conformity to a certain appearance helps them to feel as though they belong in a town that is constantly trying to make them feel that they don’t. The Functionalist Perspective sees deviance as necessary in society for three reasons. It clarifies rules, unites groups, and promotes social change. These three ideals are represented in the film as well. The greasers’ so-called deviant behavior helps to unite the socs’ together by banding against the greasers; on the same token, the greasers are banded together in their oppositions to the socs. Social change begins to occur after Bobs death, when people from both sides start to see the error in their past ways. While Johnny is in the hospital, near death, Pony and Dallas come to give him the good news that the greasers beat the socs. Johnny is less than ecstatic about this victory, and his dying words are “It’s useless, fighting ain’t no good….” In a conversation between Pony and Cherry prior to the rumble, Pony makes Cherry see that they are really no different from one another by asking this question“Can you see the sunset from the south side pretty good?”Cherry replies “Yeah…”Pony: “We can see it form the north side too.”Cherry: “Thank you.”It is clear that social change is beginning to take place, as a result of the greasers’ deviance. Another sociological aspect in the film is the Labeling Theory. This theory states that deviants are those people who are successfully labeled as such by others. One could argue that the socs’ are just as deviant as the greasers, but since the socs’ come from upper class families, they are not labeled as “troublemakers” by the local police force. Every time we see the socs’ in the film, they are drinking, or already drunk. At not one instance in the film are the greasers under the influence of any substance. Yet, it...
