Robert Merton’s strain theory builds off of Durkheim’s Anomie “refer[ing] to a situation in which cultural norms break down because of rapid change” (d.umn.edu). Merton veers slightly off of this theory to state that there are situations in which the definition of “success” or rather goals that need to be achieved and how to achieve them conflict with each other. In Merton’s theory there are five different adaptations people form into when dealing with this conflict: conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreatism, and rebellion. Conformity refers to those who accept the goals defined by society and the ways in which to achieve them. Innovation refers to those who accept the goals but not the ways of achieving them. These people find their own way of achieving goals. Ritualism refers to those who do not accept the defined goals but do accept the ways of achieving them. Retreatism refers to those who do not accept the defined goals or the ways of achieving them. These people choose to live outside of society’s rules. Rebellion refers to those who do not accept the defined goals or the ways in which to achieve them. Instead, they create their own goals and their own ways of achieving them.
A couple of the adaptations to this theory can be proven true in Darren Aronofsky’s Requiem for a Dream. This movie follows the lives of four people and their plights with different drugs. Harry, Marion, and Tyrone start out as retreatists. They lived to do drugs, everything they did was either to obtain or use them. Later, however, Harry and Tyrone start a drug dealing business together and no longer take the drugs as often. When this happened they became innovators. Marion, too, became an innovator in a different way. She sold her body in front of an audience in order to achieve her “success”. Sara Goldfarb was an innovator, as well. She used amphetamines in the hopes of looking presentable when she would supposedly make her appearance on TV.
I chose to use the ending scene of this movie because I feel that it best represents the consequences each character faced while conforming to their own adaptations of “strain theory” and trying to achieve their own definitions of success. Harry ended up having to get his arm amputated because he injected heroin in one spot far too often. He also lost the girl he loved, thus not achieving his success. Tyrone was arrested and last we see him is in jail for drug possession and use. He did not achieve his success either. Marion, however, did achieve her success. She wanted to make money, in order to do that she sold her body, something that repulsed her earlier in the movie. Sara’s situation is a little harder to define. She ended up in a mental hospital having gone insane from the drugs she was using. However, in her mind she created a world where she did get on TV and her son was healthy and drug free. To her, she achieved her success. This clip illustrates Merton’s idea that there are many different adaptations people conform to all in the hopes of achieving individual successes.
Works Cited
http://www.d.umn.edu/~bmork/2306/Theories/BAManomie.htm
http://sociology.about.com/od/Sociological-Theory/a/Structural-Strain-Theory.htm
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