Criminological Movie Fargo

Criminological theories are found in our society, emphasised through popular culture, literature and the media. Two theories can be used to interpret the well-known movie ‘Fargo’. The first is Merton’s social structural strain theory and the second is Beccaria’s perspective on rational choice. Both criminological theories will analyse the actions of the protagonist of the crime-based film Fargo.

The movie Fargo, released in 1996 was directed by the Coen brothers Ethan and Joel was set in 1987 in North Dakota and Minnesota following a true story through violence, suspense and comedy. The protagonist, Jerry Lundegaard, played by William H. Mercy is a car salesman in a small-town of Minnesota, living an ambitious middle class life. Lundegaard

is in debt with the desperate attempt to retrieve money, with his frantic thinking leading him to hire two thugs that have the objective of kidnapping Lundegaard’s wife, Jean. In return for Jean, Lundegaard plans to collect ransom from Jean’s father, Wade Gustafson, with the intention of paying the two thugs a small proportion while keeping the remainder to pay his debts. Lundergaad’s scheme of purchasing a parking lot to save him from bankruptcy fails when the two thugs shoot an innocent state trooper and two other individuals. Police chief, Marge Gunderson inspects the murder site tracing her suspicions of a stolen car to Lundegaard’s car sales lot. Meanwhile, Lundegaard is desperate with the attempt to call off the kidnapping, as his guilt and fear begins to suffocate him. Lundegaard is later traced to be located in a motel in North Dakota, where he is arrested while attempting to escape through the bathroom window (Ebert, 1996).
Robert K. Merton was an American sociologist, born in 1910 that is well known for his theories of deviance, particularly his social structure strain theory (Crossman, 2015). Merton’s strain theory, conceived in 1938 primarily emphasises why individuals are more prone to participate in deviant behaviours because of abnormal societal expectations.

Merton recognised that individuals receive messages from society, which set acceptable behaviours to follow. He noted that a majority of citizens abide the acceptable behaviours, though there are numerous pressures that associate with the American Dream and the importance of the economy, which leads individuals to participate in deviant behaviours. Merton associated criminality and deviance with the American Dream goals, and how people attempt to achieve them, particularly the wealth component (Murphy & Robertson, 2008). Merton argued in 1938 that within unbalanced societies, the discrepancy between success goals and the endorsement of the means to achieve the goals, combined with limited opportunities manufactured the state of anomie. Further, Merton suggested that the anomic conditions in society were likely to tempt strain upon individuals, forming criminal behaviour adaptations. Particularly, the strain theory emphasised that those with high monetary aspirations are likely to innovate, resorting to unlawful activities, with the desire to channel success (Antonaccio, Gostjev & Smith, 2014). The strain theory connects to social causes, linking criminality with selfishness and egoism as the desire to

