At the beginning of “Stand by me” Eddie Gets called crazy and to the narrator is protruded to be nothing in life because of the bond he has with his father who was fit with rage, which can also differential associates because Eddie witnessed torture he can pick up and learn how to torture other people. Chris was the leader of the group but was the leader of the gang but came from a bad family. Which possibly controlled how we was going turnout once he grew in age he was also look upon as a failure already just because of his family background and if is already thinking it than “Psychological Transfer” is already in full effect. Vern is trying to find his pennies that 9 months ago he buried when he come across Billy and Charlie Hogan, talking about the Ray Bowards story as he’s listening to the two young teens talk about it, you can easily tell that Billy and Charlie Hogan have set of beliefs that nobody will ever find the dead remaining’s of Ray Bowards. Now there’s to ways you could go about this the illegal way which is trying to make sure that nobody ever finds this video, which would cause you to do whatever it takes, which most likely will add to the problems that you already have or you do it the legal way and go to the authority a let them know what you’ve done and accept the consequences of your actions. In the mix of the conversation one of the Billy states that “you don’t go telling the police” because the police already know that they don’t have an vehicle to be all the way out in “Back hollow rd.” Billy already have this belief that the police know exactly who they are, where they live, and what they have, or don’t have. In the summer Gordy Becomes the invisible at home, he’s kind of the disruption within his family. Turns out that Gordy isn’t the disruption it’s the loss of his brother Danny that, have his family disrupted and instable because the just haven’t been having to jump that hurdle to the point where they are able to put the pieces back together again. Further along you see Gordy in his brother room yeah is belief have set in more then his parents that is older brother Danny is gone but you can still see a little of instability because of the bond that Gordy had with his brother. You start to see that Gordy’s dad doesn’t like his friends and wished that Gordy had friends like Danny’s who wasn’t thieves, but because of the bond that Gordy have with Chris he had is back and tried to defend him. Chris and Gordy come across to bullies who calls them all type of foul and hateful names trying to be funny and tough guys. They guys are sitting on the train tracks collecting money trying to find something to eat, when a train start to head they way when all of a sudden teddy decide he wants to dodge trains and that when because of the bond and friendship that the groups have with one another and no one wants to ever see the friend die Chris forces teddy off of the train tracks saving teddy life. Within Charlie and Billy group you can see they more of group that likes to do delinquent behavior like play mailbox baseball, but they also use name calling within they friendship circle a lot. As you get further into the movie “Stand By Me” is an good movie to watch because you see how “Structural Theory, Social Disorganized theory, Strain theory, Neutralization Theory, Social learning theory, Social contrast theory, and Labelling theory” all play a factor and how one theory can go hand and hand with multiple theories at time and If it’s labelled one theory that don’t mean and it can’t be labelled with two or three more theories. you really start to see how the theories work like how these can give a somewhat of who this person is or why they act the way the do, talk the way they talk you start to see a correlation which gives you an idea how you should treat somebody your meeting for the first time -Statechamp007
I agree with you when you say that Chris went/was going through a psychological transfer, despite being the leader of the group. Because Chris came from a bad family, this had a negative effect on him psychologically. By being around that negativity for all of his life, Chris did not really have a choice and only knew how to be a failure because of his upbringing. Chris definitely could have grown up to be successful, but it would have been very hard for him to do since he was surrounded by negativity his entire life. I also liked how you described each of the characters and their roles throughout the movie. A third thing I found interesting from your post was the fact that you discussed what theories were in the movie towards the end of your blog. I really liked how you did this, as this helps the reader get a feel for what happened to the characters first and then at the end of your blog, the reader can then see how the theories were in play throughout the film and may have affected some of the characters. I found your blog to be very interesting and knowledgeable of the theories that we learned in class. -Fozz007
I agree with everything that you said. I agree when you said that Chris is the leader of the group. I also noticed that as well throughout the movie. Chris would be the decision maker in almost every situation they had. I also noticed Vern trying to find his pennies from 9 months ago and in the beginning when he started to look that’s when he found out about the dead body from Billy and Charlie. I also agree with you when you said it’s a good movie because of all the theories that are being shown throughout. I agree with you when you said that you really start to see how theories work and can get somewhat of who a persons is or why they act the way they do because it’s shown everyday in life. -SR
I really like the way how you add in here the theories and how they are seen and portrayed throughout the the movie. You depicted the characters and their lives and brought in the importance of them all as a group. Because you can definitely see all theories throughout the movie at one point or another. I also like how you added in the meeting someone for the first time part. All of these boys knew of each other but truly did not know each other until this journey began for them. You can see the constant rush of emotions for all of them as they are constantly dealing with something throughout the movie. Just like when gordie and chris both took times crying to each other and letting all of their emotions out, they found a sense of security and that someone for once, knew them and understood them and why they are the way they act and that they each come from a not so perfect or ideal lifestyle and deal with their own demons at home as young children. How you added their beliefs and talks, some of it I did not even really remember conversation wise from the movie until I re-read your post and you brought up some good points. -notacop007
I liked the way you depicted the characters and showed each of their importance in the film. The emotions felt through this film was strong due to each character finding their own path, but still being a part of something, that being the gang. The way you added the theories I liked. You found a few more theories I didn't even think of or come across. This movie really did a great job of showing the theories in action and helped me at least to gather a better grasp on them. I think the notes in class can only do so much, but actually getting to see them helped me alot at least. Overall, I thought you brought up some really good points. -CUBSFAN007
At the very beginning of the movie “Stand by me” when Gordy described where he lived and how many people lived their, what it looked like used Social Disorganization theory the reason why it was used, was because, the definition of the the “theory” says that inability of a community to extort social control. And it shows that throughout the movie. How delinquency is being developed theory is used with Teddy when the two boys was playing the card game and it eventually ending with name calling and they called Teddy crazy Chris label him as crazy. And even though Teddy denied his label as being crazy, he still will be labeled as that. Labeling theory is also used again when Chris when they know he was going to be nothing because of his family so he was basically label as “nothing” or Eric. The strain theory is used in this scene too. Since Chris family is nothing, Chris will turn into a delinquent based on the economic mainstream… Also don't believe this is a theory but Differential opportunity is also used in this scene. By Chrus not having a good environment he will turn out to be a juvenile delinquent. Differential Associations is used when you see the two youngers boys smoking a cigarette. Social control theory is used with Gordy and his friends because they hang out with each other there is a theory, potential to become a delinquent if they have strong bonds with each other if their is a potential to become a delinquent if they have strong bonds with( family, peers,school). SCT is being used when the two teenagers had a commitment that they would not tell anyone about the dead kid. Another example is being used when Vern was pressured from all his to join them to look at the dead body. Neutralization theory is being used with Gordy when agreed upon going to see the dead body the NT was in effect because Gordy parents were said about their son's death. They forgot about their other son. And since that will had happen Gordy is doing something that abnormal… Labeling theory is being used again with Gordie’s father when he called Gordie friends “thieves”. Social Bond Theory was being used Teddie and Chris shaked on that Teddy will be able to dodge the next train. Social Disorganization theory is being used with the teenagers and riding around using the bat and hitting mailboxes. Labeling theory is used again when Teddie and Gordy was arguing and Teddie got called “retarded” and then later on that day the kids got chased by the junk man and he started talking about Teddie's dad and how his dad was a looney so Teddi has to be a looney too, label theory. When Chris and Gordie was having a conversation about where their going after junior high. Chris had made a statement that him and Teddie are not going to get nowhere in life but where they are now. And that Gorgie is going to go for in life. The theory being used is social process theory. Since Chris and Teddie might not come from a good home. Then they won't be nothing but since Gordie has a two parent home he is more than likely will become something in life because of their social status. Social Control theory how Chris didn't steal the money but someone blamed it on him and everyone believed that he did it because of his older brother reputation in the town. And how Vern is fat so that means he want more and that he is also a scary cat the label theory is being used The two groups of boys thought if they find the body first they would get a lot of money and be famous SCT is being used here. Thought out the entire moving their were many methods that was being used such as the ones I found Neutralization, Social Bond Theory and many others. Smiles007
When you used the example as Teddy being labeled as crazy, I thought that was a good example. I kind of noticed Teddy living up to the label through out the movie even when he denied that he was. I also thought it was sad when Chris was labeled as nothing and he was only twelve years old. I also noticed the social control theory. Since they were around each other all the time, that could of increased their chances of becoming a delinquent. Although everyone has a risk of becoming a delinquent. Gordie and Vern were the ones that didn't really do any juvenile acts and they could of possible became a juvenile based on their surroundings but they never did. Both of them went on to be successful including Chris. The example you used for neutralization theory, I didn't think to look at it like that and I really liked that example. I also felt really bad for Goride because he basically became the “invisible child”. I liked the social bond theory example that you used. I didn't notice that one at first. The way the junk man was talking to Teddy about his father, I thought that was really sad and Teddy knew and he stood up for his father. I agree that Gordie will most likely become successful but since his parents aren't showing him attention or compassion, that could of affected how he grew up even though he was still successful. -Soccer31007
