Unstoppable Movie Essay

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Having already seen the movie, Unstoppable, I knew that I would enjoy this movie. Although the movie was filled with the type of action that had me glued to the edge of my seat in anticipation of what would happen next, I chose the movie because I could pinpoint the sociological theories and issues in this movie the best. For example, the social functional theory looks at the consequences of a social pattern for the operation of society as a whole. With consideration to the workforce as a whole, there must be different occupational levels. When considering the hierarchy of the railway system in this movie, the train yard employees were at the bottom and the VP of Train Operations represents the corporation, which is at the top. The social functional theory explains that these different occupational roles and levels are necessary for the overall function of any workforce. There must be someone at the “bottom” willing to do the hands-on work and someone at the top qualified to oversee the entire business. These positions usually coincide with the education and experience of the workers/employees. In this movie, we see those different occupational roles and how they contribute to the daily function of the Pennsylvania railway system, as well as how they contribute to the detriment and the success of gaining control of the runaway train. A seemingly young train yard employee chooses to take shortcuts in order to quickly move a freight train at the dispatcher, who was his supervisor. His disregard for safety and protocol causes the train to steer out of control down the tracks without a controller. In an attempt to gain control of the train, several railway employees at different levels become involved --- two train operators, several dispatchers, and the VP of Train Operations. This is the point at which the inequalities characteristic of the social conflict
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