New Jack City, noted as ‘the crime film of the 90’s’,serves as an important episode for African-American people in America. Set in New York city, the film depicts the story of a success-driven antagonist Nino Brown (Wesley Snipes) who builds an empire powered by organized crime, drug trafficking, and Black delinquent young adults trapped in the cycle of crime. Ronald Reagan’s economic policy coupled with the popularity of crack-cocaine in the inner city creates inconsistencies and untapped markets in the poor community which Nino Brown brilliantly capitalizes on and exploits. His empire is able to successfully cut out the middle men in the drug trafficking market and centralize their operation in a single low-income housing complex inhabited …show more content…
Strain theory suggests that crime is a result of people’s goals and the means available to achieve them. Nino Brown’s ultimate goal is to obtain the American Dream which means having a lot of money. It is implied in his criminal behavior that he does not view the legitimate means as a way of achieving that goal. As a man who is undereducated and Black, the normal means of achieving the American Dream are pail in comparison to the illegal means. In fact, he sees the illegal means as more effective; this is the Anomie. The Anomie theory holds that socially defined goals are mandated, but the means to achieve them are stratified by class and society. The Cash Money Brothers program The Carter is built on a culture of poverty that has developed abnormally as a result of crack cocaine, and crime becomes the answer as a result of a breakdown in family, school, and employment. The Social Disorganization theory, in New Jack City, would mean that the criminal behavior demonstrated by the Cash Money Brothers is direct result of a serious degradation in the quality of capable guardians, the school system, and the absence of legitimate jobs stemming from Raegonomics. Therefore, the drive for material wealth dominates and undermines social and community values, thereby, providing room for criminal behavior to become more appealing and effective …show more content…
Although a fiction film, New Jack City details a chapter of New York’s development in which the city struggled to regain control over its dwindling economy and increase in extreme poverty and criminal behavior brought on by crack-cocaine. The poor economy encouraged a desperate scramble for money, and the rush for money, by any means, became the channel through which individuals sought to achieve the American Dream. Further, they planned to realize that dream in any way possible even if it meant making a profit from the very thing [Crack] that brought on their demise in the first
Philippe Bourgois’ In Search of Respect: Selling Crack in El Barrio shows the author’s living experience in East Harlem with the purpose of studying the impacts of economic marginalization and racial segregation on the Puerto Rican community in an inner city. Bourgois highlights the socioeconomic and cultural gap between the inner city and the mainstream class in the upper East side Manhattan. During his time living in an Puerto Rican community, he was assumed by most Puerto Ricans to either be an undercover cop or a crack addict because of his race. Later, he was able to gain access to the lives of Puerto Rican crack dealers by getting into a place called the Game Room where provided a cover for drug sales. It was Primo, the manager of this place who became Bourgois’ friend and an informant about their lives in East Harlem.
2014). The presumption that an individual’s urge to engage in criminal activities is based on his/her inadequacy to achieve goals of a society legitimately leading to societal or personal strain is the argument basis of sociological strain theory. General strain theory attempt to give understanding of crime through one’s lack of ability to obtain financial security (ÖZBAY, Ö. 2014)... Meaning that one’s might be more willing to commit unlawful act based on their need to achieve goals such as money, respect, or the need for
In the gangster society, for an operation to be successful loyalty is not only paramount, but vital for survival. The consequences of crossing this rule is one of the first introductions Billy has to the darker side of what he once glamorized. In the first sc...