pursuit the American dream merges both conformist and innovator means. Strain theory recognises that the disconnection between goals and means holds responsibility for criminal acts. In particular, interests, purposes and culturally defined goals are aspirational, constantly reinforced by social institutions. Citizens that live in a cultured bearing society, specifically with the pressures of the American Dream, are likely to be under individual strain. Merton established five adaptation modes in relation to cultural strain: Rebellion, Retreatism, Ritualism, Innovation and Conformity. The five modes refer to behaviour responses in different situations, not to an individual’s personality. The most commonly referenced mode is Conformity, which refers to the acceptance of cultural goals, and the institutional means that are needed to achieve them. Innovation refers to the individual adapting cultural emphasis on their goal without incorporating institutional means for the particular achievement. Ritualism refers to abandoning cultural goals that involve excessive economic success and hurried social mobility till the individual’s aspirations are satisfied. According to Merton, Retreatism is the least common mode; it involves rejection of both cultural goals and the institutionalised means needed to achieve them. Finally, Rebellion also involves the rejection of both cultural goals and the institutionalised means to achieve them. However, the individuals that pursue rebellion create their specific goals and means, which regularly conflict institutional means. It is logical that many individuals will face opportunities to engage in Innovation and Conformity (Murphy & Robertson, 2008).
Merton’s social structural strain theory can be used to explain the actions of the protagonist, Lundegaard in the film Fargo. Lundegaard’s desperate attempt to retrieve money leads him to participate in deviant behaviours, with societal pressures, particularly from his father-in-law, potentially damaging his welfare as a middle class man with an ambitious life. The pressure that Lundegaard has in the film relates directly to the wealth component of the American Dream. His frantic desire to obtain wealth in order to achieve his goal leads him to plan his wife’s kidnapping; the strain on Lundegaard introduced him to criminal behaviour adaptations. Merton’s strain theory emphasised that those with high monetary aspirations, which Lundegaard clearly had, were likely to innovate, resorting with unlawful activities with the end desire of success. Lundegaard’s selfishness and egoism indicated that he was an innovator; the way that he responded to the situation referred directly to adapting a cultural emphasis on his goal without considering institutional means for his achievement.
Cesare Beccaria was an Italian criminologist, born in 1738, well known for his influential criminology essay on Crimes and Punishments and his perspective on rational choice (Cesare Beccaria Biography, 2015). Humans act rationally, freely choosing behaviour, with the concept to maximise pleasure and minimise pain. Beccaria recognised that each individual possesses a freewill, manipulability and a rational manner. It was proposed that individuals rationally follow their particular self-interests, which can involve deviant acts, with the objective of satisfaction. Beccaria emphasises the need for a criminal justice system, which ensures individuals are punished justly for committed crimes. His fundamental belief was that punishment is used in order to prevent offenders committing harm, as well as deterring others from likewise activities. Ultimately, Beccaria highlighted that the key to punishment should link to deterrence, with the value of the punishment measured depending on the terms of harm inflicted upon society. The key element in having the ability to control humans is the certainty and severity of punishment (Draper, 2012). Beccaria made it clear that he believed justice should focus on smaller criminal acts, while refraining from using unnecessary violence. His principle position identified the motive for human actions to secure pleasure while avoiding pain. For punishment to be successful, it must outweigh the satisfaction that a criminal can receive from the crime committed (Bruni & Porta, 2014). It is noted that the rational choice theory has developed in criminology; however, the emphasis is still on the cost-benefit analyses as being the framework for rational choice. Scholars have reinforced the idea that individual perceptions of a cost-benefit analyses linking to deviant behaviour is a consequence of contextual and individual factors; particular influences such as self-control and impulsivity, personal and second-hand experiences with punishment and crime, perceptions of non-legal punishments such as, a loss of self-respect and shame, the attachment to pro social foundations and environment constraints for criminal opportunities (Pratt, 2008).
Beccaria’s perspective on rational choice can be used to explain the actions of the protagonist, Lundegaard in the film Fargo. Beccaria indicated that all humans possess a rational manner; rationality follows self-interest, which can involve deviant acts to achieve satisfaction. In the film, Lundegaard followed his self-interest, which involved a deviant act in order to achieve ransom money, which was his satisfaction. Beccaria suggested that punishment linked to deterrence; when Lundegaard found that his scheme was damaging, he was deterred from the planned kidnapping, with a desperate attempt to call it off. Lundegaard responded to the theory as the motive of securing pleasure and minimising pain related to Lundegaard, his pleasure was the ransom money and his pain was his debt. Lundegaard’s rational thinking led him to believe he could pull the scheme off, however his perceptions were wrong.
The theory that is more appropriate to Lundegaard’s actions in the film is Merton’s social structural strain theory. The emphasis on the American Dream, particularly the wealth component relates to the plot of the film, as well as the actions of the protagonist. Lundegaard linked to Merton’s theory with his attempt to adapt a criminal behaviour in order to receive satisfaction; this was because Lundegaard was under strain from societal pressures, especially his father-in-law. Lundegaard responded to the situation as being an innovator, with his selfishness and egoisms leading him to deviant behaviours. The film Fargo illustrates Merton’s theory appropriately, with Lundegaard following the theory throughout his actions.