Stand by Me has a lot of theories that were shown in the different scenes. Labeling theory is when someone or a group of people is called something and they were basically given a label. If you call someone dumb, overtime they might start to believe it then they will start living up to the label that was given to them. Gordie’s father told Gordie that he was no good and he eventually started to believe it. Gordie’s father labeled Chris as a thief. Chris tried to get rid of the label by attempting to return the milk money that he stole. He was already given a negative label that is hard to get rid of. Chris proved that it is always possible to get rid of a negative label. Everyone thought he wasn't going to do anything with his life and he will always cause trouble. When he became an adult he became a lawyer and proved everyone wrong. When it comes to the label theory, the things we say to people can really take a toll on them. During Gordie’s brothers funeral, Gordie’s father said that it should of been Gordie and eventually Gordie started feeling guilty and he began agreeing that it should of been him. Social control theory is when delinquency happens when there is a weakened commitment that has to do with family, peers, and school. Everyone has the potential to become a delinquent but most people are controlled by their bonds to society. After Gordie's brother died, his parents were kind of emotionally distant. Gordie’s father treated him differently compared to Gordie’s brother. The father never gave Gordie any attention. Gordie called out to his mother and she could hear him but she never acknowledge him. His father is the weakened commitment because he never gave Gordie any attention or compassion during the film. Even though Gordie did not participate in delinquent behavior, the things I just listed could of possible influenced him to participate in delinquent behavior even though he didn’t. Chris’s father had a drinking problem and he was abusive. His older brother was also abusive. It also never showed Chris having a mother in the picture. Chris stole milk money and he also took his father’s gun. Chris doesn't really have a person to look up to or be a role model and that is the weakened commitment from his father. These factors could be the reason on why Chris is committing delinquent acts. This could also be the reason on why Ace commits delinquent acts because of the effect his father has had on him. Teddy’s father was abusive. He almost burnt Teddy’s ear off with a stove. His father also lives in a mental institution. His father was mean to him and that is the weekend commitment. When Teddy got older he spent some time in jail and because he never had a good father figure, this could of contributed to that. Out of all of the boys, Vernon seemed to have the best family structure. His parents seemed to care about him and he never really did anything bad. Since he had a family structure, this could of been the reason on why he never did anything bad like stealing. Differential association theory was also shown in the movie. There was a group of older boys that were kind of the towns gang. The leader of the group was Ace’s brother. The group of older boys did delinquent behavior that was learned from each other because they spend a lot of time together. The older group was always mean to the younger group and they always enjoyed doing doing delinquent actions. Strain theory is also shown and this is when social structures in the society may pressure people to do crime. The town did not like the group of older boys and that may pressure them to live up to the label that was given to them. Neutralization theory was shown when Chris stole the milk money. He tried to lessen the impact of his behavior by doing the right thing and returning it but in the end someone stole it back and people still believed it was him. -Soccer31007
I liked that you talked about the family structure/situation of each of the characters in the movie. From pretty normal upbringing to outright insanity. These boys were either going to be leaders or followers in their own right. All the boys want to do something in order to have a better life. That something is different for each one of the boys. So much so that they need to avoid the same pitfalls and mistakes that their parents had to go through when they were the ages of the boys in the movie. I think that the characters in the movie, represents juveniles in a pretty accurate description. ---YouMustAcquit007---
I like what you said about Chris not having a role model in his life, and how that might of affected his juvenile behavior. I think that if Chris would have had an older brother to look up to or someone is his family that he truly respected, then he wouldn’t of done a lot of the things that he did in this movie. A lot of kids that I know that do delinquent acts are in the same situation as Chris, and really don’t have anyone to look up to. Having an older sibling to look up to is really one of the keys to preventing juvenile behavior in my opinion -BuffaloChickenDip007
I liked how you mentioned many different examples of each type of theories. I really liked the part that you wrote about the town gang and how they are labeled as trouble makers so they feel the need to be thugs and act in a gang like manner. I personally know a group of people that I went to high school with that were in the same situation as Ace and his gang/friends. The group was known as the druggy trouble makers of the school and everyone looked down upon them. I think that they felt like since no one liked them outside of the friend group that they had to live up to the label in which they were being given to them. Another thing that I liked while I was reading what you wrote was how you talked about each of the kids families and explained the differences in what life was like for each of them. I really do think that a lot of their delinquent acts had a lot to do with not having the correct amount of parental guidance, love, and care. I think that they would have not done some of the things that they did if they had parent supervision. -KiiNG007
You talked about the older boys committing the delinquent acts because the town had started saying that they were in a more detestable situation, but that would be closer to labeling theory than it would be to strain theory. Strain theory applies to when society as a whole is going through a tough time, such as a recession or a sort of major disaster or attack. When those people are at rock bottom, then they commit the acts. The boys had just been labeled as a bad group of kids, ergo they became performing delinquent acts. I do agree with you though on the weakened commitment between several of the boys and their father figures. That weakened commitment could in some cases be borderline emotional abuse to those children, especially when they are at such an impressionable age. Obviously the death of Denny had been a big moment for Gordie’s family as after four months the parents were still in an immensely depressive state despite having to take care of their other child. -CAPMARVEL007
After watching the movie ‘Stand by Me’, I noticed that throughout the entire movie, many of the theories that we have talked about in class are also present within a majority of the film. The first theory that I noticed and would like to talk about is the theory of labeling. At the very beginning of the movie, the narrator is discussing what he thinks is going to happen to all of his friends, based solely on their families. This falls under the labeling theory due to the fact that the narrator looks at the kids’ families and assumes that if their family is poor or stuck in bad conditions, then they will also grow up to be stuck in bad conditions. Another example of the labeling theory is when the man who owns the junkyard tells Teddy that he is messed up due to the fact that his dad is crazy. By saying this, the junkyard owner is showing how he assumes that since Teddy’s father is crazy, Teddy is automatically crazy without any other evidence to back it up. A third example of the labeling theory occurred when Chris was talking about how a lady automatically accused him of a crime because of both his past and his brother’s reputation. This lady was going to say that Chris was in trouble, regardless of if he actually did the crime or not, and even if he was truly sorry. All three of these examples show how the labeling theory was playing a part within this film. In each one of these examples, someone tells another person how they are something solely because of someone else’s influence on them. Another theory that can be found in the film is the theory known as the social disorganization theory. In the movie, the town where this all takes place is a small town, which means that there is already a low number of police around. On top of this, the farther out of the town the kids go, the more crimes they tend to commit because of the lack of police and other authoritative figures. While in the town, the worst crime they commit is shooting a gun off one or two times. However, once they hit the deep forest, they start shooting the gun more and smoking cigarettes. This theory can also be seen in action while watching the older high school kids as well. The father out of town these high schoolers drive, deeper into the country, the more juvenile acts they begin to carryout. They start drinking, drinking and driving, smashing people’s mailboxes, etc. all because of the fact that they are out of the town where they would be much more likely to get in trouble if they were carrying out the same acts. -Fozz007
A third theory I caught onto is a theory known as the differential opportunity/association theory. When the main kids of the movie are together, they do things that they would not do if they were alone. For example, when they were all sitting in the treehouse or walking on the train tracks together, they would all be smoking cigarettes at the same time. By having close, trusted people around, the kids knew that if one of them lit a cig, then the rest would more than likely follow with the same action. Also, none of the kids were extremely rich and wealthy or anything like that, so they set a goal for themselves to reach, so they could feel like they really worked for and achieved something big in their lives. In this specific case, their goal was partially reached. The goal of the kids was to find the body and become famous for their discovery and be seen and adored everywhere they went. After working all that way and finding the body, the kids decided that their goal had already been reached and they did not want to be the ones who got all of the attention for finding the body. The final theory I was noticing in the movie is a theory called the neutralization theory. This theory was most noticeable when the kids all make the decision to go looking for the body. By making this decision, the kids are ignoring all of the consequences that will come from their parents for going on this adventure because they convince themselves that the consequences won’t actually be that bad or the fact that they found the body will bring achievements that will cover up the consequences. After watching this movie, I learned how all of these theories really do have an impact on the characters and their actions. -Fozz007
I agree with you and how you state that the labeling theory is the most prevalent. Labeling was a huge thing in this movie especially with all the name calling and cruelty to each other. Now from being a boy growing up with the same set of friends, I know that none of those words affected me in any way which is what i'd imagine to be in the boys case in the movie. Sometimes they would affect Gordie just because he has more of an insecure attitude which makes him most vulnerable to the labeling theory and becoming victim to their insulting schemes. GVFF007
In the movie, “Stand by Me”, a group of boys, all juveniles, all going through life in different ways and dealing with different problems or issues in their lives that they present themselves. Throughout the movie, different theories that have been talked about in class can be attributed to each of the boys in the movie. The theories that I saw portrayed in the movie were: labeling theory, differential association theory, structural theory, strain theory, and neutralization theory. The boys grow closer to each other throughout the movie because they helped each other fill an import need in their life. A need that they could not find within their own families. Each character in the movie: Gordie, Chris, Teddy, Vern, and Billy each lead different lives, but the theories mentioned above are constantly at work, either singularly or multiple theories occurring at once in different scenes throughout the movie. I believe for the time period that this movie was made, created, and set in was appropriate for that generation of kids. More so, I also believe that juveniles today, deal with and face many of the same things that the characters had to deal with in the movie. So in a sense this movie is timeless in a way, because theories that were in play throughout the movie, grow change and adapt to fit with and into today’s day/age/society. Why? Because most, not if all like order. Human beings in general are always trying to analyze and explain, what seems to be pretty much anything and everything these days. Yet, there are those who believe that long gone are they days, of when the excuse. “Oh kids will just be kids has gone out the window. Instead it has been replaced wit figuring out how to categorize ,classify, and possibly medicate. I believe, that each generation tries to explain the shortcomings of the previous generation, through the creation of ideas, theories, etc. In doing so, the next generation will be able to hopefully live/ have a better quality of life. Human beings, individuals are unique, due to the fact that they will not grow up the same, they will live in different neighborhoods, go to different schools, etc. In the process making making friends, and hanging out with peers, who will have some type of influence in their life. ---YouMustAcquit007
