9500 Liberty focuses on the history of immigration laws in Virginia. It reveals the major events that occurred during the period of repressive immigration policies. Viewers are able to trace the cause-and-effect relationship between government actions and the social panic that erupted during the passage of the law, which justified discrimination. The phenomenon has penetrated everyone’s private life, affecting professional life, daily activities and genaral mood. The underlying mechanisms that were triggered by the change in the law can be explained in terms of three major sociological theories.
From the perspective of structural functionalism, it becomes clear that in this case the community is presented as an integral system. Within the latter, all processes are interconnected and reflected on each member of the community (Boddye, 2020). Consequently, this is the reason why the government’s actions caused such a significant resonance. Symbolic intraculturalism explains the events of the film in terms of symbols of social interaction (Boddye, 2020). People were outraged by the repression because their experience suggested a softer attitude toward migrants and a generally more liberal outlook (Boddye, 2020). Conflict theory explains that the story is built on the confrontation of several groups of people with different interests (Boddye, 2020). The two opposing sides were a society that was not in the mood for violence and aggression, and a government intent on solving the issue at any cost (Boddye, 2020). Thus, the plot of the film depicts a global phenomenon that can be explained by all basic sociological concepts. These events unfold in society as an interconnected system, based on the experience and mentality of people and the confrontation of groups with conflicting interests.
Reference
Boddye, K. (2020). 9500 Liberty Documentary. In YouTube. Web.