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How does social control affect deviance
Concepts of deviance and social control
Concepts of deviance and social control
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It has been eight years since Batman and Commissioner Gordon disappeared. Batman takes the blame for the death of Harvey Dent, he sacrifices his all for the world’s benefit. A cat burglar and a terrorist, named Bane, foil Batman’s plans, and force Batman out of exile and into a battle.
Gotham is Batman’s hometown and an incredibly corrupt place. It is well known for its corrupt police department, which turns a blind eye to Batman’s questionable actions, since they are for the sake of the city. The city produces deviance because of the officials and police officers which shy away from addressing crimes. Although Batman is committing crimes in order to fight crime, this is not necessarily moral. While Batman is ultimately solving the city’s
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Two theories which helps us characterize Batman and once of his villains, Bane, is the differential-association theory and the control theory. According to the textbook, the differential-association theory is an interpretation of the development of criminal behavior proposed by Edwin H. Sutherland, according to whom criminal behavior is learned through association with others who regularly engage in crime. Batman is able to be characterized by this theory because he associates with the criminals within Gotham in order to fight them. However, rather than fighting crime with good, he fights it with more crime, since he acquired this behavior from those around him. Bane is able to be characterized by this theory because he attempts to carry on Ra’s al Ghul’s legacy by destroying Gotham. Since he wanted to directly associate with Ra’s al Ghul, he did not think that his actions were unreasonable, so he attempted to follow through in completing his plans to destroy Gotham. The control theory, according to the textbook, is the theory which views crime as the outcome of an imbalance …show more content…
Batman is the perfect example of this. He teaches us that one can possess a great amount of power and either use this power for good or bad. Power is connected to deviance because depending on how he or she uses this immense power, he or she can either deviate or stay on track with society’s norms. Social control and deviance are directly related as well. Social control is how an ideal society should be, one ideally should conform to the rules and live life in an honest manner. However, since there is no such thing as a perfect society, deviance is then introduced into society, causing the crime we try to
With that being said, there’s a lot of disorganization in the society which increases the level of deviance occurring. The acts of deviant people challenge the boundaries of society and can eventually spread unto the masses, changing those boundaries. Deviance helps us affirm and define our own norms.
It can take the form of religion, crime, or political ideology for example. Deviance is a never ending cycle because society itself is deviant. There is no question just by taking a general look at society, there is much deviance away from universal moral principle. Yet, when one speaks out against it, they are called a social deviant. The reverse is also true. Criminals are social deviants because they go against societal norms placed in law. As deviants gain attention, they will continue to be deviants. In The Dark Knight Rises, Bane and Batman represented the different levels of deviance. What they did individually can be judged as deviant or not. However, in the larger scale, both of their actions were deviant when they went against the social norm of corruption. Gotham shows what can happen when social norms constantly change. It is able to be persuaded by whatever social conditions are present. This can sway a population to accept a path that may lead it to
But I do know one thing, Batman was there for us when we needed him the most. He separated us from our darkest nightmares every night. He guarded our houses and protected our families, our friends, and our children. Batman stood up for what he believed, he always had us, the people of Gotham in his best interest. What more could we have asked Batman to do? I could stand up here and say "I never knew the man," but that might not be the truth. During my life, I have known many men, many men who are full of strength, courage, and virtue. Any of these men could have been the Batman and I would have never been aware. However good men still walk among us today, even without Batman. These good men and women are my hope, my consolation for
"...social groups create deviance by making rules whose infraction creates deviance, and by applying those roles to particular people and labelling them as outsiders. From this point of view, deviance is not a quality of the act the person commits, but rather a consequence of the application by other of rules and sanctions to an 'offender.' The deviant is one to whom that label has been successfully applied; deviant behaviour is behaviour that people so label." Becker (1963)
The purpose of this paper is to provide the reader with an insight into the Super Hero Series Batman. This crime fighter originally appeared in Detective Comics issue #27 in 1939. It later became a comic book series, a TV series and a movie series. The character Batman is second only to Superman as a Super Hero. Amazingly Batman has no super powers, but he does have a lot of neat crime fighting gadgets. In this paper, we will explore the creation of Batman, his supporting cast of characters both good and bad and the gadgets he used.