I agree with you that there many theories that can be seen in this movie, either a single one or many in one scene. One of the theories that I saw most in this movie is the labeling theory. Each main character would call each other names. You do not think that it is a big deal because they are joking but we can see that characters such as Chris do think that they are dumb and will not go anywhere in life. I also agree with you that juveniles today deal with many of the same problems as these kids faced. My personal experience from when I was younger my friend group faced some of the same problems as these kids. We were labeled for doing nothing most of the time. One example was when me and my friend went into a candy shop and the lady at the registered said she was keeping an eye on us because my friend looked like his dad and she knew his dad would steal candy when he was our age. He was labeled a thief just because he looked like his father at that age, she had no other reason but that. Even worse that kid was always a straight “A” student and never stole anything in his life. -ClarkKent007
Children especially children who are between the ages of 10-17 are impressionable, confused, scared, ambitious, etc. The point I am trying to make is that if there are not people in children’s lives that realize that they need to tell kids growing up not to make the same mistakes they made when they were kid. Realization is very important, to realize that positive changes can be made in a persons life, especially a juvenile’s is important. In doing so, it will reduce the chances of that juvenile, committing crimes, acting out inappropriately, etc. All in all factors such as race, wealth, and power have a major influence on children. In terms of seeing one race have it all and other racers at a disadvantage, and trying their best to be on a level playing field. Being poor and disadvantaged however does not have a color. In other words, the same problems and issues that juveniles deal with happen allover the world. Either a person is told to accept their lot in life at a young age, or make proper changes to make something out of themselves so that do not just end up another statistic. Why should they, if they have the drive, then push for success. Each of the characters in the movie, grew up with different problems, but they found strength in each other. They had to grow up through and within the other characters in the movie. Lastly, I believe that there needs to be a remake of this movie, set in today’s day and age. I think that there would be a lot of similarities as well as differences between the two different sets of characters. Specifically in terms, of society changes in the way it views juveniles and the rights they have. Lastly, this was a good movie that used examples of the different theories that we have learned about and discussed in class. ---YouMustAcquit007---
At the beginning of the film, “Stand by me”, the narrator describes each characters background and gets the audience caught up on who they are. One of these characters who has a tough childhood is Teddy. He is described as crazy by the narrator. The narrator ,which turns out to be Gordie, says that Teddy is probably to be nothing in life because of the bond he has with his father who was fit with rage. He once held Teddy’s ear to a hot stove even. This shows Teddy torture techniques that he can pick up and learn how to harm others. The next character described was Chris. He is Gordie’s best friend in the film. He is described from coming from a bad family even though he was the leader of the group. Chris might of thought his future was already made up due to his troubled family. Chris thinking these things because of his family background might already put the psychological transfer into effect. Vern is the next character described. Often picked on due his size. Vern was trying to find his money that 9 months ago he had buried. He did this when all of the sudden he came across Billy and Charlie Hogan talking about the Ray Bowards story. Within Charlie and Billy’s group you can see they like doing a lot of delinquent behavior. The two boys talk about the story and you can see these boys have a set of beliefs that nobody will find the remains of Ray Bowards. They appeared to have seen the body while dumping a stolen car. In the mix of the conversation one Billy states to Charlie to not go to the police because they already know that they don’t have a vehicle and a reason for it to be all the way out at hollow road. Billy already has the belief that the police know exactly who they are and even where they live. In the summer Gordy becomes almost completely non visible at home. You could say he is kind of the disturbance within his family. It actually turned out that Gordy wasn’t the problem. It actually was the loss of his brother Danny. Gordy’s family have been in anguish really heartbroken. Gordy is more ready to move on with his life than his family, but he still remembers the bond with his brother. Even though he is gone you can still see a little bit of unstableness because of the bond that Gordy had with his brother.As the movie goes on you as the audience start to see that Gordy’s father is not fond of his friends at all. He even said he wished that Gordy had friends like his brothers, ones that don’t go around causing grief and stealing. Fast forward to the friends sitting on the train tracks collecting money. They are talking when a train starts to head their way. Teddy comes up with the bright idea that he wants to dodge this train. Due to the bond these friends share they don’t want to see one another die. Chris makes a quick decision and saves Teddy’s life by pushing him out of the way. The film is filled with lots of emotion which each and every character because each and every one of them is going through something throughout the film. As you finish“Stand By Me”, you can see how good the movie is to show the theories such as Social Disorganized, Strain, Structural, and Labelling theory. These theories all play a factor in the film and give you perfect examples of each of them, which makes learning these theories much easier to understand. Going into the movie I had a decent grasp on the theories, but actually seeing them was so much more helpful to me learning them. This movie actually does a great job by showing the theories we learned in class by just watching a group of friends in their normal environment relative to them. -CUBSFAN007
Teddy might pick up those torture techniques and use them. I agree he is being affected by the Differential association theory. Yes Chris got affected by labeling for a little bit, but with the help of his best friend, Gordie, he does become the best version of him. Gordie's family life does suck. His dad does understand that hanging out with bad apples makes you a bad apple, I think that was a good thing to pick up. His dad just wants him to do good things like his deceased older brother. Although, he doesn't really care and just wants to be his own person, so it makes his parents not really accept him, and kind of ignore him. Teddy has that thing voice in his head telling him to do it. He just seems like his father a lot. He wants to do something big in his life, but nothing seems to being going right. You do see a the theories get shown off in examples a lot. I honestly could say this is among one of my favorite movies. Kind of makes you think of what decisions you made as an twelve year old kid. Probably good, and bad. ^~^Itis007
Yes Chris is for sure affected by the labeling theory throughout a majority of this film. He is accused of stealing milk money from the school and this was just because the teacher knew of his family and that automatically made Chris a suspect through her eyes. This also does happen to Teddy because his father is not the best person and he is even in an Insane asylum people often think that Teddy is just like his father in the sense that he too is crazy. This is shown in the movie when the owner of the junkyard recognizes Teddy and calls him crazy just like his father and says that it makes sense that someone like him would be committing delinquent acts. I also agree that watching this movie was a beneficial learning experience. It truly does show a great detail many of these theories that we have been reading about and and discussing in class. I definitely think that it has made it easier to understand these theories. -RHB007
The movie is about four kids growing up in the town of Castle Rock, Oregon. They decide to adventure off to look at a dead body that Vern overheard some teenagers talking about, from sitting underneath his porch. At the beginning of this movie you can already figure some things out about the characters, and the place they live in. You can tell this kids don’t come from families with a lot of money. So, society already prejudges them. The movie starts off with the main character, Gordie, walking into his friends tree house. There you see two of the other main characters smoking cigarettes, Chris and Teddy. You get to learn more about their backgrounds as well. Chris comes from a family of no good. His family is either drunkards, or criminals. Teddy has a veteran father who is mentally handicapped. It tells us in the movie that his dad got mad at him one dad and burn his ear in an oven. Scarring him for life. I took this as, he probably has more run ins with his dad. So, both the kids smoking cigarettes come from a troubled home life. Gordie comes from a family where his older brother had just died, and his family kind of ignores him. He takes that as, his family thinks it should’ve been him, and he battles with that thought throughout the movie. The last main character introduced is Vern. He is the cubby kid that gets picked on a lot. Nothing is said about his family, but we know he is a shy kid. We can put Social Control theory into place here in this next part, and also Neutralization Theory. So Vern talks about how he overheard his older brother and his friend talking about a dead body found in the woods. After the whole gang hears this story, they want to find the body and report to the police. That way they can be seen as heros. Social Control theory is seen here. If their parents were more involved in their lives, they could stop this delinquent behavior. Sorry, but searching for a body and trying to take the fame for it, instead of just telling their parents or reporting it to the police seems like abnormal behavior. At least to society. With no one telling them it’s a bad idea, or not having supporting parents telling them what to do to win their approval in life. They kind of just do their own thing, and sometimes it’s bad things. Neutralization Theory occurs when, instead of reporting a know location of a body to the local police, or their parents, they decide that earning fame from people, in a town where labeling theory is in full affect, negates any moral apprehension they may have about committing the “crime.” I guess the cigarettes smoking can also be talked about. Their lives are bad for them, and cigarettes relieve that pain. So the illegal side of smoking doesn’t matter to them. Differential Association can also be said here. They probably see their family smoking a lot. Chris also has a older brother and he smokes. Chris sees this and thinks its not a big deal. He doesn’t respect his brother, because he’s a dick. But you can see how it is learned. I saw the Labeling Theory a couple times, but the best time I saw it was when Chris and Gordie were staying up after setting up camp for the night. Chris starting talking about when he took milk money. He tried to give it back, but a girl that comes from the higher up of the town, took it. She used it to buy a skirt, but still Chris got in trouble. He didn’t even tell the teachers because he felt like he was already labeled. He didn’t believe he was smart, and could do much in life. He said everyone expects him to be a bum and end up not doing much. He accepts the label that others put on him. He does break that labeling and does become a lawyer after college. I feel like this is because of Gordie’s positive effect on him. ^~^Itis007 Part 1
You can also see Labeling Theory in work during the junkyard scene. Teddy is verbally assaulted by the junkyard owner. Telling him that he will end up looney. Just like his father. Now Teddy was more offended by the fact his veteran father was being insulted. He does end up with a bad life, he was in prison, and now is doing odd jobs around town. So, maybe he heard bad things about him during his life and let himself become labeled, and become the label! That is pretty much everything I got from the movie. ^~^ Itis007 Part2