Sociologists see deviance as a collection of individuals, conditions, and actions that society disvalues, finds offensive or condemns. In part because gangs as deviant groups violate societies norms through crimes such as theft etc. Various explanations exist to explain the formation of gangs; Howard Becker, an American sociologist, claims that negative labels excaberate deviant behaviors by excluding individuals (Skatvedt & Schou, 2008). Further, individuals cannot distinguish between false needs such as watches, cars etc. and true needs (food, water, etc.) (Marcuse, 1964). Thus, the strain theory suggests that the inability to legitimately achieve socially desirable goals such as having
Another common theme of this wildly intoxicated era was that of the gangsters. In the twenty-first century when the word gangster is uttered, often times images of minorities in baggy clothes comes to mind. However, when discussing the Prohibition Era the lives of gangsters are seen as much more glamorous, and none were more glamorous than that of the ultimate American gangster, Al “Scarface” Capone. Capone’s name brings to mind images of pinstripe suits, underground bars, bootleggers, flappers, and gun fights. His image embodies that of the Prohibition Era and his influence throughout society carries through it. Alphonse Capone is the ultimate American gangster.
A crux of the gangster genre is the gangster’s low class status. The system offers the gangster no way to dig himself out of poverty, so he must work outside the system to save himself. As Regeneration declares, “the prizes of existence go to the man who has the most daring in defying the law, and the quickest fist in defending his own rights.” (Walsh, 10:19) In the cinematic world, this choice has a price.
Once we finished watching the documentary street gangs of Los Angeles two theories were most prevalent in my mind for why there was gang formation in that area. The first being Travis herschi’s “social bonds”. Second being Walter miller’s “focal concerns”. Social bond theory is not a crime causation theory but a pro social behavior theory that helps explain deviance. This theory identified four social bonds that promote adherence to society’s laws and values. The four bonds being: attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief. If there was any weakness in any of these four areas would be an explain for the cause of delinquency. Focal concerns theory is different than many other theories because it is not the rejection of middle-class values but the reasons for the behavior comes directly from the lower-class values themselves. Miller identified six areas in which lower-class males give their attention t: trouble, toughness, smartness, excitement, luck, and autonomy. The more that an individual would participate in one of these areas for more respect they would gain.
According to Messner, an important development in the study has been the call for a reconceptualization of the occurrence of poverty. “The notion of poverty has been associated with subsistence levels of economic resources” (Messner, pg. 103). People are poor, when their incomes are so low that they are unable to purchase necessary items for a healthy life. “Poverty from this perspective represents deprivation relative to a fixed standard of physiological well-being leading to the notion” that one must commit crime to survive from poverty (Messner, pg. 103). According to Travis Hirschi, one of its weaknesses stems from its inability to explain conformity to commit crimes. Also, based off of this information, it assumes a common culture in the U.S. that money is the key to life which is definitely not the case for everyone. On the other hand, it can be concluded that the strengths of the anomie theory, specifically Merton’s explanation which states that the theory of anomie has the ability to explain higher crime rates among disadvantaged areas while also explaining how cultural norms create conflict and crime. Furthermore,
Plot/Summary: After stealing a large amount of money from an infamously famous criminal in Chicago, Carl Black plans to move Beverly Hills with his family to live in their beautiful new home, but situation turns worse when the night time approaches and crime becomes legal.
The Wire is structured both horizontally and vertically, from the foot soldiers of the drug trade, through the school system, newspapers, police department to the higher executives in charge of everything, which shows the parallel and prevailing problems that plague all of society. The show provides a viewer with an insight into the steep decline in social order, in which cops, politicians, teachers, workers and criminals are surrounded by the corrupting forces that overwhelm them all. The Wire tells a story that compares to current social conditions, it deals with the basic realities and inequalities of our world. It is a drama about politics, sociology and economics. The drama is told in the space ‘wedged between two competing American myths’ (Simon, 2004). The first myth is a story of the American Dream that says if you are smart and work hard you will succeed. The second myth is that of rags-to-riches tale that says if you are cunning enough to build yourself a better life than those around you, you will succeed beyond your wildest dreams. Simon wrote The Wire because he felt it was ‘no longer possible even to remain polite on this subject. It is a lie’ (Simon, 2004). The ‘intricate and interwoven storylines dramatise the dialectic interactions of individual aspirations and institutional dynamics’ (Sheehan, Sweeney, 2009). Every character and every story line combine to create a view, not just of Baltimore, but of ‘Everycity’, highlighting the existence of capitalism, which affects us all. While the show itself does not name the system of capitalism it exists within, the metanarrative does so with extreme clarity and force. The drama repeatedly cuts from the top of Baltimore’s social structure to its bottom; from political fu...
