“New Jersey Drive”
For this particular assignment I strongly felt the importance in choosing a film to speak about that I could personally relate to. In turn also describing a theory that correlates exactly with the problem in the movie itself. Even though there is no real actual explanation to why crime does occur, the Anomie-strain theory was able to relate the best with the movie. The Nick Gomez directed film called "New Jersey Drive" made in 1995 was a thrilling realistic story about one of the country’s most crime ridden cities at the time and still today in 2017, Newark, New Jersey . The film provides many different examples that show real life situations that support this theory and put it into a better perspective for those who haven’t been able to see what goes on inside of these communities.
Being able to relate to the film personally, finding a theory that correlated with the movie was interesting. With having grown up in a similar area that was also around crime out of all the theories we discussed I chose the anomie-strain theory made the most sense to me. This particular theory describes the hardships and the troubles that communities that are virtually neglected by the state face every day. The anomie-strain theory talks about the strains in the communities that in turn lead to criminal behavior. The theory focuses on why the society is committing the crime not the particular individual. The lack of work for individuals creates communities of poverty. Low budgeted schools also play a big part in the activities in the community. Furthermore, these are all things that can put stress on an individual. Lack of education because of the limited resources that they have. Not being able to support your family, or having to be absent in their lives because of work can force strain as well. Once there is no income individuals may mentally feel obligated to come up with some sort of money to support themselves by any means. When the trend is continued it creates a sense of normalness. This basically means all the negative behavior that’s been going on in one of these societies or sub groups becomes the norm. Individuals who are brought up in societies such as these have lived there whole lives around crime. Ultimately, the theory expresses that the strain from countless different aspects of life can cause criminal behavior and creates a trend for years to come.
Growing up in Jersey City, New Jersey Newark was just a ten min bus ride away. Countless stories from my parents about the stuff that went on over there tried their best kept me out of that area for the most part of my life. At the time in the mid 90's car theft in New Jersey was at an all-time high. Especially in the city of Newark, New Jersey. In the film it tells a story about a group of young high school kids growing up in the environment during that time. A group of friends that grew up in the era of Newark being the car theft capital of the world. While also experiencing a ...
