City of God

Frank Schmalleger explains the theory of social disorganization as one that depicts both social change as well as conflict, and lack of any agreement as the origin of its cause for both criminal behavior as well as nonconformity to society and closed associated with the ecological school of criminology (Schmalleger, 2012, p. 152). The philosophy behind the organization and structure of a society and how that contributes to criminal behavior within society is by stressing poverty, economic conditions, lack of education, lack of skills, are not sought-after in the work place, and divergent cultural values. Criminal behavior is the result of the person’s assignment of location within the structure of society.

Based on the social disorganization theory; Shaw and McKay account for high crime begins with poverty, low socioeconomic status and the inability to “control the teenage population,” (Sampson, 2016). Shaw and McKay also knew that within the community, delinquency was a trait that was picked-up by and from other delinquents. Furthermore, if the ability to control young

In this article, as the title suggests, it explains the use of social class differences to explain racial differences in crime. Among earlier arguments are the subculture of violence and subculture of poverty theories, which argue that African Americans tend to have pro-crime norms and values. The article's author, Robert D. Crutchfield, goes in depth with recent and more advanced theories to explain the link between poverty, crime, and race, while criticizing the subcultural theories. These new theories tell a different view from that of the subcultural theories with evidence showing that economic disadvantage and the way how society is structured accounts for the link between poverty, crime, and race. From these evidence, ethnographers conclude

The Elijah Anderson’s article, “Code of the Streets” is a perfect illustration for cultural arguments because it involves environments that are susceptible to learning a criminal culture; even up to a point of promoting that type of criminal behavior as “normal”. It also has links to Differential Association and Social Learning theories of crime

Each of these three contemporary sociological theories of crime are similar in that they focus mainly on crime in poor or disadvantaged areas. This focus is obvious with social conflict theory and social disorganization theory but not as much with rational choice theory although it is there. With rational choice theory the concept of what is to be gained

There are No Children Here, by Alex Kotlowitz, tells a story about the family of LaJoe and Paul Rivers. The book focuses on Lafayette and Pharaoh, two of the younger children in the family, and their interactions with each other, the neighborhood, their family, their friends, and the police. Following the family over three years shows the importance of neighborhood factors when it comes to crime. According to Sampson and Groves (1989), social disorganization refers to “the inability of a community structure to realize the common values of its residents and maintain effective social controls”. Many aspects in the book exemplify how neighborhood factors, social controls, and community factors have impacts on crime. The book exemplifies how neighborhood disadvantage can lead to informal social controls, which in turn produces crime. Due to these factors, social disorganization is the best theory to explain the crime that occurs in There are No Children Here.

There is a positive correlation between poverty and crime. In addition, crime does not need an economic motivate to reflect this positive correlation. Sanyika Shakur validates this notion when he reveals that, “we all were, children. Children gone wild in a concrete jungle of poverty and rage” (1993, p. 129). Shakur also postulates what members of gangs stand to gain from their devout affiliation when he contends that “gangs supply wayward youth with an idea of collective being and responsibility” (p. 375). However, it was common, rather, expected, that incarceration was the result of this inadequate social

Functionalists see crime deviance in society as a function, in that it serves to remind us, through public condemnation of those who have broken the rules, of our shared values and norms. Furthermore, they suggest that crime is a result of structural tensions and a lack of moral regulations within society. If the

Just as Grendel’s social status precludes his being shunned from society, so today is society’s relationship to wealth and social status significant in determining criminality within a population. The 2008 National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) stated that “[i]n

Brym, R.J., & Lie, J., & Rytina, S. (2010) Deviance and Crime. Sociology: Your Compass for a New World. 3rd Canadian Edition. Toronto: Oxford University Press. Toronto: Nelson

The movie “City of God” has many examples of sociological theories of crime and deviance. Some of the major theories I noticed throughout the movie were the functionalist theory, including examples of relative depravation, as well as the interactionist theory, including differential association and labeling. There was also evidence of the conflict theory and the control theory throughout the film.

The structural functionalism/strain theory is similar to the labelling theory in the sense that it focuses on the influence society has on crime. However unlike labelling, it is the wider structures of society that are cause for concern.

In the movie City of God, it differentiates the progression of individuals and their life choices based on their history and what path one ultimately decides to take. Many researchers have examined the importance of one’s life-course such as the work of John Laub and Robert Sampson, who hypothesize that those who engage in criminal behavior may have trajectories’ and turning points. Individuals that experience certain life events may help them to make the decision to engage in criminal activity, such as growing up in a very underprivileged environment, such as the City of God. Terrie Moffitt offers a dissimilar interpretation of the theory. Moffit posits that the basis of crime rests in environmental factors and separates offenders between those with temporary and those with persistent anti-social behavior. Temporary for this purpose is to mean, behavior that does not extend past adolescence. Moffit suggests that those who have temporary anti-social behavior only commit offences when they deem it advantageous thus; it seems likely that they should continue their delinquent

In the same way that audience becomes captivated by the highly stylized introduction, Rocket’s depiction of the early years of the favela and the Tender Trio. His recounting of the story takes form through a series of flashbacks, in which the story dissolves into his personal memory enhanced by the persistent narration, in which the juxtaposition of his character amidst the developing plot further serves to justify his burning desire to become a reporter. Given the introduction of the primary characters of the Tender Trio and their accomplices, Rocket reflects that “I was always too chicken to join my brother.” In these moments of self awareness, Rocket again foreshadows his secondary role as an observer in the larger narrative, leaving his character quite static throughout while the world around him develops for better or worse. Through Rocket’s youthful eye, these memories retain an almost playful tone further enhanced by Meirelles’ deliberate use of high-key lighting palleted by warm yellows from the sun. As these memories prolong in length, Rocket’s use of narration extends past what his character remains present to witness creating complexities in the unfolding chronology of events. As the story moves past the Tender Trio, events such as the Miami Motel become pivotal to both character and narrative development.

Poverty and the relationship it has to crime is a long standing sociological, humanists and historical phenomenon. From the plight of the third world to the violence soaked inner city streets of the 1980’s, the relationship of crime and poverty has been the source of a great deal of social commentary. In societies throughout the world and throughout history there has always been a traditional measure of deviance through relative income gaps. Both poverty and crime as well as their connections are heavily weighed topics of political and social discourse. Opinions in these areas contain a great deal of variance. The prejudices of the old guard from the professional police era still utilize association with poverty as a measuring stick for social deviance. Meanwhile, intelligent social science continues to give insight to factors such as social disorganization, socialization into violence, as well as, the far reaching impact political, economic and justice based policies have on those in poverty.