Feminist Criminology And Power Control Theory: Movie Analysis

Two theories that take place together during a part of the movie is the feminist criminology theory and power control theory. The definition states that “Feminist criminology is primarily concerned with the victimization of women, such as female delinquency, prostitution and gender inequality in the law and the criminal justice system are also receiving attention”(Dr. Julian Herminda). This article concludes that “The power-control theory posits that gender differences in delinquency can be traced to power relations between fathers and mothers, which ultimately reflect their positions within their occupations ”(Blackwell). Christine, the wife of the well-acknowledged director, reacts with violent outbursts of anger while being arrested by the …show more content…
As stated in an article, “social exchange theory is based on the exchange of rewards and costs to quantify and values of outcomes from different situations for an individual” (Hirschman). The first example of this I would like to discuss is between Sgt. Ryan and Shaniqua Johnson. Ryan is used to having power work to his advantage as noticed from other scenes in the movie; so he goes to her office in hopes of reaping a reward in the exchange between the two. He now finds himself in a position where he does not have the upper hand like he usually does. She has the power in the situation, in other words has the power to give and withhold rewards. Shaniqua can either choose to help Sgt. Ryan’s father, or to not help him. After Ryan starts to see the ineffectivness of his aggression towards Shaniqua, he begins to explain his father’s situation and plead his case. He carefully outlines the story for her understanding of the costs and rewards of her actions regarding the final decision. She instead does not give in and ends up just throwing him out of her office without helping him. Another scene that also deals with Sgt. Ryan and the idea of social exchange is when Christine, the women he sexually assaulted in the beginning, finds herself in a terrible situation when he car is overturned and he comes to try and help her. Christine is completely opposed to being rescued by the man who molested her right in front of her husband who used his position of superiority as a shield from the repercussions of his actions. She must now re-evaluate her current situation when Sgt. Ryan explains to her that he is not going to hurt her and that he is only there to help. The cost to Christine of giving the officer the power to save her is perhaps pride, while the cost of refusing his help is death. If she allows him to help