Strain theory means that social structures within society may pressure the individual to pursue their goals legally or illegally by committing crimes. This theory is divided by two concerns such as social goals that state people in the U.S desire wealth, a high paying job that would give them a good income, material possessions such as new cars, and other life comforts. Although these goals are common to people in all economic status, this theory implies that the ability to obtain these goals is class dependent. This leads to members of lower class to be unable to achieve these goals through acceptable standards set by society which builds up a feeling of frustration and anger. The other concern is based on this previous one because since their
New York City has become a much safer city. The city is filled with immigrants from a variety of countries. There is a spread of different languages, cultural food, entertainment, and neighborhoods. Walking through the streets in any of the five boroughs feel much safer than the 1990’s. The nineties had a lot of drugs, illegal weapons, prostitution on the streets. This made majority of people in the community afraid and an unsafe environment especially for children. In The City That Became Safe, Franklin Zimring analyzes that individual and aggregate crime rates can change without removing or incarcerating more offenders in New York City. From 1990-2009, New York City has seen a diminution in crime compared to other cities. Major changes in the police department led to decreasing crime rates. Some of these changes included the growth of police officers and police strategies. Zimring divides the book into three sections: Part one discusses the decline in crime from 1990-2009 and compares the current situations in New York City to other cities, Part two seeks for an explanation of the decline of crime in New York compared to other big cities after 1990, and lastly Part three discusses the implications of New York’s experience on the nature of crime
This theory tries to explain why there is a surge of crimes in the lower classes and poorer communities because they are trying to keep up with the majority of society. These individuals do not care if they have to break the law in order to get more means to stay even or somewhat even with the rest of society, just as long as they get it. It is the “strain” that individuals are put under that causes them to commit crimes in order to fit in with society. In most of these cases anger seems to play a big role, being frustrated not being able to compete against others that had a fair chance in life. (Robert Agnew’s Strain Theory, n.d.) They almost feel justified in the crimes that they commit because they feel as though society has pushed them to the point of no
Deep down inside everyone has the same desire – to do what one wants whenever he or she chooses to and to not have to worry about anyone or anything else. Along with this desire to be able to do what ever it is that one wishes to at any given time, a person wants to be successful at what they do. The type of success that a person wants may be measured in money, property, fame, or even the entourage that follows him or her. This kind of lifestyle is only truly lived by a certain kind of people – gangsters and mobsters. For the rest it is just a dream to be able to live such a life, but for gangsters and mobsters this lifestyle is reality. But these gangsters can go around doing anything they want without the fear of consequences, which would, for most people, lead to long-term prison sentences. We are commonly shown in many movies and television shows that gangsters can just walk into an alley and beat up whoever they wish and be able to leave as if nothing ever happened. In “The Gangster as Tragic Hero” by Robert Warshow and “Our Mobsters, Ourselves: Why The Sopranos Is Therapeutic TV” written by Ellen Willis the gangster’s middleclass part of his or her lifestyle is brought out along with this “dream” reality at the same time.
From its first moments, Brooklyn is both helped and blunted by its accessibility. John Crowley’s reworking of Colm Tóibín’s novel about a young Irish immigrant’s journey to America and combat with adaptation to her new world is subdued, in ways that this art form is lacks thrill but is full of emotion. The story is set in Eilis Lacey’s humble Irish hometown which is everything that us Americans would not think it would be. The town does not suffice to the painted picture of impoverished postwar immigration, but rather holds great emotion and subtle satire. Which is passionately and sensitively accomplished by screenwriter Nick Hornby and author Crowley. The movies originality is also many times saved from formulaic territory by our anchor Saoirse Ronan who portrays our modest and passionate Eilis.