In this movie Stand By Me there are many different theories that we can see. One of the first things that I noticed is that the town that they are in is small and seems to be a friendly neighborhood. You do not see any broken windows or cars broken down. You did notice that is was during the summer time and the parents were at work. Even when the parents are around they are not paying attention or physically hurting the children. For Gordy, he became the invisible child when the hardship and the strain that the family is put under when they lost their oldest child in a car accident. We learn later that even when the oldest child was alive Gordy was still that child not noticed by his father. In the case of Chris and Ted their fathers would physically hurt them. Chris father would beat him for the simplest of reasons and Teds father is mentally unstable and put Teds ear to the stove badly burning it. We do not get to see Vern’s parents but we get to see his brother who commits delinquent behavior throughout the movie. One primary deviance that was in this movie was the young kids smoking. They smoked throughout their journey even referencing that the best smoke is after a meal. Another primary deviance we saw in the movie is when the older delinquents are drinking and driving and smashing mail boxes with a baseball bat. The theory that I saw the most was the label theory. One example of the informal label theory that I saw was when Gordy’s father said to Gordy that he needs new friends. He labeled Gordy’s friend Chris as a thief, because he had heard that Chris stole the milk money. He did now know the whole story but just because he heard that Chris stole the money he quickly assumed that he is a thief. You see more informal labeling when the groups calls each other names. It seems harmless because these kids are friends but when Chris and Gordy are talking about Junior high, Chris calls himself and the other two people in their group stupid. It seems that he has assumed a self-fulling prophecy, that he will not do well in school and wont get out of the small town that he lives in. But at the end of the movie we learned that he broke the mold that he had given himself and left the town and became a lawyer. An example of a formal label is when Gordy’s’ father calls him no good. We see that take effect when he dreams about his brothers funeral and his father leans over and says that should have been you. He is able to overcome that formal label when Chris tells Gordy that he will go somewhere and be someone. We get to see that what Chris said was true and Gordy was able to overcome his label and become a what seems to be a successful author with a family We also see throughout the movie is the gang culture is a motivating factor in delinquent behavior of the older kids. The leader of the Cobras Ace seems to be a very control and unstable person. Many accounts of his unstableness is when he is racing the other car and when a truck with logs is coming at him he does not deviate from his path and causes the truck to veer off the road. We can also see that his controlling behavior causes that other people in his gang to do delinquent behavior that they do not want to do. For example when they are drinking and driving he is smashing mail boxes with a bat. He ask the other gang members in the back of the seat to take the bat and start hit mail boxes. They refuse at first, but he forces them to start smashing mail boxes. Another example of Ace control over the gang is when they are about to hunt for the dead body Verns older brother and his friend do not want to go back to the spot of the dead body in fear they might get in trouble Ace forces them to get in the car. -ClarkKent007
After watching Stand By Me, I noticed that a lot of the theories we talked about in class are shown in this movie. Going into this movie I didn’t think that I would like it, but after watching it I can really see what my teacher is talking about. There are tons of theories and the kids in this movie do a ton of crazy stuff that makes my childhood look pretty boring. Some of the theories in this movie include the labeling theory, structural theory, social disorganized theory, strain theory, and more. One of these theories that we talked about in class is the labeling theory. This theory is when you give a label to someone so much that even they start to believe it. Gordie’s dad is a big culprit of this theory for a number of reasons. First of all, he kept giving his son the label of a loser and somebody that just isn’t going to make it. And sure enough, Gorgie eventually started to believe it. I saw this theory in my high school a lot because I was in a very small town, so everyone knew your parents. If your parents were bad, then people automatically assumed that you were going to be bad. The labeling theory is also used several other times throughout the movie as well. An example would be when Teddy is labeled as crazy. Teddy is labeled crazy because his dad tortures him and does a lot of bad things to him behind closed doors. What the people labeling him don’t realize is that just because your parents are crazy or have issues, doesn’t mean that you are the same way or will even turn out that way. Now sure, Teddy might of tried to get a little too close to a train, but that doesn’t exactly mean that he’s crazy. This movie relates to not only juvenile delinquency, but I think that it also relates to today’s society. I can’t count the number of times I’ve seen the labeling theory used like it was used in this movie. Several of the kids in my high school were labeled by people who knew very little about them, but knew something that wasn’t good. Another one of the many theories in Stand by Me is the social control theory. The parents in this movie are pretty sub-par to say the least, and aren’t very involved in their kid’s lives. The whole movie is based around this group of kids who find a dead body and decide to take it into their own hands by finding the murderer, instead of just telling the police. That alone shows the social control theory because if the parents were even a little more involved in their kid’s lives then they would figure out the delinquent behavior that they are doing and put a stop to it. Instead, they are oblivious to all the delinquent acts their kids are doing, which is what we see in society today a lot. Just like we learned in class, the more involved the parents are in their kids life, the less chance the kid has to commit these delinquent acts. Especially ones like the delinquent acts shown in this movie, things that kids at that age have no business doing. I saw the structural theory in the movie Stand by Me as well. The kids in this movie grew a lot closer to each other while doing these delinquent acts because they needed a relationship with someone. Not a romantic relationship, but a relationship in which they felt like someone truly had their back. They couldn’t get it with their lives at home, so they tried to find it in other ways. This happens a lot in today’s society, and is the main reason why we have gangs. Kids join gangs for very similar reasons to why the kids in this movie did the delinquent acts. They want to feel accepted and if they aren’t getting accepted at home or don’t feel loved at home then they will seek other ways to get it. Instead of the several different delinquent acts that the kids in this movie did, the kids in gangs today will commit murders and felonies. -BuffaloChickenDip007
I like how you related the kids and their group to gangs that we have today because they do seek a relationship with people that they don’t have at home. I didn't see that with the older group of boys because Ace the kid incharge seemed more demanding and the others had no say. Also, how you mentioned that if kids parents more were involved in their lives and cared, there wouldn’t be this much delinquency. Even in the movie Chris mentions that he wishes he was Gordies dad so he would go to the special classes so he couldn’t become someone in life. Chris noticed that Gordies parents didn’t care anymore. I think that is a good reason shaping delinquency starts with parents. taco007
The movie Stand by Me was a very exciting and fun movie to watch. While watching this movie I noticed that there were many times that labeling theory was being used. Labeling theory is when someone labels you as an individual as a certain type of person. For instance, when Gordie’s father was asking why he hangs out with the people he calls friends. He called Chris Chambers a thief for stealing money, even though he did not know that Chris had given it back because he felt guilty. So Chris Chambers was from there on out a thief in the towns folks eyes. The neutralization theory was shown here when Chris Chambers tried to give back the money that he stole. Chris knew that what he had done was wrong and he felt ashamed for committing a criminal act so he thought it would be better for him to return the money. Another example of labeling theory would be when the boys found the dead body that they had been looking for and Gorgie was crying next to Chris Chambers about how he is no good and that his father hates him. He has been labeled by his father as a no good son and that he should have been the one that died, not his brother. Gordie's father told him that it should have been him in the casket and that his brother should be the one who is still alive. Gordie has been labeled as a bad son by his father for so long that he has convinced himself that he is a terrible son and that his father hates him. He also does not believe that he can ever achieve anything amazing in life because his father never believed in him or looked at Gordie as anything special. In the end, Gordie gets rid of this negative label that his father placed on him. Gordie became a writer because he always loved writing and did not allow what his father said determine how successful he would become in the future. Another theory that was noticeable throughout the film was social conflict theory. Whenever people would talk about Teddy and how his father burned his ear, they would call his father crazy. Not only would they call the father crazy but they would call Teddy crazy as well. Teddy never really had a proper father figure and this caused him to commit delinquent actions throughout his childhood and it ended up impacting him later on in life as well. Teddy ended up going away to jail at one point. Since he never had a mentally healthy father figure, Teddy never really had someone to tell him no, so that is why he possibly committed some delinquent acts. Chris did not have a very supporting father to look up too either. Chris’s father was a drunk jerk for a father and often time would be abusive and beat Chris for no reason at all. Since Chris’s father was always drunk and abusive, he was never able to tell Chris right from wrong to the extent of a normal child. This is why Chris committed delinquent acts like stealing money and his fathers firearm. Vernon’s family life never really seemed to be all that bad. It seemed like his family loved and cared for him more than any of the other boys in the group. Gordie did not have a father who enjoyed being in his presence. His father like his brother more than Gordie and made it obvious many times throughout the movie that he was unwanted. This in my opinion is the reason to why Gordie ever committed any delinquent acts throughout his childhood. Another theory that was shown in the movie was differential association theory. Differential association theory was shown by Ace and his group of thug friends. The town didn’t like them and labeled them as the town’s gang. I personally think that since the town did not like them and labeled them as delinquents and troublemakers, that they felt like they had to live up to and act like their label in which they were given. Strain theory was also shown in the movie. For example, the town’s people thought badly about Chris’s father and Teddy’s father, so they think that Chris and Teddy are both trouble makers and will turn out just like their old men. -KiiNG007
“Stand by Me” is a movie that was written by Stephen King and directed by Rob Reiner. Through analysis of the movie, I have spotted several applications to delinquency theories in the different scenes. One of the main theories that I noticed was labeling theory. What this particular theory hypotheses is that when an authority figure or a person of significance n a child’s life calls them a certain word, then that child will eventually assimilate into that identity. In “Stand by Me,” Gordie’s father told Gordie that he was no good and he eventually started to believe it; that same authority figure labeled Chris as a thief after he had stolen some milk money. Chris attempted to rid himself of the label by attempting to return the milk money, but he was already given a negative label that is immensely difficult to rid oneself of. Chris eventually proved that it is always possible to get rid of a negative label. Everyone thought he was not going to do anything with his life and he will always cause trouble. When he grew to adulthood he became a lawyer and proved everyone wrong. When it comes to the labeling theory, the things we say to people can shape the life of someone in a way that we never meant to affect them. During Denny’s funeral, Gordie’s father said that it should of been Gordie and eventually Gordie started feeling guilty and he began believing that it should of been him who died in the accident.
