Weber describes power as "imposing your will onto another even against
opposition" Traditionally, ideas of power include images of law enforcement, or
even monarchies, people who by their blood line become the leaders of an entire
country and its inhabitants. This is an example of traditional authority. In
class we talked of the different types of power that Weber spoke of, and
throughout the whole class lecture, "The Following" a show that airs on FOX, was
in my mind. You have the main character, Joe, a convicted serial killer whos
obsession with the writings of Edgar Allen Poe are the structure of his horrific
slayings of innocent women. Joe, an author himself, was also a Literary
Pprofessor, and it is often shown that his courses were extremely engaging, and
he was loved by his students. The point of the show is that Joe has collected a
"following" a group of individuals who believe so strongly in his methods to
portray Poe through sadistic murders. His followers are portrayed as unstable,
and possibly mentally ill. Weber spoke of charismatic authority, a power an
individual has over others simply by their approach, or just their personality
in general. Joe is an attracitve man who can often connect to many individuals
at once. He is extremely appealing, even to me, a viewer.
His followers have such an admiration for him, it is almost as if he is a supernatural
being. Also an author, his first and only novel was mentioned
to be badly criticized, however it was a work of art to
his followers, as they saw his portrayal of death as beautiful and artistic as
opposed to monsterous. There is a memorable scene where Joe's young son
converses with a follower. He asks "Why is my dad such a bad man?" The follower,
Emma, responds, "Maybe he's not that bad, perhaps people just don't understand
him", As I stated earlier, Joe was extremely passionate in his work and
challenged his peers to think in a way that they would not regularly. Joe makes
his followers feel special, possibly in a way that they do not feel in their own
personal lives. He convonces them that they are telling a story, recreating the
beautiful imasges once only written about. The power he has over his memebers is
so strong that not only would they kill for him, they would die for him,
too.
Personally, I believe charismatic authority to be the strongest form of
authority today, and it is the basis for many things; for example, presidential
debates. We choose the candidate that is most appealing to us, either by their
ideas, or their approach to certain topics.The audience reacts to personalities
that they can relate to, or that they become engaged with. The audience which
contains many different forms of people are drawn to certain individuals. Forms
of power such as domination are also common. We defined domination as a group
obeying the command of an authority figure, this can be seen in law enforcement. However, as seen in the Following, domination is not always obeyed, even after confrontations with the police.There is no doubt that Weber's ideas of power, domination, authority, and discipline are still very prominent in today's society.
opposition" Traditionally, ideas of power include images of law enforcement, or
even monarchies, people who by their blood line become the leaders of an entire
country and its inhabitants. This is an example of traditional authority. In
class we talked of the different types of power that Weber spoke of, and
throughout the whole class lecture, "The Following" a show that airs on FOX, was
in my mind. You have the main character, Joe, a convicted serial killer whos
obsession with the writings of Edgar Allen Poe are the structure of his horrific
slayings of innocent women. Joe, an author himself, was also a Literary
Pprofessor, and it is often shown that his courses were extremely engaging, and
he was loved by his students. The point of the show is that Joe has collected a
"following" a group of individuals who believe so strongly in his methods to
portray Poe through sadistic murders. His followers are portrayed as unstable,
and possibly mentally ill. Weber spoke of charismatic authority, a power an
individual has over others simply by their approach, or just their personality
in general. Joe is an attracitve man who can often connect to many individuals
at once. He is extremely appealing, even to me, a viewer.
His followers have such an admiration for him, it is almost as if he is a supernatural
being. Also an author, his first and only novel was mentioned
to be badly criticized, however it was a work of art to
his followers, as they saw his portrayal of death as beautiful and artistic as
opposed to monsterous. There is a memorable scene where Joe's young son
converses with a follower. He asks "Why is my dad such a bad man?" The follower,
Emma, responds, "Maybe he's not that bad, perhaps people just don't understand
him", As I stated earlier, Joe was extremely passionate in his work and
challenged his peers to think in a way that they would not regularly. Joe makes
his followers feel special, possibly in a way that they do not feel in their own
personal lives. He convonces them that they are telling a story, recreating the
beautiful imasges once only written about. The power he has over his memebers is
so strong that not only would they kill for him, they would die for him,
too.
Personally, I believe charismatic authority to be the strongest form of
authority today, and it is the basis for many things; for example, presidential
debates. We choose the candidate that is most appealing to us, either by their
ideas, or their approach to certain topics.The audience reacts to personalities
that they can relate to, or that they become engaged with. The audience which
contains many different forms of people are drawn to certain individuals. Forms
of power such as domination are also common. We defined domination as a group
obeying the command of an authority figure, this can be seen in law enforcement. However, as seen in the Following, domination is not always obeyed, even after confrontations with the police.There is no doubt that Weber's ideas of power, domination, authority, and discipline are still very prominent in today's society.