Criminological Theories in Literature and Media
Rational Choice and Social Disorganization Theories in The Bear
Theories of crime offer a perspective for comprehending intricate societal events, and TV frequently depictsthese ideas. The critically praised show The Bear presents detailed examples of rational decision-making theory and the concept of social disorder. The show’sexamination explores the way these theoretical models are clearly depicted through characters and stories of the series. Each character in the show has extraordinarily complex and variedexperiences dealing with social disorganization theory as well as rational choice theory. Here, I am choosing to specifically link these to the character of Richie Jerimovich, whose struggles and actions throughout the course of the show perfectly highlight rational choice theory and social disorganization theory.
Rational choice theory originated from criminologists who used this idea to explain how a wide range of personal decisions impact when a crime is decided to occur by someone and when the crime is actually committed. From Understanding Mass Incarceration: A People's Guide to the KeyCcivil Rights Struggle of Our Time, rational choice theory is defined through this textbook as a framework that “emphasizes all important factors that go into a person’s decision to engage, or not engage, in a particular act.” This means that this theory is an approach to viewing crime as every possible worldly factor that could influence someone in deciding to commit a crime or not. Instead of associating crime solely based on ideas of someone either being a criminal or not being a criminal based on their actions, rational choice theory embraces and analyzes the idea that external social factors play a significant role in who commits crime.
Social disorganization theory aims to highlight the criminal and social disparities that occur between different areas of society. Social disorganization theory was devised by Clifford Shaw and Henry McKay to emphasize the idea of social inequalities between neighborhoods in a city. This theory essentially focuses on how there are criminal disparities between neighborhoods and areas due to many factors including but not limited to the factors listed in the quote.
In The Bear, after the death of his brother Mikey, Carmy Berzatto, a world-class chef, takes over his brother’s run down restaurant located in the city of Chicago. The show emphasizes and puts viewers deep into the stresses of running not only a business, but the struggles of a run-down, low on money, and poorly organized restaurant. I will be highlighting the experiences of Richie Jerimovich who had had been best friends with Mikey Berzatto-the main character's brother- since childhood. Because of this bond, when Mikey decided to open a restaurant, Richie was right there with him to help and work with Mikey in any way to make sure the restaurant succeeds. I also want to highlight the circumstances of these characters, who have dealt with poverty, drug use, and family instability. Because of this and Richie’s upbringing, he resorts to certain criminal activities in order to keep the restaurant afloat.
To link these theories to the character of Richie Jerimovich and the entirety of the show, we must understand certain instances that occur across episodes. The restaurant is not doing financially well at all. In order to combat this, Richie decides to sell drugs around Chicago. We can apply both theories to this singular situation. Richie cares so much about his best friend Mikey and the restaurant that he makes a rational choice based on his circumstances to commit a crime in order to survive in his social environment. The external factors that Richie is dealing with, in this case, a lack of funds being put into the restaurant, influence his thought process on what he has to do not only for the restaurant to stay afloat, but what he has to do to survive as well because if the restaurant fails, he will be out of a job.
In applying social disorganization theory to this situation, it is crucial that we analyze the social setting of the show. The restaurant is located in the heart of of Chicago, known for having high rates ofpoverty and criminal activity. When comparing this setting where The Bear takes place, and say, a middle-class to wealthier suburb in Ohio, social disorganization theory applies to the cruciality of how the setting plays a role in criminal activity. Areas with overall less money and resources for living a comfortable lifestyle will most likely have higher crime rates because the people of that community and area are forced to participate in illegal activity in order to survive. This idea connects directly to Richie because he not only lives in Chicago, but he lives a life of struggling to afford necessities.
Luckily for viewers, a second season of The Bear was released. This season heavily focuses on the development of each character, not only sharpening their skills in the kitchen but also learning how to deal with the struggles of the area they live in. Particularly, Richie experiences the greatest change in character, for the better. After being sent to one of the best restaurants in the world by Carmy, Richie experiences a dramatic change. Once loud, distracted, and unreliable, he emerges as someone calculated, focused, and the leader of service for the restaurant. Not only does he improve for the betterment of the restaurant, but he begins to make rational decisions in flipping his life around as well. He becomes a more reliable father, and friend, as well as getting into a stable routine that overall demonstrates an improvement in his life despite his difficult circumstances. After going through his experiences at the world-class restaurant, Richie’s rational decision-making becomes more well-thought-out, reasonable, and reliable. Richie realizes that although his life has been filled with unfortunate factors, he can make better decisions to improve not only his life but benefit the people he cares about as well. Richie chooses to break the cycle of learned helplessness due to his circumstances and environment in order to create a better life for himself and his loved ones.
When looking at the neighborhood and area that Richie lives in, it is extremely clear that social and environmental circumstances are affecting not only how he lives his life, but how he experiences things on a day-to-day basis. Although Richie was dealt this hand of unfortunate circumstances, through the course of the second season, Richie chooses to resist and push back against theminstead of allowing his environmentto control his life, working extremely hard to turn his life around. Richie begins reading and researching proper high level restaurant etiquette, taking on a much more professional approach to his work and learns to communicate in an effective way both at and outside of work. By doing this Richie’s character demonstrates that although based on social disorganization theory and the factors that put people at a disadvantage, it is possible to bounce back.
Rational choice theory ultimately boils down to the strong emphasis and idea that there are many many external and social factors that are involved in crime. Based on someone’s circumstances, whether good or bad, they will ultimately make the most rational choice based on what problems a person has to deal with in their life on a constant basis. With social disorganization theory, the emphasis is on the geographical setting. More specifically, varying neighborhoods in a city. This theory brings forth the idea that there is almost certainly always some level of disparity between neighborhoods in cities, and that these disparities lead to various levels of criminal activity. I chose to represent the show The Bear, but more specifically Richie Jerimovich because his experiences throughout both seasons of the show demonstrate both theories I chose to expand upon in positive and negative lights. Not only do we have the opportunity to see how various external factors including economic and geographical factors can weigh down and put people at a disadvantage, but we also see how each theory can be used to improve society as a whole.
Good article Ryan. I would like to see what you think of the show Your Honor, another crime family kind of story set in New Orleans.