Social control theory is when delinquency happens when there is a weakened commitment that has to do with family, peers, and school. Everyone has the potential to become a delinquent but most people are controlled by their bonds to society. After Denny died, Gordie’s parents became emotionally distant and obviously depressed. Gordie’s father treated him differently compared to how he had treated Denny in the past. His father never gave Gordie any attention; Gordie called out to his mother and she could hear him but she would never acknowledge him. His father is the obvious weakened commitment in the film because he never gave Gordie any attention or compassion. Even though Gordie did not participate in delinquent behavior, the experiences that he had been through with Denny’s death and his parent’s estrangement influenced him to participate in delinquent behavior even though he was not previously inclined to do so. Chris’s father had a drinking problem and he was abusive, and his older brother was also abusive. The film also never showed Chris having a mother in the picture. Chris stole milk money and he also took his father’s gun. Chris did not have an obvious influence to look to as a role model and that, as well as the weakened commitment from his father, could easily be factors in the reasoning behind why Chris is committing delinquent acts. This could also be the reason on why Ace commits delinquent acts because of the effect his father also had on him. Teddy’s father was also immensely abusive. He almost burnt Teddy’s ear off with a stove; because of this his father also lives in a mental institution. His father was mean to him and that is the weekend commitment in this case. When Teddy got older he spent some time in jail and because he never had a good father figure, this could of contributed to that. Out of all of the boys, Vernon seemed to have the best family structure. His parents seemed to care about him and he never really did anything bad. Since he had a family structure, this could of been the reason on why he committed any obvious delinquent acts. Ran out of characters, part 2 in reply. -CAPMARVEL007
Part 2 Differential association theory was also shown in the movie. There was a group of older boys that were essentially the towns gang. The leader of the group was Ace’s brother. The group of older boys did delinquent behavior that was learned from each other as they spend a lot of time together. The older group was always bullying the younger group and always seemed to enjoy performing delinquent actions. Strain theory is also shown and this is when social structures in the society may pressure people to do crime. The town did not like the group of older boys and that may pressure them to live up to the label that was given to them. Neutralization theory was shown when Chris stole the milk money. He tried to lessen the impact of his behavior by doing the right thing and returning it but in the end someone stole it from him in the midst of him attempting to return it and people still believed it was him who ended up spending the money. These are some of the many examples of the theories we have studied in class that I spotted throughout the movie, “Stand by Me.” -CAPMARVEL007
For the majority of this post I will be applying the labeling theory, mostly because it is my favorite, and because it’s the one theory that really applies the most here. The labeling theory applies to all four of the boys. Gordie’s dad labels him as a delinquent because of who he chooses to be friends with. According to his dad, Gordie is a thief because his friend Chris is a thief. The only reason the movie gives that Chris is a thief is because he stole the milk money from school. We, or at least I, do not know why he stole the milk money, but because he did so he is now labeled as a thief. The labeling theory also applies when Teddy is labeled as crazy by the junkyard owner because his dad in a mental health facility. His dad stormed the beach at Normandy, and should be labeled as a hero, but because of issues (likely PTSD) he is instead labeled as looney. Then we have Gordy; people expect him to be good at sports and just an all around great guy because that’s how his brother was, but instead he’s not into sports, and he hangs around with kids who are supposedly “bad” for him. His dad has labeled him, even if neither realize it. -Redranger007
At the beginning of the film, “Stand by me”, the narrator describes each characters background and gets the audience caught up on who they are. One of these characters who has a tough childhood is Teddy. He is described as crazy by the narrator. This is only one scene into the movie and already you see part of the labeling theory take place. The narrator is “Gordy” and he is the friend in the group that is a good writer and is thought to be smart so it could potentially have a lasting effect when he labels Teddy, Gordy also says that says that Teddy is probably going nowhere in life because of the bond he has with his father who was fit with rage. He once held Teddy’s ear to a hot stove even. This shows Teddy torture techniques that he can pick up and learn how to harm others. Another example of the labeling theory is when the man who owns the junkyard tells Teddy that he is messed up just for the simple fact alone that his dad is crazy. By saying this, the junkyard owner is showing how he assumes that since Teddy’s father is crazy, Teddy is automatically crazy without any other evidence to back it up. A third example of the labeling theory occurred when Chris was talking about how a lady automatically accused him of a crime because of both his past and his brother’s reputation. This lady was going to say that Chris was in trouble, regardless of if he actually did the crime or not, and even if he was truly sorry. Also even Chris’ best friend labeled him as a kid who would be in trouble just because of his family and he says this in the opening scene when Gordy is narrating. You later see this having an effect on Chris because they start talking about school on the way to see the dead body and Chris is automatically assuming that wood shop will be the types of classes he will be in because he isn’t as smart as Gordy and he is already willing to settle. All of these examples above have to do with the Labeling Theory and there are in full display throughout this movie and they are very accurate with how we are often treating people who don’t always fit into social norms. Another major theory that stood out to me was Social control theory, it is when delinquency happens when there is a weakened commitment that has to do with family, peers, and school. After Gordie's brother died, his parents were kind of emotionally distant. Gordy’s father treated him differently compared to Gordy’s brother. The father never gave him any attention. He called out to his mother and she could hear him but she never acknowledge him. His father is the weakened commitment because he never gave Gordie any attention or compassion during the film. The thing that I thought was ironic was when his dad asked him why can’t he having normal friends. I found that ironic because he is almost pushed into having friends like this to almost get attention from people because he is getting at home. The group of older boys did delinquent behavior that was learned from each other because they spend a lot of time together. The older group was always mean to the younger group and they always enjoyed doing doing delinquent actions. Strain theory is also shown and this is when social structures in the society may pressure people to do crime. The town did not like the group of older boys and that may pressure them to live up to the label that was given to them. The Final theory I could think of would be Neutralization Theory and it occurs when, instead of reporting a know location of a body to the local police, or their parents. Over all this was a great movie to watch especially for a juvenile delinquency class. It shows all of these important theories that we are supposed to remember and learn in a entertain yet real scenario. I thought it was a great way to learn these theories because you can always keep the theories matched up with cerian scenes in the movie. RHB007
You are very right and seeing that within the first scene we are seeing this labeling theory go into action and not even by the characters yet. The narrator is really where it all starts to take effect by describing each one of these kids. It's also interesting to hear gordy describe chris as the one to make trouble just solely based off his family's reputation. Later in the movie we see this take into effect when Gordy already knows that Chris took the milk money. Another thing that made me sad with chris is him believing his fate of being a nobody and doing labor work the rest of his life because of his “label”. My favorite thing about chris is he grew up and became a lawyer and threw away that label that he was given as a child. You can see a lot of these theories can be related with family problems and you hit it spot on by mentioning that Gordy’s father is the weekend commitment because he never showed Gordy any love, especially when his older brother died in a car accident. It got way worse for gordy and it's sad to see that no love is going towards him even at the end of the movie. -hollywood007
In the movie “Stand By Me” a group of four kids around the age of twelve and thirteen experience different types of situations going on in their families and are influenced by it to behave the way they do. At the the beginning of the movie it shows that the kids smoking and in a tree house. You can see how they are still kids and have a place to gather and talk but smoking in private is something that they learned. Which would probably be more influential by the older group of boys or family. Since the movie is narrated by Gordie, one of the kids in the group. He introduces his friends by what most people think of them like the labels put on them. The town the kids live in had about 2,000 people so it was easy to have a label right away about anything. When Teddy another kid in the group was mentioned his label was that he would probably be nothing in life and that his dad was crazy, that he almost burned off his ear. Later on, in the movie Teddy gets provoked by the owner of the junk yard because of the label on his family. Towards the end of the movie, it mentions what happens when they are older. Once graduating high school, he tried to be in the military but it didn’t work out for him so he was in and out of jail. Like we learned in class, when people of higher authority put a label on someone else and it impacts so deeply the person lives that lifestyle. Also, at the beginning Gordie mentions his best friend Chris that is the leader of the group. His label is that he is a thief because he stole milk money, is from a bad family and that most likely he will also end up the same way as them. This is something that everyone knows and it’s something at a twelve year old has to live with. That would be considered a result of shaping delinquency because of personal problems at home. There is also parent controls that shape delinquency, that was more related to Gordie becauses of his brothers death. His mother would ignore him and his dad made him feel as if he didn’t meet the expectations like his brother. It made him feel like he should have been the one that died instead of his brother. Throughout the movie, when they finally got to the dead body. The older group of boys tried threatening them to claim the body and Gordie because he was feeling like he had nothing to lose, he pulls out a gun. Which is one reason for juvenile delinquency they feel like they have nothing to lose because of a situation in their life so they take control of certain things that could go wrong and end up in jail. A lot of the labels that Gordies friends have is because of their family and the lifestyle they have. Like, Chris when he took the lunch money they automatically suspended him because they could suspect it from someone like him because of him family. Also, something that influences delinquency is peers like Teddy always seem to rub of on the rest to follow what he does even though he doesn't make intelligent decisions. That could be because of his being irrational or something biological. For example, when teddy tried to dodge the train just for fun, that would mostly be irrational. Another example of peers being a reason of shaping delinquency is when the older group of boys are in the car and Ace controls the other guys in playing baseball with the mail boxes. At the end of the movie, Gordie says that even though Chris had a tough life and their friendship wasn’t the same when they got older, Chris was able to leave that type of life and become a lawyer. The life of delinquency didn't follow him just because he was kill but because he tried helping. There a juveniles that are able to leave crime in the past and some that don’t. I feel like that explains the free will that delinquency talks about. taco007
