THE MERTON OF WALL STREET (Spoiler Alert*)

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

Rejection leads to Merton’s Strain Theory

Robert Merton was Influenced by Durkheim’s concept of anomie which is the disjunction between legitimate goals and the socially approved means to success. With this he developed the Strain theory which explains that people feel strain when they are exposed to cultural goals they are unable to obtain because they do not have the means to do so. This often leads people to use deviance as an adaptive, problem-solving behavior in response to problems involving frustrating and undesirable social circumstances. Within the Strain theory, comes four subgroups or adaptions on how different people deal with strain. The first type is the conformist, who accepts the cultural goals of society but also accepts the institutionalized means of reaching those goals. Then there’s the Ritualist, this type of person accepts society’s means but doesn’t accept the concept of being successful and just does it because everybody does it. Third adaptation is the innovator, who accepts the goals of society but reaches those goals in not socially accepted ways. Next are your Retreatist whom both reject the means and the goals, but they are also the rarest type out of all. Lastly are the rebels, these type of people also reject the means and the goals but are different from the Retreatist in that they make up new goals and means for themselves.

This scene that I’m using comes from the movie named “Accepted”. In this film, the main character Bartleby, is a high school senior who starts off as a ritualist because of his father. His father went to a good college to get a degree and is now expecting Bartleby to go to college. So Bartleby applies to college because it is the normal thing to do and to make his father happy. However, he gets rejected from every single college he applied to. So in order to satisfy his strict college graduate father, he lied to him by telling him that he got accepted to a college named South Harmon Institute of Technology. His father seems skeptical from this and asks for proof of this college so Bartleby creates his own fake college with an actual building and “students” he gathered that were also rejected from other schools. As the movie progresses, Bartleby begins to be more of an innovator as he starts learning in his fake college that is important to follow one’s own passions so he creates his own way of success by actually establishing the college under his direction but got there not the way normal people do.

Anyways, I choose this particular scene from the movie because of how the parents reacted to the fact that Bartleby didn’t want to go college (not because he didn’t want to, but because he didn’t get accepted). Therefore his parents, in particular his dad, goes off saying that society has rules and that he has to go to college because that is the way society works. You go to college to get a degree in order to get a good job so you can have a successful life. This clip shows the reason why Bartleby was “strained” and did the stuff he did in the movie, because his father was pressuring him to go to college and get in to receive an education. To make his dad happy, he commits a deviant act of lying to his parents and creates a fake college where he never got permission to used the building to be a campus and lied to all the students, that they were going to a real school to learn.

-Anna Arevalo

Sex, Drugs, Money- Empire

In the show Empire the father of 3 talented boys owns his very own record label. He always strives to make sure his image and his “Empire” is never tainted. He signs only artists who he thinks will contribute the most money to his label. The father, Lucious, finds out he has ALS and has under 3 years to live, and his main goal is to make sure that his record label is the best label in the world and that nobody will ever be able to tear it down. The way that he started the Empire would be seen as unconventional by society. Lucious and his wife, Cookie, started the label by selling drugs and saving up all the money they earned. They sold drugs for a very long time and once they had enough money, they built Empire.

According to Merton, Lucious and his wife would be seen as innovators because they achieved fame through an unconventional way. Merton believed that much of criminal behaviour could be categorized as “innovative”. Innovators are people who continue to embrace monetary and material success as a worthy goal but who turn to crime or deviance upon realization that their social status or experience limits access to legitimate means for success. A drug dealer, who – like most conformists – desires wealth and social status, yet attempts to achieve such ambitions through illegal activity. Innovators, however, are not necessarily violent or serious offenders: people who lie about the work experience or educational background on a resume or in an interview would also fall into this category.

THE GREAT GATSBY, WEALTHY BUSINESSMAN OR CRIMINAL?

There are many theorists that try to explain and understand how a person becomes deviant. One of these theorists is Robert Merton, who developed the Social Strain Theory. This Social Strain Theory explains that individuals are faced with a choice of five methods of adaptation, which are: Conformity, Innovation, Ritualism, Retreatism, and Rebellion. This post is going to focus on the Innovator, which according to Merton, this person accepts the social goals of becoming wealthy and successful to gain financial security, but rejects the social acceptably means, turning into crime to gain money and power.

In the movie The Great Gatsby, the audience gets to see a wealthy man, who throws big parties, has a huge house, expensive cars and just about anything money can buy. Gatsby was rich, he tied money with success, he wanted to be wealthy in order to gain social status and be able to marry the love of his life, Daisy. Although there is no scene in which it is explicitly showed that Gatsby earned his money through illegitimate means, it is well implied that he was part of the organized crime and the bootlegging business during the prohibition era in the 1920s, especially during this fight scene with Tom, who accuses him of being involved with Meyer Wolfsheim, a prominent figure in the organized crime.

