Prompt 8
Formal response applying Conflict theories to the documentary 13th. In particular, consider the ways in which the criminal justice system reinforces, or not, systems of racism and classism.
- 1.5-2 pages
- Draw on what we’ve read and what we’ve discussed
Include at least 2 concepts/ideas from the reading. The goal is for you to demonstrate engagement and understanding
The documentary film, 13th, demonstrates how dominant powerful groups in the US manipulate and weaponize the criminal justice system to maintain power by restricting minority groups from accessing fundamental rights and privileges. In this paper, I will examine conflict theories and concepts such as instrumental Marxist conflict theory and criminalization as they appear in the documentary.
Conflict theory in criminology refers to a view where there are groups in society that have opposite interests. The authority of that society represents the interests of the most powerful group (Brown 2013). In 13th, experts trace the roots of US conflict theory back to the Emancipation Proclamation, where African Americans were freed from slavery. However, after the Proclamation, there was no mechanism to effectively and equitably integrate African Americans into US society, leaving them vulnerable to the Confederate states’ deceptive dealings. Michelle Alexander stated, “After the Civil War, African Americans were arrested en masse. It was our nation’s first prison boom,” (13th 2016) Thousands of people were incarcerated for petty offenses of no offense at all, then put to work to rebuild the Southern states economy after the war. In addition to this Reconstruction type of slavery, the 13th Amendment and other post-Civil War laws prohibited felons from voting (ACLU 2019). Therefore, the incarceration movement was an exceptional blow to African Americans in terms of establishing effective representation within the American political arena. These events reaffirm the instrumental Marxist conflict theory, where the upper class use the power of the government to retain their power, specifically by enlisting the criminal justice system to neutralize groups that threaten existing conditions (Brown 2013).
An effort to criminalize, or label, African Americans as criminals, began even before the Emancipation Proclamation. Negative depictions of African Americans as criminals or dehumanized animals were spread by newspapers, magazines, and early film. Propaganda spread misinformation and harmful stereotypes. This racist agenda aligns with Austin Turk’s theory of criminalization, where the label of the criminal is conferred upon individuals in a powerless position within society (Brown 2013). As the Civil Rights movement progressed in the 1960s, African American rights activists “owned” the label of criminal when many Black leaders were arrested protesting segregation. Henry Lois Gates Jr. commented, “I think that one of the most brilliant tactics of the Civil Rights movement was this transformation of the notion of criminality. Because for the first time, being arrested was a normal thing” (13th 2016). However, America’s War on Drugs campaign of the 1970s and 1980s led to another propaganda scheme to associate Black Americans as criminals. As seen in the documentary, Crack, the media once again drew connections between illegal crack use and African Americans, omitting the fact that white people also used crack. The result: politicians and law enforcement unfairly targeted Black communities and in the late 1980s-1990s, there was a 707% increase in Black prisoners for drug offenses (Crack 2021).
Another example of instrumental Marxist conflict theory in the US is the correctional system. Correctional facilities are big business in America. Bryan Stevenson explained, “These folks started making contracts with states and they had to protect their investments, so the states were required to keep these prisons filled even if nobody was committing a crime” (13th 2016). With assistance from corporate lobbying groups, such as ALEC, Congress passed numerous laws such as “Three Strikes, You’re Out” to maintain the steady flow of inmates coming in and mandatory minimum sentencing to keep them locked up. In the meantime, correctional facilities with federal contracts cashed in through food services, inflated services or items for inmates, such as high phone call rates. In addition, private contracts between the corporations and the corrections companies authorized “free labor”, uncompensated prison labor, to manufacture their products, resulting in a higher profit margin (13th 2016).
The political and economic elite continue to hide these disturbing facts from most Americans. Media continues to subtly infer that the criminal label applies to African Americans. These stereotypes permeate law enforcement’s biases, resulting in more African American arrests, frisks, and incarcerations. As a result, African Americans have been unfairly targeted: one in three young African American men can expect to be in prison during their lifetime, as opposed to one in seven white men (13th 2016). The American people need to be aware that our society is using criminalization and manipulation of our criminal justice system to impede minority groups from accessing basic rights and privileges. Once awareness is achieved, society can take action to make our criminal justice system fair and equitable.
References:
ACLU. 2019. “The Racist Roots of Denying Incarcerated People Their Right to Vote.” ACLU.org. Retrieved
June 28, 2024 (https://www.aclu.org/news/voting-rights/racist-roots-denying-incarcerated-people-their-right-vote).
Brown, S. E., and G Geis. (2013). Criminology (8th Edition). Waltham, MA; Elsevier.
DuVernay, Ava. 2016. 13th.
Nelson, Stanley. 2021. Crack: Cocaine, Corruption & Conspiracy.
Prompt 9
Informal Response: 1 page response reflecting on what you’ve learned this semester.
What I have learned-
In the Crime and Deviance course, I have learned a multitude of theories and facts regarding criminology. First off, I have learned the study of criminology is complex and an interdisciplinary field, touching other social sciences, sociology, political science, and philosophy. Criminology emerged during the Enlightenment in Europe, in the 1700s, as a movement towards humanitarian reform. I am now aware of hedonistic calculus, a concept of the classical school of criminology where people were thought to be pleasure seeking, but had free will to weigh the pain versus pleasure of committing a crime. In addition, I learned about deterrence and its three factors, certainty, severity, and speed, which are still used today to prevent crimes from happening.
However, one of the most important things I discovered with this course is that crime is relative and a social construct. What might be considered a crime in one society or culture is not necessarily a crime in another. Since crime is a social construct, typically the upper classes or groups of power dictate what a crime is and what is not. The conflict theory of sociology posits that the law actually represents the interests of the groups with the most power, which is evident in the documentary, 13th. In addition, groups of power can orchestrate the narrative where someone is labeled as a criminal, leading to the perceived criminalization of particular ethnic groups. White collar crimes, which can impact millions of people through loss of funds or jobs, tend to be treated more leniently by the justice system than other crimes, such as an unarmed robbery.
It has become clear to me after taking this class that the US criminal system is in need of reformation. Media and political stereotypes of criminals should be combatted by awareness campaigns. Any profiting from the incarceration of convicted criminals should be prohibited. Laws should be re-evaluated to make the punishments for white-collar crimes more severe. Like human trafficking, as a society, we can look to the factors that are creating people to commit crimes, and improve upon them within our society.
I’m very glad to have taken this class, as it helps integrate ideas and concepts in with my other sociology and anthropology courses. I have even seen some cross-over of themes between this criminology course and the psychology course I am currently taking. I now have a new perspective on crime and humans in general, which I believe will be crucial in how I understand the world around me.
