Reflection Paper #5

Reflection Paper 5

[Name of the Writer]

[Name of the Institution]

Reflection Paper 5

Humans have been indulging in illegal and unethical activities for a very long time. Crime is a social issue, in fact, it is the most prevalent problem in society currently. There has been murder, forgery, lying and many more since the very beginning of the times, which is still going on. The only difference that has been observed in the occurrence of crime from the past times is the rate of occurrence, which has multiple folds (Akers, 2013). As per the data of reliable resources, crime happens every second, in the United States. Every 23.9 seconds, someone is raped, robbed or murdered as a result of some violent crime. Criminologists, scholars, and experts in the field have come up with various reasons and explanations behind the commitment of a crime. Multiple theories have been suggested that explain why the individuals deviate from the right path and exhibit criminal behavior. One of the prominent theories in this respect is “Labelling Theory”.

Labeling Theory

Labeling Theory, in criminology, has stemmed out of the sociological perspective of “symbolic interactionism”. It explains how the self-identity and the behavior in the society exhibited by an individual can be explained or determined by the patterns or terms used to describe them in general. Labeling Theory is based upon the idea of stereotyping and self-prophecy and provides the notion that criminal and deviant behavior is not inherited but attributed to the negative terms and stereotypes that are awarded to them by the society (Lilly, Cullen, & Ball, 2018). This concept of Labeling Theory is closely related to the concept of symbolic-interaction and social construction, and it was widely popular in the era of 1960s and 1970s.

It has already been established that Labeling Theory holds great importance in the explanation of the patterns of criminal behavior, multiple projects have been compiled on the subject to highlight its importance. One of such projects or ventures is a Finnish drama movie “Devil’s Bride” (Finnish: Tulen Morsian).

Devil’s Bride

Devil’s Bride is a movie about a young housemaid, Anna Eriksdotter, who has an illicit love affair with a man Elias. Elias is already married with two kids. Elias’s wife, Rakel, stops Anna from seeing her husband, but she never stops and accuses Rakel of witchcraft. People fall for this trap and believing in Anna's false accusations, arrest Rakel for indulging in black magic and devilish activities. Anna later realizes her mistake and feels guilty about her shameful act. She confesses her mistake before Elias who becomes frustrated and leaves her. Anna later also confesses her sin in front of all the people and takes the blame on her that not Rakel but she had been involved in all the witchcraft.

This movie shows a very clear example of the implication of the labeling Theory, that even if a person is not indulged or involved in any sort of criminal activity, the society labels them and tags them, which makes them frustrated and deviate towards the wrong path.

References

Akers, R. L. (2013). Criminological theories: Introduction and evaluation. Routledge.

Lilly, J. R., Cullen, F. T., & Ball, R. A. (2018). Criminological theory: Context and consequences. Sage publications.