Blog 2

I find it very interesting in this episode of “Firefly” how apparent the different social statuses were. The scene that stuck out most to me was when Kaylee, the mechanic, was working on her project for the ship and Dr. Simon walked in. She seemed all frazzled when he came in; I don’t think she was really expecting him to come to her “end” of the ship. She greeted him with a “Hello Dr. Simon” making him seem as if he was more important than she was. However, Dr. Simon was more down to earth than she probably expected him to be and told her to just call him “Simon.” It’s ironic how the mechanic, which is a more blue-collar job than the doctor, is the one that puts the doctor up on a pedestal. This kind of seems like the way our society has been shaped to be. On a daily basis, it can be observed by the average person that these social norms occur more often than are probably realized. It seems that these reactions to people of different social statuses has become a routine way of life to most and is not looked upon as a bad way of speaking to those in different “classes”. One example that can be applied to most of us is the exchange of words between students and their professors. Almost always students call their professors by their doctorate label and last name, which is appropriate, respectful, and is expected in a college environment. However, this label also influences students to often times be intimidated and fearful of their teachers. These types of communication are seen all over society and can often times be influential to many individuals. It is interesting to see this concept in the episode of “Firefly” because it is a very real-life issue that occurs all the time and affects people in many different ways.