TV series. Omar is from a Muslim family and his father is very conservative. He hides his sexuality to avoid conflict. This behavior causes him to deal with drugs to leave home.
In the TV series Elite, social factors like social class, family, and sexuality incorporate with the behaviors of the characters. The development of those issues influences their actions. Everyone's attitude depends upon the issues they're dealing with. Their own experiences make them satisfied or disturbed. The emotions of the characters escalate as to their satisfaction. They come running down when things don’t go their way. Like how satisfied Lucresia is when she gets what she wants because of her social status. Or how it is hard for Ander to do sports just to not disappoint his family' even though he does not want to. These factors clearly affect one's human behavior and mindset in life.
References
Ali, Kecia. “Same-Sex Sexual Activity & Lesbian and Bisexual Women.” Brandeis University, 10 Dec. 2002, https://www.brandeis.edu/projects/fse/muslim/same-sex.html.
Brown, William J. and Singelis, Theodore M. “Culture, Self, and Collectivist Communication: Linking Culture to Individual Behavior.” Human Communication Research, vol. 21, no. 3, Mar. 1995, pp. 354–389, doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2958.1995.tb00351.x.
Dr. Kugle, Scott Siraj al-Haqq. “Sexual diversity in Islam: Is There Room in Islam for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Muslims?” Muslims for Progressive Values, 2010, https://www.mpvusa.org/sexual-diversity.
Manstead, Antony S. R. “The psychology of social class: How socioeconomic status impacts thought, feelings, and behaviour” British Journal of Social Psychology, Feb. 2019, pp. 267–291, doi:10.1111/bjso.12251.
Russell, Glenda. “Internalized Classism: The Role of Class in the Development of Self.” Women & Therapy, vol. 18, no. 3, 1996, pp. 59-71, doi:10.1300/J015v18n03_07.
Sharma, Maullika. “Are you weighing your child down with the burden of your expectations?” White Swan Foundation, 20 Oct. 2015, https://www.whiteswanfoundation.org/life-stages/childhood/are-you-weighing-your-child-down-with-the-burden-of-your-expectations.
Warran, Andrew. “Social Problems: Who Makes Them?” The Open University, 2016. https://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=4498&printable=1