Deviance is defined as the violation of norms —or rules or expectations. (Henslin, Essentials of Sociology) Social Control is then defined as a group’s formal and informal means of enforcing the norms. (Henslin, Essentials of Sociology) These two concepts become very important when discussing societal behaviors and guidelines. The film entitled Boys N’ the Hood is a notable example that clearly shows deviance and social control put into action.
The movie The Boondock Saints provides an excellent example of positive deviance through innovation. The Social theory of deviance can easily explain the brothers’ actions. The movie can be used to study deviance as the brothers kill people who are mafia members, breaking the norms of society. Even though the acts they are committing are clearly illegal and deviant, the people of South Boston do not react in a negative way. Since the Social theory is very broad, it will be easier to look at the brother’s acts under three sub theories: Labeling, Conflict and Strain theories.
I think rational choice theory best explains these characters. Rational choice theory is “A perspective that holds that criminality is the result of conscious choice and that predicts that individuals choose to commit crime when the benefit outweigh the cost of disobeying the law” (Schmalleger, 64). Super criminals have an incredible amount of resources, henchmen, and intellect to pull of these elaborate crimes because they can, not because they must. Rational choice theory was in my opinion the most obvious theory in this
The Dark Knight Rises can be seen as portraying Batman as more of an ubermensch rather than a Jesus-like figure. Connecting Batman as an ubermensch conveys his superiority to a level of where he is above human but not at the state of being a Jesus-like figure. The film can be interpreted as alluding to the idea that we do not need a savior because we can have someone within humanity adapt that particular role. Even though Batman can be seen as a savior that does not necessarily make him a Jesus-like figure due to the luxuries that Batman had. His company is what allowed him to become who he is. If it weren 't for his money he probably would not be who he is now. Batman was not chosen from above to be the messiah of Gotham as opposed to Jesus who was chosen from above to be the people’s messiah. Batman at the same time carried human-like characteristics that allowed him to connect more to the people of Gotham which demonstrates that we can have a Jesus-like figure come from within humanity. A claim that can be assumed is that humanity does not necessarily need Jesus because a human, someone like Batman can take on that same role. The film also can be interpreted as trying to portray Jesus through Batman. Batman’s presence is reassuring to the people of Gotham because
In the film, “Batman Begins” Bruce Wayne’s journey to become the Batman is explored (Franco, Orleans, Roven, Thomas, Nolan, 2005). This essay applies the theories of Maslow and Bandura, in an effort to determine whose theory makes better sense of Bruce.
Batman (Christian Bale) is hoping to hand on his crime fighting duties to D.A Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) yet when Batman’s cards are on the table the twisted mastermind who goes by the name of the joker (Heath Ledger), forces the masked vigilante to go against everything he ever stood for.
One theory that has been connected to the cause of deviant behavior is known as the differential association theory. The differential association theory is consider the number one theory in criminal behavior (Jeffery, 1965, p. 294). This theory was developed by Edwin Sutherland when he was trying to explain criminal behaviors.
Illustrated by the negative reactions to Batman by police, government officials and members of society is the idea of those on the bottom fighting the rich and powerful to receive justice and respect. Batman is framed as an underdog fighting for those who are most vulnerable and against some of the most corrupt people in Gotham. Creating the intense serious tone as he struggles to deliver justice in the face of countless obstacles coming from all directions (McGowan). Batman embodies a Reagan perspective of “us vs them” with them being the government. It is this opposition to the government and police authority that often causes him to be labeled as dark.
Along with returning to Gotham City as a changed man, Bruce decides to fight against the horrendous crimes in Gotham in disguise as Batman, this is the crossing of the threshold for
Mr. Bainbridge explains how Tittle and Welch, who both play a role in criminology and provide important information on deviance itself, believe that other theories better explain why people act deviant. These theories include the following: control theory, differential association theory, and cognitive dissonance theory (Bainbridge 1989, p.288). Control theory states that people act normal because that is what is rational in society, but if given the chance to act without consequence, people would commit deviance and crime. Differential association theory states that people learn values, experience, techniques, and drive for criminal and deviant acts from reciprocal action with others....