Blog 8: Analyzing Socopoly

This week in class we ended up playing Socopoly, which was a variation on the popular game Monopoly which was used to show how certain groups in society have distinct advantages over others. In this regard, it showed how the different teams which represented different groups and classes had to struggle, with certain groups spending most of their game in jail, which they found preferable to being out losing tons of money in the game. In our game the groups were the privileged whites, Hispanics, single mother, and African American families. What was especially noticeable during our game was that the single mother and African American groups had little money and were often in prison due to how easily their roll of the dice would land them there. This is quite the metaphor for how in real life families in these situations often struggle to be able to stay "in the game" as well as often having problems with the law, in this case being symbolized by "going to jail".

This was a good depiction of how these individuals often start with less chance for success than the others, as was evidenced in Reading 25 in our textbook. In this reading, an experiment is conducted in which White, Latino, and Black participants went out and applied for jobs. The results found that white felons, who had previous criminal records had an easier time being offered a job than Latino and Black participants who didn't have a record. This was evident in the game in which the African American and Latino groups were at a significant disadvantage when compared to the White group. They had less opportunity to make money and obtain properties, as well as a greater chance to wind up in jail. This game did a fine job of showing what it's like to be in an unfair position in society. The groups that were the most disadvantaged also seemed to be getting the least enjoyment out of playing the game.  They were clearly at an unfair starting point compared to the better off groups, which is exactly how it often is for individuals in real life.