the new guinea cargo plane cult from a socialogicle perspective :: essays research papers

The New Guinea cargo bland cult from a functionalist perspective stresses that the un-industrialization of the cult is due to the developed world not sharing technological advances with the kin group (cult). The tribe leaders ability to apologize the purpose of the cargo planes and the tribes unfitness to succeed with wealthiness like that of the white man had a large affect on the tribes belief system.The tribes simple route of life was disturbed by the discovery of cargo planes in the sky, strokeing whatever beliefs the tribe had prior to that discovery. It was the conclusion of the leading or elders of the community that the planes where gifts from there ancestors and that their inability to succeed like other cultures was do to the white man coxing the plane to land in their fields, therefore stealing the riches that the cults ancestors sent to them. The shew function of the leaders needing to explain what was happening was do to the culture shock the tribe received wh en the first saw the planes, while however the latent function of the of this was to keep the tribe unified through ignorance. It was the only way to keep a small community of confused people together do to the fact that people do not like to be separated from the people whom theyve become familiar with. Though the manifest functions of tender the cargo planes proves to be a shift of blame from the tribe leaders to the white man, the latent function has proved to unify the tribe in faith and in their daily walk of life. Solidarity is their shining light of foretaste in a world that has left them, however to analyze a group of people from a sociological perspective one must provide more than one perspective.Karl Marx developed the conflict theory and reason out that the key to human history is class struggle. In every inn, just about small group controls the means of production and exploits those who are not in control (Henslin,2004 pg.15). According to Karl Marx authority tha t people regard legitimate permeates society on every level. People whom are in eyeshots of authority provide always try to enforce conformity within a community. In the case of the cargo plane cult the people of the community consider the priest as their legitimate authority, authorities that have come to actualisation that the discovery of the planes questions the knowledge of the priest and could in fact end their position as leaders in their community.