werghj

Tyler Harvey
Essay #1
December 9th
Ritual Violence in a Two-Car Garage


Society moves in a whole, advancing in humanity’s goals or losing traction between its members. Functionalism is the idea of an interconnection between all different parts of a society that tie together to make society a functioning network. As Kent McClelland states “Functionalist analyses often focus on the individual, usually with the intent to show how individual behavior is molded by broader social forces”. The quote means that the personality of the whole society leads to the personality of the individuals (the opposite is also true). In Scott Metzer’s “Ritual Violence in a Two-Car Garage” the sociological aspects of a real life fight club are analyzed. It is Metzer’s belief that a fight club can help men become “in-tune” with their masculinity and solve deep-rooted psychological problems form their childhood. This essay will examine the latent function of solving psychological issues, the manifest function of improved fighting skills, and the dysfunction of serious injury.

To the men involved, the main point of fight club was to expand their skills and prove something to themselves. In our society, men are seen as strong, dominant, able  figures and the men in the fight club just wanted to see if they could live up to these standards. One manifest, or intended, function of the GFC is that the men improved their fighting skills. Most of them came there to gain knowledge of how to fight and hopefully develop their skills. It was mentioned in the article that “The fighters have an interest in helping each other build their skills, but they show no interest in ranking each other, playing out anger, or humiliating anyone.” (Melzer, 2000). The fighters at GFC wanted to help each other become better fighters, not to bash someone and release all their built up anger. With all the experience the men gained in the GFC, they were able to feel confident that they could defend themselves. Not only did fight club improve these men's fighting skills, the GFC also improved their confidence and well-being.

A latent function that is associated with the article “Ritual Violence in a Two-Car Garage” was that some men solved deep-rooted childhood esteem issues. For them fight club "offers an opportunity to replace the psychological scars of bullying and submission with physical scars they can wear as trophies of manhood." (Melzer 2000). As children they were bullied and felt as if they could do nothing about it, now they are able to prove to themselves that they can, and are, in control of their masculinity and anger. Fight club gives these men a chance to get in touch with their masculinity and feel in-control. The reason this is a latent function is because the men did not join the GFC to deal with their psychological problems, it is just something that happened as they went along. The reason the men are able to continue the fight club and feel comfortable doing so is that there is no real harm present. But what if something bad were to happen?

During the duration of the GFC, nobody has been majorly hurt. There is a very real possibility of something like this happening, and the men understand this. The men get bruises, cuts, and scars, but no one has been seriously injured. Everyone who participates in fight club has to sign a paper stating that they could get seriously injured or even die if they choose to participate, as to protect other member’s interest. If something serious were to happen, fight club would probably not be as popular as it is now. None of the men intentionally set out to cause serious harm to their fellow fighters, but am injury would result in the possible end of the fight club. If the men knew there was a large chance they could be seriously injured, most of them wouldn’t likely continue.

This essay has discussed the latent function of solving psychological issues, the manifest function of improved fighting skills, and the dysfunction of serious injury. Looking at these points from a functionalist point of view has helped give understanding to how groups like the fight club operate and work together with the rest of society to make society as a whole function as it should. This article has given better understanding to exactly how manifest, latent, and dysfunctions serve a purpose in our society and all of society’s character.