Hamid Masoudi

Sociology of Fear and Violence: An Analysis of The Purge In addition to focusing on the commodity or product of one of the new forms of economic sociology and the market, this review also draws attention to the element of emotions, which seems to be less measurable and economically assessable. Fear and the feeling of fear have become the basis for financial circulation in the capitalist system, and society allocates a significant portion of its income to reducing the level of fear or controlling violence. This phenomenon is the basis for the film "The Purge" (2013) to receive more attention. In this film, we are faced with the fear industry from beginning to end. Where the capitalist system, in order to reduce fear and violence in society, shows another side of itself by selling security systems. The market for fear, terror, and violence has formed a network of social stakeholders around itself and has defined a social function for itself. Racial inequality at its highest level shows its racism and becomes social Darwinism by humiliating or eliminating the disabled. Although the law exists to control society, on a specific day and in the form of the horror event industry, the law, emergency services are turned off and the freedom to express violence is shown. The media and technology also help to shape such a system. Although the family tries to teach security to family members, it is a mother who tries to eliminate the economic and social system of fear. In analyzing this film, we can use various recent sociological theories such as Zygmunt Bauman (the role of globalization, rapid change, and fluid society in shaping fear), Ulrich Beck (risk society and risk characteristics in the modern era) and Stanley Cohen (social construction of fear by the media and elites). We can follow this pattern to some extent in the films You're Next (2011), Strangers (2008), The Hunt (2020), and Ready or Not (2019). I suggest watching this movie away from children and with a sociological lens.