Sociological Imagination and Gang Formation

Low-End Neighborhood

In order to understand why someone would want and decide to become a member of a gang, one must use their sociological imagination and consider the person’s environment, as well as the social context in which they interact. Most people wouldn’t understand the idea of joining a group that could be viewed as a total institution, or an institution in which the members are totally immersed and controlled by the same authority and whose usual spheres of daily life are controlled as well. This is where the sociological imagination comes in to play. One must understand the individual troubles that a particular person faces on a day-to-day basis, in addition to the public issues, which has a major influence on their actions. This allows us to view the familiar conception of gangs, which are normally feared or frowned upon, in a completely new light. One’s sociological imagination permits one to see how, in a sense; gangs can be beneficial to those who decide to become members. Gang formation is greatly influenced by social and cultural capital, as well as the individual’s material and nonmaterial culture. The individuals who chose to join gangs are usually searching for their social identity and this identity is naturally explored and enforced through Goffman’s theory of presentation of self or “dramaturgical theory".

This video reveals that the alienation and discrimination that theses people face on a day-to-day basis is one of the main reasons that individuals chose to join gangs. It forces them to seek alternative ways of living because they aren't given equal chances to create successful life styles. Gangs offer them a community in which they are able to unite with those individuals who experience the same inequality and therefore an outlet to compensate for their lack of social and cultural capital.