The Slap: Functionalism & PowerPoint Pop Culture
Core Question
Why do celebrity conflicts become national conversations
What function does public outrage serve?
How does this maintain social structure?
The Slap: Jay Z and Solange (2014)
Elevator altercation post-Met Gala:
Sparked debates over infidelity speculation as moral narrative
Lemonade reinforced cultural interpretation
The Response
Sorry,” Beyoncé mentions “Becky with the good hair.”
This line brought the elevator conflict back as Beyoncé fans thought “Becky” must be the woman with whom Jay-Z cheated on Beyoncé.
Everyone had an opinion.
Will Smith & Chris Rock (2022)
Oscars ceremony disruption
Violation of sacred performance space
Debates over masculinity and protection
Zsa Zsa Gabor (1989)
Slapped police officer during stop
Class and celebrity shaped interpretation
Public moral judgment followed
Raises question:What if Will Smith slapped a police officer?
Analytical pivot
Interpretation shifts based on:
Race
Class
Gender
Institutional authority
Celebrity as Amplifier
Private event becomes global spectacle
Media repetition creates shared script
Collective moral engagement
From Personal Incident to Public Moral Debate
These are not just personal acts. Celebrity transforms private conflict into public meaning.
Questions raised:
When is violence justified?
Who has moral authority?
Who gets sympathy?
Who is punished?
Who gets to interpret?
Thesis shift: The important question is not why the slap happened, but what function the discussion of the slap serves in society.
Functionalism: The Theoretical Framework
Society as a system of interdependent parts
Analysis of social structure
Focus on stability and cohesion
Institutions serve necessary function
Institutions maintain order and cohesion
Culture performs a stabilizing role
Core Claim: From a functionalist perspective, Popular culture serves a function in society.
Two primary functions identified:
Builds solidarity among diverse populations.
Provides safe space to discuss difficult subjects.
Emile Durkheim
Founder of sociology
Concerned with:
Social cohesion
Moral order
Integration in modern societies
Studied religion to understand why
Structural functionalism theory
Religion as Model: The Elementary Forms of Religious Life
Durkheim studied religion to understand the following:
How societies maintain cohesion.
How shared meanings are created.
His observations include a heavy reliance on:
Signs
Symbols
Images
These symbols are often opaque to outsiders, which helps to define the distinction between insiders and outsiders.
In contemporary society, popular culture serves a similar function.
Symbols organize meaning.
Rituals foster a sense of belonging.
Shared beliefs unify groups.
Three Universal Religious Characteristics
Durkheim found all religions contain:
Sacred vs Profane
Collective Conscience
Collective Effervescence
These elements:
Bind communities.
Define boundaries.
Produce emotional unity.
Collective Conscience
A set of beliefs, ideas, and morals that bring a group of people together.
Shared beliefs and moral values
Defines right and wrong
Binds members together
By creating strong moral rules about right and wrong, religious belief holds people together.
Collective Conscience in Pop Culture
We see collective conscience in popular culture when people identify with each other over shared consumption of the same movies, TV shows, music, video games, influencers, comic books, etc
Example: the rules surrounding concert etiquette and attire
Fandom rules
Public backlash norms “Cancel culture”
Celebrity accountability debates
Collective Effervescence
The sensation a group of people experiences when they are in one place, feeling the same moment
Emotional energy of shared experience
Group becomes unified
Heightened meaning perception
The emotional energy generated when:
Groups experience the same moment.
Individuals become “herd-like.”
Characteristics:
Heightened emotion
Loss of individual distance.
Intensified meaning.
Examples in pop culture:
Concerts, sports events, “caught in the moment.”
Sacred vs Profane
Sacred:
Set apart.
Protected by rules.
Symbolically elevated.
Profane:
Ordinary.
Everyday.
Secular.
Boundary distinguishes insiders
Moral Boundary Work
Public debate defines norms
Who crossed the line?
Reinforces collective conscience
Insider vs Outsider Logic
Outsider:
Does not recognize sacred distinction.
Violation carries little symbolic meaning.
Insider:
Violation signals betrayal.
Signals “not like us.”
Kendrick Lamar: 'Not Like Us'
The power is not factual accuracy.
The power is boundary construction.
Application contexts:
Sports rivalries.
Politics.
Cultural fandoms.
The claim “not like us”:
Divides symbolically.
Unifies internally.
Social Solidarity
Feeling of connectedness among members of society.
Produces:
Social cohesion.
Unity.
Sources of Solidarity
Face-to-face interaction.
Division of labor (interdependence).
Symbols and rituals.
Modern societies:
More complex.
Less religiously unified.
Culture replaces religion as glue.
Sports as Sports as Functional Religion
Sports as Functional Religion
Totemic Symbols
Animal mascots.
Team logos.
City identity markers.
Regalia (cheeseheads).
Totems:
Represent group identity.
Stand in for community.
Ritual Structure of Sports
Fixed calendar (NFL Sundays, March Madness).
Sacred spaces (stadiums).
Collective gestures (waves).
Incantations (fight songs).
Centripetal vs Centrifugal Forces
Centripetal:
Pull inward.
Unite group.
Centrifugal:
Push outward.
Create rivalry.
Solidarity always involves exclusion.
Unifying vs dividing forces
Pop culture does both
Nationalism and Crisis
A. Post-9/11 Virginia Tech Game
B-2 bomber flyover.
Intense patriotism.
Unity over rivalry.
B. Limits of Unity
Despite unity:
Anti-Muslim hate crimes increased 1,617%.
Solidarity for some meant exclusion of others.
Solidarity is never neutral.
Imagined Community
Coined by Benedict Anderson
Large groups feel connected
Shared media builds belonging
An imagined community is:
A socially constructed group.
Members never meet most other members.
Yet feel deep connection.
Popular Culture as Modern Imagined Community
Celebrities replace royalty:
Celebrities as shared reference
National conversations
Examples?
Kardashians.
Knowles-Carter family.
Taylor Swift.
They provide:
Moral templates.
Behavioral scripts.
Cultural reference points.
Murphy Brown Controversy
Dan Quayle blamed:
Single motherhood.
Popular culture.
Reality:
Rodney King beating caused riots.
Yet controversy created:
National discussion.
Shared moral debate.
Popular Culture as Myth
David Grazian:
Popular culture acts like myth.
Myths:
Simplify complexity.
Provide moral lessons.
“Stories we tell ourselves about ourselves.”
Celebrities function as:
Moral teaching tools
Cultural story characters
Symbolic figures we project values onto
They are not just people.
They are narrative containers.
Gramsci & Consent
Power Operates Through Consent
People:
Participate in system.
Gain small pleasures.
Maintain structure.
Pressure Relief Valve
Satire releases tension
Catharsis without transformation
Examples:
Saturday Night Live.
The Daily Show.
Function:
Release tension.
Vent frustration.
Preserve system.
No structural change, just an emotional reset.
Saturday Night Live Example
50 years political satire
Minimal measurable policy impact
Functional Summary
Builds solidarity
Creates imagined community
Reinforces structure
Popular culture:
Creates:
Solidarity.
Imagined communities.
Shared morality.
Allows:
Safe moral debate.
Emotional regulation.
Maintains:
Social order.
Power through consent.
Functionalist conclusion:
Popular culture is not trivial.
It is structurally necessary.
Functionalism Critique
Overemphasizes stability
Underplays conflict