Using Merton’s theory of social strain, Gatsby was an innovator. He accepted the social goals of becoming wealthy and successful, whether it was to gain social status, to be able to get the attention of Daisy, the love of his life, or both. But he rejected the socially accepted means, which are work hard and earn money legitimately. Gatsby turned to the mob and was part of the organized crime during the prohibition era, selling alcohol, laundering money and using pharmacies as a front for his business.

This is a good example of Merton’s Theory, and the Innovator typology, as according to Merton, this person uses unconventional means in order to achieve cultural approved goals. Basically an innovator finds or creates his or her own way to obtain or achieve this goals, but in the majority of the time, these means are socially unacceptable or deviant.

-Neftaly Eguia

THE HUNGER GAMES & MERTON’S STRAIN THEORY

I was first introduced to Merton’s strain theory in a class about deviance last semester. The ideology that societal structure and strain from injustice in the system can lead an individual astray from the path of social norms intrigues me. When first thinking about this assignment I didn’t really know where to start, how I would come up with an artifact that would capture a theory discussed in class. However, as I read the text and kept the assignment in mind I decided I would discuss strain theory. As I began refreshing my memory about the different concepts Merton focuses on, I realized there was one popular character I wanted to discuss.
According, to Merton there are four types of individuals that can come about due to the strain felt in their society, these include the conformist, ritualist, innovator, retreatist, and the rebel. The character I have chosen resembles Merton’s rebel. A rebel both rejects the means and goals of their society. What makes them different from the retreatist is that the rebel wants to implement new means and goals for their society. A rebel wants a rebellion.

I have chosen to discuss the popular Katniss Everdeen of the Hunger Games trilogy. Katniss lives in a society in which the goal is supposed to be to survive on what the government provides, go to “the games,” win, and come home to support your family. The goal is meant to maintain the hierarchy structure of this society. The means by which an individual is to obtain these goals is to put your name in multiple times to obtain a little more food for your family and if chosen to participate in the games kill everyone who has been chosen.

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Spoiler alert: For those of you who may not have seen or read the trilogy, Katniss does not like to follow the rules and disagrees with the whole structure of her society. Katniss hunts on land she is prohibited to enter. After her younger sister is called to participate in the games, she volunteers. During the games she is faced with the decision to kill Peeta, the boy who saved her in a time of need. They choose to instead kill themselves together and change the rules of the game. Together, they survive the games and go home. Later in the trilogy, Katniss is the leader of a movement to overthrow the Capitol in hopes of providing a better future for her people. Katniss wants a society without the games and with a better means of survival. As Merton described, Katniss rejects the current goals and means of her society. She then chooses to lead her people in the rebellion.

Merton’s Strain Theory in Breaking Bad

Robert Merton explains why deviance occurs in society in his strain theory. Merton believes that deviance is expected to occur due to the strain or tension that people experience when they are not able to obtain the institutionalized means to properly achieve the cultural and accepted goals that society deems important. He describes five different types of people in his theory in regards to whether they accept or reject the means and the goals of society. These types are conformists, ritualists, innovators. retreatists, and rebels.

In the show Breaking Bad, the main character, Walter White decides to start manufacturing and selling methamphetamine in order for his family to be financially secure when he passes away from terminal lung cancer. Walter White and other drug dealers in society are examples of Merton’s innovators. Innovators, according to Merton, accept the cultural goals of society but reject the institutionalized or expected means to achieve those goals. In this example, making money is the cultural and accepted goal in society while the institutionalized means are producing and selling illegal drugs. In Breaking Bad, Walter rejects society’s institutionalized means to make honest money when he decides to quit teaching for a living and turn to a life of deviance by manufacturing methamphetamine for a profit.

This is a good example of strain theory because it shows how the cultural goals in society are not always achievable due to the means that are available. Not everyone has access to the appropriate means of achieving the goals of society, like being financially well-off. This dysfunction in society sets up the template for people to turn to crime and deviance in order to obtain the goals that society stresses so much.

-Brooke Nichols

Sex Workers as Innovators in Robert Merton’s Deviance/Strain Theory

http://www.tubechop.com/watch/2313560

 

This clip from American Underworld: Sex Trade illustrates Robert Merton’s theory of deviance/strain theory. Merton’s strain theory can be used to explain deviant behavior. He defines deviance as the modes of social actions that do not conform to the cultural norms or values in a social group or society. The dysfunction between cultural goals and the acceptable social or institutional norms to attain them can unintentionally result in deviant behavior. There are two aspects of social and cultural structures that Merton’s deviance/strain theory focuses on. The first is the culturally defined goals, purposes, and interests that are legitimate for all members of society. The second aspect is the acceptable modes of reaching these goals, how you reach the culturally defined goals is limited by institutionalized norms.

