The Interaction between the Self and the Society: A Case Study on Kobe Bryants New Image
In sociology, the concept of social reality is simply expressed anddefined as the interaction of the individual or the Self with his/hersurrounding, the person's "reality" as s/he perceives it. For a socialreality to become real, there must be interaction and existence between theindividual and the society. Although not manifested physically, thesociety interacts with the individual in numerous ways, shaping the ways/he thinks and perceives his/her Self. Interaction between the individualand society, indeed, determines one of the most important studies onsociology-that is, how the members of the society construct and givemeaning to their social realities as they experience and perceive it. The dynamic process of the social experience is mirrored in thesociological tradition of symbolic interactionism, which studies thebehavior of the individuals and societies through observation anddescription. In symbolic interactionism, people's appearance, gestures,and language serve as representations, or symbols, that people use whenthey interact in social situations. Through this method, social experienceand meaning are developed both by the individual and by the society,
Bryant's case illustrates how through social actions and symbols, heattempts to generate an image that is in contrast to what the media andsociety had been portraying to the public since the rape charges had beenfiled against him. Using the case study of basketball player Kobe Bryant, this paperstudies in detail information regarding Bryant's transformation (as hefaces charges of sexual molestation) from being an athlete to being abeliever of God, a "responsible" and "good" man. tists study the interaction, meaning, and significanceof social actions and experiences to the society in general. Society, although not always physically manifested, isinfluential in shaping the individual and the society because the society"provides a center around which to crystallize our sentiments" (Collins,1994:254). In Bryant's case, his act of tattooing his family's names and religioussymbols show how he wants to perceive himself as a good individual, sincehe knows that society does not think well of him right now because of thecharges filed against him. Mainly a man who is athletic and preoccupied with his sport andprofession, Bryant gradually became family-and God-centered, focusing histime with his family apart from playing professional basketball. In addition, the individual also takes n active part indeveloping the image that he wants to project to others, and this is onceagain illustrated in Bryant's conflicting images. In sum, using the symbolic interactionist tradition, it is evidentthat social actions and symbols are utilized to project an image that canbe both acceptable and unacceptable to the society. Thus, his social act of explicitly displayinghis love for his family and God is an act defiance, to disprove to thesociety negative notions about his character. The "I" image of Bryantshow him as a family- and God-centered man, while the "Me" or derived Selfmirrors society's perceptions about him as a sexual offender. After cases of sexual assault and molestation had been chargedagainst Bryant, he had undergone transforming his image to a more positiveone. Toillustrate his conversion to being a 'good' man, Bryant had his wife anddaughters' names, an angel halo and Psalm's Scripture 27 tattooed on bothhis arms. The generation of a new self-image is a social act thatillustrates the powerful role that society plays in shaping an individual'sperception about him/herself, as well as other people's perception aboutthe individual. This theory, proposed by Charles Colley, is the theory of the "looking-glass self," where the posits that an individual's perception about hisself is influenced and shape by what society thinks about the individual.
Common topics in this essay:
Herbert Mead,
Kobe Bryant,
Self Interaction,
God Bryant's,
Charles Colley,
,
Psalm's Scripture,
individual society,
symbolic interactionism,
social actions,
interaction individual,
social experience,
social actions symbols,
social reality,
s/he perceives,
actions symbols,
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