The O.J. Verdict
On October 10, 1995 the verdict in the O.J. murder trial was read. The legal proceedings, which had been televised, had transfixed the nation and some 150 million tuned in to watch the reading. Through archival footage and interviews with those who were involved in the case as well as journalists, this Frontline video considers this case as a spectacle that divided a nation along racial lines.

Questions to Consider:

1. What were the characteristics of this case that caused Americans to follow it with such rapt attention?
2. Why were people in the U.S. divided over the issues surrounding the case as well as the verdict?
3. Prior to watching this program, what did you know about the trial? Did you learn anything new or modify any of your ideas based on what you saw in the program?
4. If these events had occurred today and not decades ago, would the nation be more or less divided with respect to opinions?

A Class Divided
In 1968 Iowa schoolteacher Jane Elliot engaged her class of third graders in what would become a landmark exercise in learning about race and the social construction of difference. She divided the class into groups based on eye color and then informed the class that one group was superior. A Class Divided is a Frontline special report about this powerful and controversial experiment that we continue to discuss decades on.

1. Questions to Consider:
2. What point was Elliot trying to make? What was she trying to teach her class?
3. Do you think that she was successful?
4. Is this an exercise that you would endorse? Explain your position.

DJ Dave’s Whole Foods Parking Lot
Whole Foods Parking Lot rap response: Revenge of the Black Prius by Delia Brown
The first video is DJDave’s satirical rap about the experience of shopping—and parking—at the Whole Foods grocery store on the West Side of LA. The second is performance artist Delia Brown’s “response rap” to DJDave. Both artists take a black medium (rap) and use it to point out the ridiculousness of certain aspects of white culture and consumption.

Questions to Consider:

1. What (or who) is being satirized in these videos?
2. What is the purpose of using rap, rather than song, to explore the experience of parking and shopping at Whole Foods?
3. How do class and race function as sources of humor in these videos? What stereotypes are referenced?

Chinatown on the Move
Over the last decade New York’s Chinese population has increased by 1/3 yet the percentage of that population living and working in Manhattan’s Chinatown on the lower east side has declined. This New York Times video explores the changes in Chinatown. 1. Why is the Chinese population in Chinatown dwindling?

Discussuion Questions:

1. What is happening to the character of Chinatown? How is it changing?
2. How will these changes affect other parts of Manhattan?
3. Would you characterize these changes as primarily positive or negative? Explain the reasoning behind your answer.

The Caretaker
This short New York Times documentary provides a glimpse into the life of Joesy, an undocumented immigrant from Fiji. Joesy works as a live-in attendant/aide for Ms. Tsurumoto, a 95-year-old Japanese-American woman.

Questions to Consider:

1. Using your sociological imagination (in conjunction with what you have learnt about class, family, and race/ethnicity) consider elderly people often look outside of their families for care and why families often hire caregivers for their loved ones who need assistance.
2. Were you surprised that many undocumented immigrant women are employed in such positions? Does it conform to stereotypes about the “type” of labor undocumented workers perform?
3. Analyze this story from a functionalist perspective and then from a conflict perspective.