Pop Culture Criminology PDF

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Summary

Choose a character from a book, movie, TV show, video game, comic book/manga, or any other popular format that is a criminal OR a victim (or both). When choosing a character, they don’t need to be a notorious criminal, they just have had to commit a crime or be the victim of a crime. The character M...

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Assignment 1

Emily Lubas

In the TV show “The Blacklist”, criminal Raymond Reddington is the star of the show. He is number four on the FBI’s most wanted list, called “the concierge of crime”. “Red”, being his nickname, is ferociously intelligent, as he was extremely successful at a Naval Academy until he disappeared for 20 years. He lives off the grid as an elegant international criminal mastermind, being stateless, homeless, and always on the run, making his main priority business. In the first season, Red maintains control with new FBI Agent Elizabeth Keen. He walked directly into FBI headquarters and turned himself in. He offered a deal to receive the best treatment, in return he offered to give up his list of criminal contacts known as “the blacklist.” Reddington keeps his motives mysterious, as he uses his sly, manipulative, and charming behavior to always remain three steps ahead of everyone else. He has coordinated and committed some of the most flawless crimes, from smuggling weapons to prison breaks to manipulating the FBI to work for him. Reddington directly states, “I’m a criminal. Criminals are notorious liars. Everything about me is a lie,” (Blacklist). He is not to be meddled with. Red’s stories from his childhood paint his current character. As a child, he had a rebellious streak; smoking a cigar at 10 years old, stealing a strawberry bismarck from a baker. He’s had a feeling to go against societal rules since childhood, working regular jobs as a teenager to seem as normal as possible. Further into the show it is found that Red actually took over Raymond Reddington’s identity. So Red is not Raymond Reddington; the real Raymond Reddington died. He hired Dr. Koehler to perform plastic surgery on his face and changed his original appearance to look more like the real Raymond Reddington. This is one of the biggest crimes he commits as he completely takes over someone else’s identity. Rational choice theory

comes into play here as Red believes that becoming an impersonator outweighs the cost of getting caught with a fake identity. Heists are Red’s specialty and he has frankly perfected them. He has orchestrated to rob the most precious items in the world without even getting caught. The Monarch Douglass Bank heist was his most famous heist. Berlin was an enemy Red didn’t expect to have. He eventually got down to the bottom of the Berlin bank and quickly learned how the money had been hidden. Normally burglars break into banks for money, but Red began the crime with a kidnapping. He kidnapped the bank’s ledger, Kaja, to use as leverage against the FBI; this way, if the FBI wants to save Kaja, they must give Red all the money in the bank. He is not your average criminal. Robbing Rivera was another insane crime that Red had committed. Red was bankrupt and needed money to move around on his private jet discreetly, hence he decided to embezzle one of his own clients. Rivera was a terrorist who came to Red for guns. Red had no money or guns, but he manipulated Rivera into thinking he did. He borrows money from another client and meets up with Rivera. He proceeds to stage a fake FBI raid that scares Rivera and his team off, abandoning his money and private jet, and not receiving what he was promised from Red. Red always has a plan and ends up getting his way no matter what. Throughout the entire show, Reddington basically steals money from people in order to stay wealthy, manipulates the FBI so he is never convicted, and blackmails people so he can continue staying in charge of anyone who crosses his path. He does not care about turning his partners in if it means it is to his advantage or to gain more wealth. Red simply rationalizes what’s best for him instead of what is best for the country. Rational choice theory plays a major role in Reddington’s criminal career. Rational choice theory is “the view that crime is a function of a decision-making process in which the

potential offender weighs the potential costs and benefits of an illegal act,” (Siegel). Beccaria, the founder of rational choice theory, said that people choose all behavior, including criminal behavior. He stated that people’s choices are designed to bring them measure and reduce pain, and criminal choices can be controlled by a fear of punishment; the more severe, certain, and swift the punishment, the greater its ability to control criminal behavior. According to the Rational Choice Theory, several factors impact an individual’s decision to commit a crime. A probability of being caught and punished scares several criminals from continuing with their crime. Risk of losing respect from others, feeling guilt off their actions, damaging their reputation with friends, family, and jobs, and risking apprehension, are more factors that impact criminals’ decisions on committing a crime, (Siegel). The rational choice theory suits Reddington’s criminal actions well. This is because he doesn’t commit crime for fun, he does it for a specific outcome. Red needed money to continue with his criminal career and remain in control of the FBI. He sees no better way of making money than manipulating the country's finest FBI agents and turning in his own partners to his advantage. Typically, criminals will not think before they act, but what makes Red unique is that all his schemes are so extremely thought out, to the point that nobody would ever be able to predict his movements even if they tried. Red never had a regular career, he became a criminal and this is all he has known. In order for him to stay free he must continue doing what he does. His convicts most likely add up to a life sentence, so there would be no point for Reddington to pause his criminal career as his life would essentially be over. This is why he must be extremely careful while taking criminal actions by weighing whether committing certain actions will be profitable for him. If he gets caught, his criminal career will be over.

Red uses rational thinking and logic to decide rather to commit a certain crime and take action on another heist or stay within the law and not risk his plans backfiring. Although, he is an impeccable criminal so his plans tend to rarely backfire and if they were to, he always has a backup plan. The rational choice theory just gives insight to why he has motivation to continue in his career. Rational choice theory is appropriate for Reddington in every sense of the theory. He is not only a criminal mastermind but a genius overall. Through countless encounters with the FBI, Red is still able to stay ahead. Although it may seem irrational to a normal person and not a criminal, Red has to think rationally in his world of work. He is not a rational person but still must use rational thinking in his decision making. In the end, all decisions that are made by Red, benefit him in one way or another. The Rational Choice theory determines good from bad and right from wrong. In Red’s case, he does what is best for him and not necessarily what is good and bad. Yes, he gives away other criminals, but it is still beneficial because he is able to continue his work as a criminal with less obstacles in the way. Overall, Red is not a good person, but Rational Choice theory does not need to determine whether a person is good or bad rather if a person is a rational thinker or not. Red is a rational thinker; he thinks before he acts and verifies that the choice he makes is the correct one for his lifestyle. Whether that be beneficial to the government or to himself, he rationally decides. Rational Choice theory depicts how a person makes a decision in a tough situation. For example, a man who is arrested in a bar fight may not have thought rationally. Where Red always thinks rationally without getting wrapped in the heat of the moment type decisions. Thus, when discussing this theory, the best example of a man who uses rational thinking in his life would be the famous and unstoppable criminal, Raymond Reddington....