Lilian Leung

Professor Lookholder
Soc 001 #72270
September 27, 2015
Project 1: Video/DVD Analysis
The Racial Profiling Experiment is a video that filmed by a YouTuber, Adam Saleh. It
is a video that reflect about the experience he had when he and his friend were dressing up with
their cultural clothing to film for another video. They were followed by a policeman for a long
period of time that they think it is just not right; therefore, they decided to do an experiment
again. Saleh and his friend were first arguing on the street with their normal clothing while
passing by a policeman; the policeman did not take any action. However, ten minutes later, Saleh
and his friend now were dressing up with their cultural clothing and arguing in front of the same
policeman again. Now, the policeman decide to take action and ask them to go against the wall
and search them with a very bad attitudes. Although, there were a man pass by and trying to help
them; there is no use. This video shows the problems with racial profiling today in this society.
Auguste Comte, who believed that laws of society can help people to understand social
statics and social dynamics, might view this video can actually hold the society together and
bring a change to the nature. It is because after Saleh posting this pictures, there are lots of
people who might understand that it is time we need a positive change toward racial profiling.
People might start acknowledges that it is wrong to discriminate people because they are silently
different with the majority. Emile Durkheim, who believed that society is a real, external force
existing above all the level of the individual and exerting its influence on the behavior, might
view this experiment as a reflection about anomie. Anomie is when a person feel lost in a society

because of the social control of individual behavior has become ineffective. Wearing cultural
clothing could be an individual behavior, especially for immigrants who have not able to get
used to the cultural in America, and it is rare when people are wearing cultural clothing on the
street; therefore, it is hard for them to adopt this environment while they are also getting
discriminate by others. Karl Marx, who believed that the power and control over resources realte
to how social order is establish and maintained. Marx will definitely view this video as a great
example of inequality among race, ethnicity, and nationality. It is because Mart, himself, uses his
sociological theory to analysis toward social inequality beside economic system. He believed
that there are relationship between ages, race, ethnicity, nationality, age and unequal individual
opportunity. In this video, it shows that people with cultural clothing receive a different attitudes
compare to normal people. Therefore, this video is a good view toward Marxs sociological
theory.
The Conflict paradigm would be most represented in this video because it shows the
tension and struggle between different cultural groups. It is clear in the video that when Saleh
dressed up with his cultural clothing, he is not receiving any respects at all. This shows the
inequality among different ethnicity or cultures. This video shows that there is still issues with
discriminations in the society today and basically explains who the society is complex and
inequality. The conflict perspectives of view of social change states that change takes place all
the time and might even have positive consequence. This video is a social change for Conflict
paradigm because posting this kind of video through YouTube means that Saleh wants a change
in racial profiling and it is happening because there are more than one million people who
watched this video and some of them even left comments below reflecting about the

discrimination problems the society are having right now. It is a very serious problem the society
is having and this video is a very positive influence for people to reflect upon this issue.