SOCIAL PROBLEMS RELATED TO POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS, VIOLENCE, AND TERRORISM

Signs against violence outside Reseda High School. The social issue being depicted is how school-aged people are so commonly involved in crimes in and around the schools they attend that police have to crack down to get them to “be good” These signs are against guns, drugs, etc.

This is a picture of the space where my neighbor’s water heater was. Someone stole it in the night. The social problem depicted is the blatant disregard for personal property if it means money for the thief (or a new water heater)

A group of Hispanic men on Van Nuys. They were either pretending their car was broken down to tag or they were just wasting time while they were waiting for help to come. I saw them tag the wall right before I took the picture. It was small. The social problem being depicted is that rather than doing something constructive or even creating a more skillful “tag” they mark up people’s backyard walls. It’s harmless but tagging can make a neighborhood seem less safe which is a form of terrorism.

This is a tag on the Reseda Park bridge.  It says, “RIOT ABOVE GLORY.” I’m not totally sure of the message they were trying to invoke but I think it is something about revolting and revolution. This depicts a social problem just because of the tagging and what it does to a community…not the message they wrote.

SOCIAL PROBLEMS RELATED TO HEALTH CARE

One generation is a non-profit senior enrichment center that mostly takes low-income, frail, and/or Alzheimer inflicted elderly. This picture doesn’t depict a social problem but it goes with this picture of Kaiser Permanente in Van Nuys…

This big hospital called Kaiser Permanente is notorious for bad customer service and wrong diagnosis/medication. Although they are non-profit customers will get a bill and an excuse. The social problem being depicted is poor health coverage for people who need it most.

SOCIAL PROBLEMS RELATED TO EDUCATION

) A sign outside Newcastle Elementary school saying, “Every classroom implements depth and complexity strategies” This is not a magnet school. This is a regular elementary school in Reseda. Depth and Complexity sounds like jargon to make parents feel better about their kids’ understaffed and underfunded school. The social problem being depicted is propaganda to make us think schools are doing better and have more money than they are/do.

A group of elementary school children play on a patch of grass. This is a cute picture and those kids are having plenty of fun but they don’t realize what they are missing out on at other schools. This is the only grass at Newcastle elementary.  The school only has one or two supervisors watching about fifty kids play after school. The social problem being depicted is the education system failing our kids.

) A small mural outside an elementary school says, “Reach 4 the stars, anything is possible.” This is a message to elementary school students. The American dream is all about working hard until you get what you want but realistically this does not happen often. Most students will end up in the same economic class they started in regardless of whether they finish high school or not.  The social problem being depicted is the unrealistic dreams set for students within our flawed educating system.

A sign posted outside Newcastle elementary school. It says, “ Now Enrolling for full day kindergarten” Most parents don’t have an after school care to ring their kids so with a full day kindergarten class, the students will have a safe place to be after school and their parents can pick them up at the same time as their older siblings. The social problem being depicted is that since classes have been being cut short that a full day kindergarten class is unusual.

ECONOMIC INEQUALITY AND POVERTY

A young Hispanic male riding his bike across a red carpet in Van Nuys.  The social problem being depicted is the vast separation between the upper class and lower class. They occupy the same space while being separated by class and status. While one may cross the borders of class temporarily, the status is usually not held long.  

 

Two houses in Reseda, right next to each other, are significantly different sizes. One was obviously renovated; added rooms, a second floor, stylized/decorative exterior, etcetera.  The other is an average size similar to most houses in the neighborhood.   Again, the social problem being depicted is the economic differences even between families in the same neighborhood; economic inequality

A van in Reseda is run down with flat tires, cobwebs, a busted roof, and other internal damages. I was told it has been sitting there for about a year. The reason for the dismay is that the owners do not have enough money for new tires, new transmission, and other expensive repairs.  For now, a family of four shares one sedan which will also be needing repairs soon.  Having the second car would bring in more money as the owner is a plumber.  The social problem being depicted is the hole that poverty seems to land people in.  Without more money the figurative hole gets deeper and harder to escape.

Two motorcycles in front of a house in Reseda.  After this family’s car was totaled, they could not afford a new car so they invested in two used motorcycles. This image depicts economic inequality because depending on what kind of insurance you have, a car gets “totaled” at a different price than the wealthy.  Depending on the circumstances of the accident, an insurance company might pay for almost the entire cost of the totaled car.  Lower and working class people cannot afford the insurance that would truly insure your vehicle.  Hypothetically, the worse your insurance is, the more you personally have to pay in the event of an accident. Those you can afford to pay for their car’s damage, don’t because their insurance covers it. And those who cannot pay for the damage must live with a malfunctioning car.

A homeless man sleeping in Reseda Park with the END street sign in the background.  For many, homelessness is seen as the epitome of poverty.  Being homeless isn’t seen as an opportunity to succeed it is seen as the end, like the image depicts.

SOCIAL PROBLEMS RELATED TO FAMILY

A beaten up, old teddy bear in front of a pretty run down backyard.  Although this house is not a day care I have seen many children playing in this yard. It is not very kid friendly and adult supervision is not usual. The social problem being depicted is the unintentional neglecting of children because of working parents. These children are referred to as “latch key kids.” In What’s Wrong with Child Care in America, by Barbara Bergmann and Suzanne Helburn, it says,” The American child care system, in which parents, largely unassisted, must buy the care they need in the marketplace…” (380).