There were many theories that played a big role in this movie. One of the major theories happening in this movie is Labeling Theory. Labeling Theory is very simple. It is when someone or a group of people are called something which then gives them a label that everyone looks at. There are multiple examples in this movie. One example is Gordy's father calling Chris a thief because he stole milk money. This is also a label that many people believed based on his family background. Even though Chris tried to return the money he was still given this label. Another example is when Gordies father told him you are no good and Gordy starts to believe it because he is a young child and is influenced more by what his parents think than anyone else. Another big example is when they are at the junkyard and the owner calls Teddy a looney solely based off what he thinks of Teddy's father and there is not even evidence to back up that Teddy is a looney. Another big theory that is shown in this film is Social Disorganization theory. Which basically means that the community that they are placed in has no social control over them which in turn allows them to engage in illegal behavior. This is shown by it being a small town so there will be a very low number of police patrolling the area. One of the things they did in town was shoot off a gun. Now the farther away they get from town, in the forest, the more crimes or illegal acts that they commit. One major one being is that they are only 12 and are smoking cigarettes which is obviously not legal for there age. Another one is when they trespass a junkyard. They didnt do anything incriminating to the yard but they did disobey trespassing orders. Other big scenes showing this theory is watching the high schoolers. For one they are smoking and drinking underage as well as driving under the influence. They also damage peoples property in the game of “baseball” when they smash people's mailboxes. These things are happening when they drive farther out of town. Obviously if the town had more control they would be more likely to get caught. We see this alot in our today's society as well there are many more cops in peoria than in washington. So a lot more people will get caught in certain situations in peoria. Another theory that was touched upon was the neutralization theory. Which basically states someone's beliefs about something would be pushed for a moment so they may freely engage in that behavior. I saw this a lot in Gordy because he came from a home that was stable and had an amazing big brother that taught him right from wrong and was always there for him. Gordy is a little hesitant in some situations in the movie and always mentions about going back home throughout the movie but countines on with journey for his own curiosity. You can also see this in Vern because he is very timid and scared about doing a lot of the things in the film such as trespassing. This can also be seen as a group when the kids push aside what consequences they will get from their parents because people think that if they bring home the body people will praise them. They are hoping that the achcienvemnt will cover up the consequences. The last theory that is shown in this film is the differential opportunity/association theory. Which basically is when people learn from other others how to pursue criminal careers to achieve some goal that they have. This is seen in movie when the kids come together and choose to see a dead body which in turn shows us that they wouldn't do this by themselves. This is shown throughout the their journey when they smoke cigs together, walk on the train track, or trespass. They are doing this to achieve one goal which is finding the body and become famous. Watching this movie really showed me how these theories can impact someone on a day to day basis. Also makes me curious as to how many times I have seen this in my day to day life and just didn't notice it at the moment. -hollywood007
The movie “Stand by Me” is about four kids growing up and finding their ways through different problems in their life. In the movie there are multiple theories that are shown in the movie that we have talked about in class. One of those theories is the labeling theory. That is when someone gives somebody a label of how they are and then the person actually becomes that label. In the beginning you can tell that one of the boys does not have a good relationship with his father. Gordy's father throughout the movie would give him the label of being basically a nobody and that he would never accomplish anything. After awhile you can see in the movie that Gordy actually starts to believe the negative things that his dad was saying. Labeling theory is shown again when Teddie was called retarded because of the crazy way that his dad was acting. This as shows labeling theory because he Teddie is being called a name just because of the way that his father was acting. Also in the movie during Gordie's brothered funeral Gordie's father was saying how it should have been him instead of his brother. In the movie Gordie talks about how he feels like it was his fault and starts to believe that it really should have been him. This movie shows how impressionable young kid can be. Gordie looks up to his father and him hearing that his own father wished he died instead of his brother can be very harmful to the kids self esteem and relationship with his father. Another example of labeling theory is when Chris was accused of the by the women of the things that he did before and of the thing that his brother did. This shows how she is judging him over the way she feels the kind of person his brother is. Labeling theory is used again when Gordie father called his friends thieves. Social control theory is another theory that we have talked about in class and is also displayed in the movie. In the movie the kids find a dead body and are doing a bunch of delinquent acts. The reason why I believe you see social control theory in the monies I'd because of the lack of attention you the the parents give the kids. If the kids got more attention from their parents at home they probably would not be the things that they do in the movie. Kids need more attention at home and figure they can look up to to tell them right from wrong. In the movie you can also see signs of strain theory being used. I believe that there is strain theory because the kids did not live in the best neighborhood. They kids have to go through all the thing that come with not living in the best community. Differential association theory is another theory that is shown in the movie. You can see differential association theory when they town group of delinquents are all doing juvenile acts. In the movie you can tell that they learned all the things they know from each other and that's what happens when you spend a lot of time with someone who is doing a number of crimes. Over the course of being together a a young kid could see what their friend is doing and what do do the same to make them feel cool or just apart of the group. Social disorganization theory is in this movie as well. You can see this theory by the way that is is a small town ik now the movie. There are not a lot of police around that can be watching the kids as they just roam the streets. One of the last theories that I found in the movie is neutralization theory. This theory is shown towards the beginning of the movie when they did go looking for the body. I believe that that is a sign of the neutralization theory because the kids know they can get in trouble but do it anyway because they knew that they would not get caught. This movie has multiple theories that we have discussed in class. It shows the life of kids growing up in a small down and displays the theories perfectly throughout the movie. ~hoop007
I had never actually sat down and watched this movie all the way through, I’m happy I did this weekend though! So many things can be learned from this movie. At the very beginning of Stand by Me the first theory I thought of was the Labeling theory. The labeling theory is the theory of how the self-identity and behavior of individuals may be determined or influenced by the terms used to describe or classify them. I first noticed this theory when Gordy described Teddy as not having much of a chance in life due to his dad, Chris coming from a bad family so everyone knew he’d turn out bad too. By Gordy telling us their backgrounds and that they would amount to nothing just like their fathers and/or families, gordy and everyone else in town has already put a label on them. Gordy’s father labeled Chris as a thief because he stole the milk money buy Chris actually felt so bad he tried to return it, it just never made it back. So he still got labeled as a thief. Gordy also got labeled during this movie too. At gordy’s older brothers funeral his father leaned it and said “why couldn’t it have been you” and gordy started to feel guilty and be actually started to believe that he should have been him too! Although every thing in this movie gave Gordy the right to act out and be just like Teddy and Chris but he did not. No one showed Gordy any attention in this film and when they did they said she should be more like his older brother! Yet gordy veered away from the delinquent acts to a certain extent. As for Chris he didn’t really have anyone to look up to or to even be an older figure to him so maybe that is why he decided to steal? This could also by why Teddy acts out too! His father was very abusive, and he lives in a mental institution. At the end of the movie Gordy states that Teddy spent some time in and out of jail and maybe that is because he didn’t have a father figure to live up to too. All these boys were the same in certain areas, Gordy just didn’t act out as much as the others. Another theory I came across was social disorganization. All these kids lived in a small town where there wasn’t very many people. example, when they climbed over the fence and the older man said “I know all your dads, they’ll be getting a call from me” then he preceded to tell them how he knew all their names. Another example is the kids smoking cigarettes not really sure why they all started doing this but Chris states that he stole them from his father so we know his father smokes and the older teenagers in the movie smoke too so they could be looking up to them even if they are bully’s and what not. The older teens drank while they drove, smashed mailboxes, and bullied the younger ones. It would not be long before the little ones started doing that too. The last theory I found was differential association and opportunity. When Gordy, Chris, Teddy, and Vern got together they all decided to do things that they might now have if they weren’t together. They all smoked together, there wasn’t one scene where just one of them smoked alone, they lied to their parents about where they were going, they all walked on the train tracks together after one of the kids told them it was the only quick way, after finding the body they were all eager to find they decided to call it in anonymous and get no credit for it just because gordy said it was not right, so these kids follow one another no matter what. Due to the bond all these kids have with one another is special for example when Teddy decided to stand in front of the train and Chris makes a fast decision and pulls him away, or when Gordy stalks down about his stories and Chris, Teddy, and Vern all love to hear his stories. All these boys from all different families come together and become friends and they all define different ways apart but together they come one. -freckles007
The movie “Stand By Me” showed a lot of theories that we discussed in class. In the movie Vern had discover that a star her had been killed near their homes. Vern decides to tell everyone else and they all decide to go see the body by walking there. Vern knew where the body was because he over heard the two body Billy and Charlie discussing it. On the the way to the body they learn a lot about themselves and also they show the theories in several ways. The first label that I saw in the movie was future labeling which was a dead body. They quickly said that once they found the body they were going to be on the news after they told everyone. Future labeling basically means when you label something that think might happen or put a label on a person if you think the label will fit them in the future. There was a lot of primary deviance being shown also. The boys showed primary deviance towards Vern in serval ways. Teddy always had something negative to say to Vern about his appearance. Also there was a lot of primary deviance shown against each other not just Vern. Primary deviance means people who see themselves and are seen by others also if negative labels are applied its part of the persons identity. Degradation ceremony was also shown in the movie and it means when you degrade someone into the label that you are putting on them. Another way primary deviance was shown in the movie is when Chris talks to Gordie in the woods about his teacher labeling him something that he isn’t. Chris was very hurt about being labeled by his teacher and peers. Informal labeling was another theory that was shown several times in the movie. Informal labeling basically means being labeled by parents, teachers or your peers. The boys showed informal labeling a lot throughout the movie by labeling each other with positive and negative labels. Also informal labeling was shown with not just the main characters but the other people in the movie. Gordie’s father showed informal labeling by labeling him before and after his brother died. Gordie’s father would say negative things to him that put so many labels on him. Gordie didn’t take his father labeling him well at all throughout the movie. Towards the end of the movie Gordie has a breakdown to his friend Chris about the labels that his father calls him. Basically Gordies father shows primary deviance and informal labeling throughout the movie towards Gordie. Gordie’s father showed both when his farther out a label on his friends. Gordie was a quiet boy that likes to tell stores to his friends. All of Gordie’s friends was dealing with being labeled in their own ways. His friend Chris labeled his own father as a drunk. Teddy deals with labeling because of him being burned and also being a joker. Vern was always labeled because of his weight and was timid. Informal labeling was also shown in the movie when Gordie tells the other boys a story about David Hogan. Which was about an overweight boy who is always teased and bullied. Informal labeling is being shown when Hogan enters the pie-eating contest and everybody including the host laughs and talks about him in a negative way. Also I think degradation ceremony was being used because everyone was degrading him into the label of being fat. David Hogan realizes it and want revenge. Differential association was shown in several ways. The group of boys was showed differential association because they were showing delinquent behavior throughout the whole movie when they started walking to find the body and before when they caught in the mans gate. They also all learned from each other in so many ways in the movie because they are all different. They also all leaned criminal techniques from each other. Which shows what differential association means. All four boys also Billy and Charlie showed the neutralization theory. Both of them had beliefs that allowed them to show delinquent acts based off one of their beliefs. -SR
