Criminological Theories in "empire"

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exclude the politics of such by setting their own set of rules and regulations. The lack the desire, and some might say the ability, to conform to or abide by the rules set in place by the existing powers that be. These tendencies are more easily understood when you view the workings of Dr. Robert K. Merton. Dr. Merton was a very accomplished sociologist at the Columbia University known best for his theories and publications regarding social structures as well as becoming the first sociologist ever to win the National Medal of Science in 1994. When trying to understand the the way an organized crime empire is established it is most definitely going cross paths with the findings of this man and his work regarding social theory and social structure. For a group of men, women, or children to evolve into a group of deviant subcultures, it takes a special person and circumstance to deviate from, social norms and acceptability. According to Robert K. Merton (1938: 672) "it will be suggested that certain phases of social structure generate the circumstances in which infringement of social codes constitutes a "normal" response. What this means is if there are no legitimate means and a lack of equal opportunity a response is triggered in those individuals who have negative view on their probability of being an accomplished and distinguished member in the society in which they are a part of. A society that doesn’t provide them with the same means to become what society raises them to believe they should be. For example, in the empirical tests done by Broidy (2001) he measured peoples perceptions of success and fairness. Prior to conducting these tests Broidy (2001) hypothesized that "strain-induced anger increases the likelihood of illegitimate outcomes". This experiment consisted of a stressor which involved blocking certain individuals from opportunities others were able to participate in as well as gathering the recollections of past events where certain subjects felt wronged. The source of strain from this experiment had in fact upset some individuals to a higher extent then others. The study concluded the stress, or strain, from an unfair social environment can in fact cause a number of individuals to act out in anger, and anger itself can cause nonconformance and lead a person to conform to a way of life that better suits their personal needs. This is done by finding others who feel the same way and have the same ideas of what accomplishment is. As we start to understand why it is that some people stray from cultural norms we must also understand that, just because someone isn’t in acceptance to the social norms doesn’t mean they don’t agree with it. When observing different groups of people, each group view and accepts things as they see fit. In Dr. Merton’s Anomie he established that there are five different groups, or modes of adapting to strain. In regards to the strain theory though, there is one in particular that stands out which Dr. Merton describes as "Innovation". This is the idea that these individuals do in fact accept the goals in which society has set but do not agree with the mean involved in obtaining those particular goal. For instance, the "American Dream" again. An idea that first began with television depicting families leaving the city to live in the quaint suburbs. It is a media driven idea that being wealthy and successful is the answer to complete happiness. The problem is, there is such an emphasis on the end result but it is very rarely mentioned, let alone emphasized on the means necessary to getting there. Relating this to the individuals who let anger and frustration lead them to a life of crime, we can understand now why it is they find alternative ways in establishing wealth. Simply put, these groups very much agree with the possibility of taking theirselves to the top and also agree with what it means to hold such a title but they have just found a way to get there that they feel comfortable conforming with. The most import factor when determining exactly which group to conform to is the emphasis that individual puts on some of the goals in relation to the emphasis the society they are a part puts on the means. As Dr. Robert K. Merton (1938: 673) says, "There may develop a disproportionate, at times, a virtually exclusive, stress upon the value of specific goals, involving relatively slight concern with the institutionally appropriate modes of attaining these goals".

When comparing these theories and ideas to the movie "Empire", we can make obvious correlations between the two. As Victor grows up you have to wonder, was he raised around this? Did he not fit into certain groups of friends? When exactly did he decide to do what he does/did, and why? Since we can only speculate on the answers concerning those questions we can certainly draw one conclusion right off the bat and it’s that is Victor is a seemingly a member of Innovation, one mode within Merton’s five modes. He is a successful entrepreneur who has built his fortune in an unorthodox and unconventional way by deviating from the social norms in order to deal heroin. We can make this even more clear by comparing what we suspect his view on successfully accomplishing the "American Dream" is opposed to what we know the goals and means are. When you see the lifestyle he lives it is that of a high class, Fortune 500 CEO. He buys what he wants, when he wants it no matter the cost or who it’s for. He gained such wealth by deviating from those means labeled by society as acceptable and by creating his own set of means in the illegal sales of illicit substances but as you can see, he still agrees that the end goal is still the same goal society wants you to believe it is. One thing that should be mentioned though is that even though these people are deviant towards some of societies norms, it doesn’t mean that there isn’t still order within these subcultures. In order for these subcultures to work and stay together, the must maintain control of the actions and opinions of those parties involved. It is these times that people within these subgroups start deciding not to conform to the social norms of their own subgroup that the structure begins to fall apart from the inside out. A prime example of this, is when Victor finds out his turf had been stepped on by another crew. The lack of maintaining control along side Broidy’s empirical tests in the general strain theory go to show exactly what happens when someone one the inside of these fragile structures doesn’t stay true to the cause. In the empirical tests, as listed above we see how the perception of fairness may vary between individuals. When Victor found out he ended up concluding that he had given them a chance to stay honest but because they didn’t follow through it caused a state of strain-induced

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