Robert K. Merton came up with five different typologies. The five typologies include conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreatism, and rebellion. A conformist accepts the means and the goals. An innovator rejects the means and accepts the goals. A Ritualist accepts the means and rejects the goals. A retreatist rejects both the means and the goals while the rebellion wants new goals and means.
In the movie The Wolf of Wall Street, Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) grew up in a lower-middle class family, were both his parents Max and Leah Belfort worked as accountants. Jordan left his parents and started to live with his first wife, Teresa Petrillo. At the beginning they lived a rough life. Jordan was looking for careers that will help support his family. That is when he deiced to get an entry-level job in a brokerage firm in Wall Street. While he was in the brokerage firm he was taught a lesson by Mark Hanna (Matthew McConaughey) on how to get rich quick, using an unethical method. While Jordan was in the brokerage firm the stock market crashed. This is when Jordan started his own firm called Stratton Oakmont. In his new firm Jordan makes millions by defrauding investors.
At the beginning he does everything the right way. He is working hard while living a decent life style. So, Belfort started his life as a conformist because he was working hard, doing everything the right way and living a normal life. When Belfort lost his job due to the stock market crash he started up a new company. He cheated, lied and stole in order to make his company rich. Through his company Belfort becomes one of the wealthiest men in the United States. At this point, Belfort is no longer a conformist but an innovator. Belfort’s example shows that an individual can be more than one Typology.
Jonathan Rodriguez
The Roadrunner Theorist 