After watching the movie Stand By Me, I am more aware of and able to identify some of the major theories within Juvenile Delinquency. The first theory that I noticed was labeling theory. You notice how much it impacts kids lives and how it impacted Gordie. Labeling and such done by people lower or equal to you doesn’t affect you nearly as bad as labeling done by a role model, like a parent, close friend, or significant other. When we are given names and labels by people we look up to, we tend to accept that label, and accept the role of that label. You can clearly see this through Gordie and his dads relationship early on. Living in a small community like I do, you can get labeled for nearly anything. My community has a strong presence of a very serious and strict religious group, so not being incorporated within the religion as is can give you a label. Labeling continues with the choices you make and what is told and heard around the community. How your parents are and how you act can be labeled because it's different from how others in the community act and carry themselves. How you dress can also give them a reason to label you because there are strict rules for men and women and children within the religion, and showing too much skin is seen as sick and label worthy. Social Control Theory also makes a prevalent appearance throughout the movie, and I can find it strongest just based in the lack of sufficient care and interest that the parents give to their kids. Following the behavior and choices of the kids throughout the movie, it is clear to me that their parents didn’t take the steps needed to inform their kids on how to properly act or take action in the event of a major problem, in this case, finding a dead body. Not only did the kids avoid the police, who should have been contacted from the start, but they partook in other acts that would be categorized as delinquent. Structure Theory made a strong appearance as well. You see it through the little gang like atmosphere these kids enter with each other. Lacking acceptance from their primary caretakers, meaning their parents, they are forced to build stronger relationships with each other. They build these bonds throughout the movie with the decisions they make, partaking in delinquent acts with each other. I find it interesting that by following this theory in this atmosphere and in this way within the movie, the kids are doing something that most would categorize as unsafe, but by doing the acts they do, they make each other feel safer because of the bonds they are building with their friends. Differential Association Theory was incorporated within the movie and seen through the towns “gang” like group of kids. Through differential association theory, if you are given a label and it sticks with you, you must live up to that expectation to make yourself feel better. So within the movie, the more people the feared the “gang” the better. If the kids are given names and treated differently when young, that behavior is to be expected when they age, and the expected behavior will age with the kids. For example, if you label a person of the “gang” a thief, and he assumes the roll, he could start by stealing small items, like items from your yard, balls, toys, bikes, and so on. But as the kid ages, and the behavior ages, the fear from the public will increase. If I am 13 and I steal a bike, that is wrong of me to do, but you shouldn’t feel threatened because it was just a bike. But when I’m 17, and I decide to hotwire and steal your car, your fear of me will increase due to my aggressive behavior increasing, and your fear is what I feed on because I was given that label of “gang member” early on and I want to live up to that expectation. Overall, Stand By Me is a very funny movie about adventure and friendship, with themes that scream Juvenile Delinquency and the theories that are attached with Juvenile Delinquency. -Jar007
In the movie, Stand By Me, it shows a lot of the same theories we learn about, and can see. It shows the labeling theory, social control theory, and the differential association theory as well. The labeling theory was shown an little more than the others. The labeling theory is labeling someone, and over time they begin to accept and become that label they were given. Gordie’s father told Gordie he was up to no good, and called Chris a thief, and they eventually started to believe that’s what/how they were. Because Chris was called a thief and believed it, he was also accused of a crime he didn’t commit, just because him and his brother’s past of stealing. The structural theory is also shown by how all of these kids are friends, because of the acts they cause. They needed a friend or at least someone to be there. So they all became friends by committing these delinquent acts, instead of being just kids who are friends that run around outside like when I grew up. The differential association theory is shown by how some of the kids pick up smoking. They see their parents, and older siblings smoke, so they learned how to do the same thing, thinking it’s not a big deal. The social control theory is shown by how the kids find a dead body in the woods. Instead of going to the police like kids shohkd do, they decide to try to take this crime into their own hands. You can see here how their parents are barely involved in what they are doing, and obviously not teaching them good life lessons. Which is more common than it should be in today’s society. The book says the less kids are to commit an act of delinquency if their parents are around more, and can put a stop to their behavior or not. Which they obviously are not doing. Many more of the theories we talk about were shown, but these are just a few of the main ones shown in juvenile delinquency. Stlblues007
The movie Stand By Me is a great movie. Stand by me shows five different theories within the movie. The five theories are the three structural strain theories (social disorganized theory, strain theory, and cultural deviance theory), the neutralization theory, the social control theory, the labeling theory and the social conflict theory. Under the structural strain theory the social disorganization theory is the inability of a community to exert social control allows youths the freedom to engage in illegal behavior. Many times in the movie the parents of the four boys did not really care about them. Chris, the leader of the friend group’s father is a drunk. In the beginning it say that everyone knows that he is not going to amount it anything. Ever since Gordie’s brother died his mother just stares off into space and his father just acts like he has no emotion and tries to tell Gordie he needs friends like his brother’s. Ted’s mother is a prostitute. She is never home. His father however in the mental hospital, so he has anyone really to look out for him. Lastly, Vern his brother is in the towns gang with Chris’s older brother. With the neglect the families showed towards the boys it leads to the deviant behavior that they show and do in the movie. The next one is the strain theory, it links delinquency to the strain of being locked out of the economic mainstream, thus creating the anger and frustration that leads to delinquent acts. Ted gets made fun of because his father is in the mental hospital. Chris steals the milk money because he just can. At the end of the movie he says that he can not get out of the town, Gordie says that he can do whatever he wants to do. Chris ended up getting out of the town and becoming a lawyer, proving everyone wrong that said he would not amount to anything like the rest of his family. The cultural deviance theory combines elements of both strain and social disorganization. According to this view, because of strain and social isolation, a unique lower class culture develops in disorganized neighborhoods. The subcultures maintain a unique set of beliefs and values that are in conflict with normal social norms. The boys grew up with nothing having to respect others or having to what they are told. I was always told to respect your elders. After jumping the fence at the junkyard the boys were nothing but rude and disrespectful to the man. That is normal for them but not to others. The older gentleman even told the boys to watch their mouths and that he was going to call their father’s except Ted’s. jw007 part one
The neutralization theory is a set of attitudes or beliefs that allow would-be delinquents to negate any moral apprehension they may have about committing crime so that they may freely engage in antisocial behavior without regret. The different things that people said to the boys had an impact on the choices and the decisions that each one of them made. People said that Chris would not do anything and live the life of crime but he ended up being a lawyer. People told Ted that he was screwed up and would be just like his father. He however was not as crazy as his father but he did end up being a criminal. Gordy's father told him that he should of died instead of his brother. The social control theory maintains that everyone has the potential to become a delinquent but that most adolescents are controlled by their bonds to society. Like i mentioned before on how the boys ended up. The boys got labels put on them when they were kids but some chose to reject the label and change their life around. The labeling theory is also known as the social reaction theory. Basically the theory is how society creates deviance through a system of social control agencies that designate certain individuals as delinquent, therefore stigmatizing youth and encourage them to accept this negative personal identity. Chris got labeled as a thief because of stealing the milk money. Ted got labeled as a lunatic because of his father. Lastly, the social conflict theory asserts that society is in a state of constant internal conflict, and focuses on the role of government and social institutions as mechanisms for social control. Ted tried to kill himself at the train tracks trying to ‘‘dodge’’ the train. Gordie has a hard time seeing Ray’s body it takes him back to his brother when he died and how his father hates him. He is left feeling all alone and that his family doesn't like him. Ted got really emotional when the guy at the junkyard told Ted about his father. His father was not a good man by any means but he still cares about him . jw007 part two
I agree with you about their parents. I feel like they did not care too much about the boys either. None of their parents were good influences no way. They all had something going on that were not good reflections onto their children. With them being boys and coming from a small town like one they were from, what they needed was role models. Their older brothers being in the towns gang did not make it any better. Seeing their older siblings in gangs and watching them do the bad things they did, could have influenced them to be just like them. -pieface007
Continued... The lack of attention could have caused the way the boys acted. Although their parents were messed up, Chris and Gordy turned out pretty good. It is good that the two of them did not let what others said to them and labeled them as, stop them from achieving their goals and proving everyone wrong. I also agree with wat you said about respecting their elders. Even though Teddy was wrong for disrespecting the man, the man was saying disrespectful things to him as well. You do not say stuff about ones loved ones and think they will not be upset about it. The junk yard man crossed the line as well. -pieface007