Merton’s Deviance Typology explains five types of individual adaptation in conforming, or not conforming, to these culturally defined goals and the acceptable means of reaching these goals. The first is conformity, which is accepting the culture goals and the institutionalized means of reaching the goals. Ritualism is not accepting or scaling down the culturally accepted goals but continuing to abide by institutional norms. Retreatism is accepting neither the goals nor the institutionalized means of society, some examples of this are psychotics, drug addicts and outcasts. Rebellion is the adaptation which calls for a new greatly modified social structure, they wish to change both the culture goals and the institutionalized means. Innovation is the embrace of the culturally accepted goals but the adaptation using deviant means to attain these goals. The combination of the heavy emphasis on the cultural goals of society along with the fact of few opportunities for social mobility leads to the prevalence of this type of adaptation.

The woman interviewed in the clip is an example of an Innovator. She has accepted the cultural goals of our society, the pursuit of wealth and material luxuries. When asked why she does sex work she explains that she is addicted to money. The means she uses to achieve these goals are considered deviant in our society, making her an Innovator in Merton’s Deviance Typology. Sex work is illegal and considered dangerous in our society but when the stress on a certain set of goals is very high, people are willing to partake in deviant acts to achieve these goals. When asked why she got into sex work in the first place she explains that she had no family and she did what she had to do to survive and make money. The limited means for social opportunity/mobility lead her into Sex Work. Being a high class Call Girl and her own boss, she makes 2,000$ an hour and 10,000$ a day for her services. It can be concluded that she is an example of a true Innovator in Merton’s Typology who achieved the culture goal of material wealth in our society through means considered deviant.

ROBERT K. MERTON’S STRAIN THEORY

I have chosen to analyze Robert K. Merton’s Strain Theory. This theory suggests that when people don’t have the means to reach a particular goal, they find other ways of reaching that goal even if the methods can be seen as unconventional; this in turn leads to deviance. The American Dream is to own a nice house and be very successful; the problem with this dream is that it doesn’t take into account those Americans who don’t necessarily buy into this as a goal for their life. This video was found on YouTube and does an excellent job in explaining this theory into further detail.

The clip that I chose starts off with the conformist, this person accepts the cultural goals and agrees “conforms” to the institutionalized way of achieving them. In this clip the conformist was brought up by a family that was loving, supportive, kind, and very secure financially. He had a goal of bring a millionaire so he worked hard and went to school to achieve that goal. The next type of person is the Innovator; this person also buys into the cultural goal, however they reject the institutionalized way of achieving these goals. For example they may want the American dream (Nice car, nice house, and lots of money) but they may get this through illegal means, like stealing or selling drugs. In the clip, the example that was used was of the man who had to support his family, so was never afforded the opportunity to go to school and get money the “right” way. This is exactly what Merton meant when he mentioned deviance. Because this individual wasn’t afforded the same opportunities it forced him into achieve the American dream that has so much emphasized in our society in an illegal way. The next type of person is the Ritualist; this person doesn’t buy into the cultural goals but they do agree with the institutionalized means. Although these people feel as though they may never be rich they still stick to the rigid rules and go to school. The next type is Retreatism; this person doesn’t buy into the cultural goals or into the institutionalized way of achieving those goals. These people don’t care about wealth or school. They tend to live sort of an unconventional lifestyle. For example, someone who willingly chooses to be homeless; this person is more often than not a dropout and does not participate with society. The last type of person is the Rebel; they completely reject both the goals and means, but go further in trying to form a counter culture. These are the 5 types Merton talks about in his Strain Theory.

There are a lot of critiques about his theory; the clip mentioned just one of them. Although there is a lot of truth to this theory, it doesn’t explain the deviance that comes from those who are already successful in society (CEO’s). It also fails to mention other types of crime like hate crimes. This theory can best be applied to the lower working class. I personally agree with the personality types that he did explain, however I do see that there are several limitations in his work. It doesn’t really mention race or gender which are two very big aspects in our society. As much as we would like to believe that we have evolved as a people, our country is still segregated, and very much still dominated by men. These things still occur and and can be noticed in common places such as the work place. An issue as big as this constantly leads to deviant behavior and should have been mentioned in this theory.

Merton’s Strain Theory in Requiem for a Dream

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

http://www.alexandrakp.com/text/2008/02/robert-mertons-personal-adaptations-to-anomie-aka-strain-theory/

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