A young man looking outside of a Spanish speaking mass in Reseda.  Community and family are two important aspects of Hispanic culture. This man is greeting people at the door while they enter the room. The social problem being depicted is that

A young Hispanic couple with a small child waits at a bus stop in Van Nuys. The social problem being depicted is teenage pregnancy. There was not enough education about safe sex and where to acquire contraceptives; many young couples end up with a child they don’t have the means to take care of.  Also, many couples either choose not to get an abortion based on religion, they don’t know where to get one, or they cannot afford one.   

RACIAL AND ETHNIC INEQUALITY

A fence with its white paint chipping off to reveal it had been brown previously.   In the past, white had been seen as the most desirable skin color. The fence is a metaphor for society’s preference of white culture. For years in the past and to this day, minorities try to cover up their ethnic roots with white culture. Trying to become society’s accepted version of themselves…more “American”.   

CRIME AND DRUGS

A car driving past a very large, colorful graffiti on Van Nuys by Parthenia.  Graffiti is a petty crime usually orchestrated by adolescents trying to spite the law.  Most crime happens in the inner city, in the ghetto. The social problem being depicted is that young people get roped into the world of petty crime young and are encouraged to continue it until adolescence.  Then they get in bigger trouble, end up in jail, and then can’t land a decent job the rest of their lives.  Society encourages breaking rules, it is seen as cool. You earn “street cred” for committing crimes. More dangerous crimes get more “street cred”.  The social problem being depicts is the plight of youth from entering the world of drug and crime.

A squad car stationed outside Reseda High School. Since young people are most often the perpetrators of petty and drug-related crimes Police officers commonly wait outside high schools. Especially high schools with students coming from low-income neighborhoods.  The social problem being depicted is that adolescents are more prone to committing crimes than any other group.

A small wall mural that says “Take the bright path not the dark path” on Newcastle avenue in Reseda.  This is significant because it is right outside an elementary school. This message is directly towards kids so that they do not choose “the dark” path...or the path to drugs and crime.  The social problem depicted is similar to the other social problems depicted in this section, adolescents are the most common group to be affiliated with crime and narcotics.

WORK AND UNEMPLOYMENT

A man standing with his bike on Victory. He has bags on his bike with collected recyclables inside. The social problem being depicted is work or unemployment.  He may not be homeless but either way it’s obvious that small change counts big for him.  Unemployment tightens the belt of opportunity for everyone afflicted by it and this man is no exception.  

Valet working off Ventura in the afternoon. He is waving to me taking a picture. This image depicts a typical contingent worker at his part-time job. In sociological terms he is bound by structural/economic theories.  In the article Why Are People Poor in America?, Rodgers says that the “…cause of poverty is a lack of equal opportunities for all…”(82).  

Two young Hispanics selling food and drinks from a cart outside a strip mall on Woodman.  They are also contingent workers. This is a job commonly held by minority immigrants because you can get away with not having a vendor license.  The social issue being depicted is of the hardships of finds stable work and juggling part-time jobs to make a living.  

This is an image of a seemingly abandoned or looted homeless person’s cart.  You cannot tell the circumstances that led this cart to be ditched/ forgotten but, nonetheless, it is a symbol of the struggles associated with unemployment.  Unemployment leaves you vulnerable to the plights of physical and economic ailments.  When you are left on the streets by a society that doesn’t (or won’t) support you, you have to find other ways to support yourself. 

A tree with a ladder leaning against it. This image is a metaphorical depiction of the struggles of unemployment and finding steady work due to the staggered start.  When starting on the bottom rung, it is difficult to push up past gravity. Some may even get a lift into the tree from their family.  Some may not even have a ladder (there are no reachable braches of the upper class without it) If you do happen to come across or invest in a ladder, you may lack the experience necessary to climb past where the ladder ends. You could fall out and not be able to get back in the tree…back to the upper class. Gravity is the structural boundaries put in place by society.  But however you manage to get into that tree, it’s easier to fall out than get in. 

IMMIGRATION

A small Mexican restaurant on Van Nuys Boulevard.  Immigrants from Mexico established this restaurant for the community but mostly for their friends, family, and other native Spanish speakers.  Having a place to hang out besides your house makes you feel more a part of the community. The social problem being depicted is ignorance towards minorities particularly in assuming that they are illegal aliens. Immigrants are seen as not”American enough”.

A car dealership where the signs are all completely in Spanish off Van Nuys. After immigrating to America from a Spanish speaking country, it is easy to find a niche of other Spanish speakers like yourself.  Although they may not be immigrants running the car dealership, they sure are catering to them. This is common in highly populated Hispanic communities. Most businesses run almost entirely in Spanish because their largest demographic is Spanish-speakers. The social problem being depicted is that people are trying to push immigrants out even though their communities are well-established and now have a niche in American culture.

GENDER INEQUALITY AND ISSUES IN SEXUAL ORIENTATION

A wall in Reseda with the words “Be who you are and nobody else.”  Superficially this seems like good advice but there are many people who do not feel comfortable being themselves considering the flack one gets for being anything other than heterosexual. Non-heterosexuals find it hard to connect with people who are ignorant towards those different than themselves.  The social problem being depicted is that of ignorance and prejudice towards non-heterosexuals.