Values, Cultures, and Stereotypes of the Professional Middle Class Portrayed in the White Palace

Abstract

The emergence of the professional middle class has given rise to a more complex idea of class identity and classification issues. This paper investigates the cultural meanings of the professional middle class in relation to, and conflicting with, the working class by tracing discourses illustrated in a popular film. Drawn from several notions of social class by social thinkers, such as Marx, Weber, Giddens, and Bourdieu, this study analyzes discourses of the movie White Palace as cultural texts and recognizes the complexity and the diversity of ways to negotiate distinct tastes of class and class conflicts. While movies sincerely dealing with class issues are scarce, a more dynamic and enriched approach to understanding the cultural meanings of the professional middle class are beneficial and to be encouraged.