PART ONE: At the beginning of the movie, you can see a glimpse into all of the children’s lives at some point. Gordie is quiet and smart but someone being neglected due to the passing of his older sibling and his parents mourning that, his parents also are not fond of his friend group, wishing he had more friends similar to Gordie’s older brother Denny. Chris, comes from a family of just alcoholics and criminals. Teddy, is completely unstable and prone to outbursts. Teddy’s father and him have a horrible relationship which contributes to him being unstable. He has been burned and physically scarred by his mentally ill father. Vern is overweight and timid and seems to get picked on because of being that. Vern overheard his older brother billy discussing a child named ray brower who went missing and is presumed as dead. Gordie, chris, teddy and vern decide to go out and try to find this kid’s body in hopes of becoming local heroes. Chris can be seen as the leader of the group. As they scavenge for money along the tracks and sit down, a train can be seen coming. As they all get up to get off of the tracks, Teddy stops and stays standing saying that he is going to dodge the train. The three plead for teddy to come off the tracks and he neglects to listen, causing chris to come up and physically pull him from the tracks saving his life. The boys come across a bridge at a point in the movie and not knowing when the next train is due, they decide to cross the tracks. Gordie periodically, checking the rails to see if he can feel movement. Coming over nearly half the bridge, he feels it and turns to see a train coming, he yells train and they take off running besides Vern, who was crawling becomes completely petrified and curls up and just freezes. Gordie yells at him to get up and the possibility of them dying if he does not, and he aids him up and runs behind him yelling at him the whole way and can be seen approaching the end of the tracks and grabbing vern and jumping off to the side, saving his life in a sense.-notacop007
PART TWO He could have just left him when he curled up. Gordie and chris both spend a time during the movie crying to each other. They have a lot of real moments throughout the movie coming to realizations and truly getting to know and understand each other for who they are. As they come across the boy’s body and Ace’s group with Vern’s brother, come about and want to take claim of finding the body from the boy’s. Ace wants them to hand over the body but chris stands his ground and tells them they are not taking the body. Ace comes walking down with a knife, threatening to kill chris and chris tells him that he will have to kill him first and ace puts a knife tho chris’ throat presumably to slice it and gordie fires the gun off into the air. Then points it at Ace. Ace says, “you going to kill all of us?” as he has a clan with him and gordie says, “no, just you ace”. And Ace’s clan leaves. At the end of the movie after all the boys disperse and call in an anonymous tip to the police, we find out that Vern married out of high school and has four children and works at a local lumberyard as a fork lift driver. Teddy attempted to join the military but was turned down due to having bad eyesight and an ear injury. He actually served time incarcerated and picks up jobs around town that he can. Chris went to college and actually became a lawyer, but was in a restaurant and while in an attempt to break up a fight he was stabbed to death.-notacop007
PART THREE Gordie becomes a successful, published writer. Chris was always the mediator and a leader and attempted to always do right so his death was honestly fitting as bad as it sounds because he died due to his heroic behaviors. Gordie always loved to tell stories and was the narrator so his job is very suiting and teddy behind bars was always a possibility because of the social learning theory aspect. Vern established himself into his own person from this ‘coming of age’ movie. You can see labeling theory because Ace’s clan is known for not being good and they engage in smashing mailboxes and being delinquent. Neutralization theory can be seen because of the boy’s making some choices throughout that they put that it was okay and lessened because of their reasoning for committing certain acts. Differential association can more so be seen from Teddy witnessing his father and following that path due to it being his childhood. -notacop007
Stand by me was one of the best examples of childhood delinquency taking place in older times. It really helps show that different times have the same exact delinquency acts in youthful characters. I was a pretty good kid according to everyone who watched me grow up but these kids on the other hand were the worst of the worst. I had no idea what a cigarette was until i was fourteen years old. I wish I was joking when I say that but i'm not scared to admit that i was a very sheltered child. One of the theories that we have learned about in class is structural functionalism. This theory basically says that kids who are raised around inappropriate behavior such as criminal activity, will grow up performing exactly what they saw a sa child. For example, Vern talks about in the beginning of the movie and throughout how his dad is an alcoholic and doesn't care about his son. This sort of behavior towards a child takes its toll and as we know, Vern isn't the most normal of kids. He has a major hyper activity problem and he is smoking as a juvenile. Not to mention he cusses like a sailor. The transfer of problems from adult to child is a major problem and has been for hundreds of years. Sadly, it just became a subject of study and it has been proven to have a huge effect on a child's success rate and juvenile crime rate. Another problem with these kids is lack of control. For example, when Chris’s dad told him that he wished he had normal friends, Chris began to argue and say that they are normal. Therefore two theories come out of this single scene. The first is the theory of control which juust states that a lack of control in a certain household will more than likely result in delinquent behavior. The other theory is labeling theory. The father labeled his friends as abnormal and thieves. Now it isn't the fact that he called them that, but the fact that he is actually right. People in the town know that these boys are trouble makers which makes them publicly labeled. They have already accepted this label and really don't care, especially Vern. I mean, who goes around town giving their friend a loaded gun and tell them it is unloaded and then proceed to watch them pull the trigger and laugh. While Chris was worried, Vern found it funny that the store owner came outside and saw them and though it was firecrackers. Another scene that displayed labeling theory is the scene where they get caught in the junkyard and beghin scrutinizing the big bad chopper dog. The owner approached them and realized he recognized Teddy. Teddies father had been in Normandy on D-Day and had lost his marbles shortly after returning home which got him sent straight to a nuthouse. Teddy is very passionate about his father and what he did on that day, so any negative remarks made about him triggers Ted instantly. Well the owner of the junkyard was pretty fired up about them being in his lot so he started firing off insults about Teddy's father calling him a lunatic and how he is locked up in a loony house. He labeled teddy's dad as a lunatic and it began to break down Teddy to the point he lashed out and said he was going to kill him. This is a good example of labeling because he said it so many times that Teddy realized he had a point and lashed out in defense of his family and if his friends hadn't been there, he probably would've had a couple juvenile charges brought against him. Not to mention he would also be charged with trespassing and destruction of property. Overall this movie was an excellent film and quite a good laugh but all of that aside, it is one of the best examples of how childhood delinquency begins and how it ends up in older ages. It shows from the earliest onset how kids react to certain obstacles that life throws at them and whether or not they go down a criminal path. GVFF007
Part 1: This movie opened up my eyes to labeling from many different point of views. Chris was labeled from the family he had and from the previous acts of his older brother. He was told what he was going to be and sooner than later he started to believe it. Labeling can be very horrible to a child and it can really make the child turn into a delinquent. When you label a child as a theft or liar they will soon come to a point in life when they will give up in just start doing what you labeled them as because they don’t understand any better and they may feel depressed inside because no matter what they do to change that label people will make them still feel like that because that is the label the child is now stuck with. Chris was labeled and started to believe he wouldn’t make it out of the town he was living in, into his friend Gordie told him he would and he talked positive to him. Chris even had a formal labeling, which is a labeling that comes from school. Even when he tried to return the money that was stolen because he felt bad, a teacher took it and spent it and still told that he took it with, he got in trouble and the school didn’t even bother asking him if he took it because of his label, they figured he did it anyway. The kids were all traveling to see another child dead body but before they went some of them really didn’t like the idea. Neutralization theory is what was used to fix that, the kids that didn’t agree to it was talked into believing they would become heroes if they found the body and that they would get a better label on them. They came up with many good points to lead the others into wanting to go and not thinking about the consequences or regrets. Many cases of Differential Association were going on, the boys were stealing and smoking cigarettes because they had seen their parent’s do it. Also cussing a lot and fighting. Chris even stole his fathers (who was an alcoholic) gun and made Gordie believe he wouldn’t get caught by saying his dad would be so drunk he would think he shot all the bullets out when he was drunk in shooting at the beer cans. The boys mostly inherited interpersonal interactions (which is when you hear cussing and you soon start to do it) and was exposed into violence (when you see fighting then soon you start to do it). Learning is by-product of interaction and most learning occurs within intimate groups, such as criminal learning. Although some differential association may vary in duration, frequency, priority and intensity. Delinquent behavior is a protest against the norms and values of middle – class U.S. culture. Everyone has the potential to become a delinquent but delinquency occurs when the forces that bind adolescents to society are weakened or broken. Gordie wanted Chris to join him in the college prep classes he was going to and Chris didn’t think he could. Soon he developed the elements of the social bond theory, which is the attachment (bond in a friendship) commitment (actually taking it serious) involvement (to be willing to do what it takes) and belief (to believe in the friendship). Gordie was a good friend and he supported Chris which made him want to start doing better. If you have a good influence and somebody that is putting nothing but good labels on you then you will be more willingly to do better things in life and you will feel better about yourself. If you are labeled as someone that’s good, then you will want to start becoming someone that’s good because when people are giving you compliments you feel good and noticed so you are willing to do more to get more of those compliments. Low socioeconomic status (getting bullied, being poor, bad friends, or seeing people with the things that you want) is what makes you go down in life to being a bad person. Good labeling and a social bond will make that bad person want to become a better person. LLTS78007
The movie “Stand by Me” gave good examples of the theories that we have recently been learning about in class. The older teens showed a lot of the neutralization theory; lessening the impact on the mind to do something they should not be doing and have no regret from it. There was a scene when they were hitting people’s mailboxes with a bat and knocked them down, not caring about how those people would feel. I count every time they picked with Chris and the others as an example of the neutralization theory because they knew it was wrong. They still picked with them because they could not do anything about it since they were younger than them. There was also a time when the group of older teens were racing on the street and one of the guys were driving on the wrong side and made a truck that was coming towards them swerve off the road. The guy felt no regret and only cared about winning the race. Another theory that was shown throughout the movie was informal labeling; labels given to you from someone close to you or someone you care about. Gordy’s father said his writings were stupid and a waste of time. This eventually made Gordy think his writings were stupid and not good. His father only cared about his older son playing football. All his attention was on the older the brother. Gordy thought that his father hated him because of the lack of attention he gave him. Chris and Gordy’s brother always told him his writings were good, but it was always the negative responses that stuck in his mind. There was apart in the movie when they were at a junk yard where a man had lived. The junk yard man gave a good example of the degradation ceremony theory when he was talking about Teddy’s father being a loony. Even though Teddy’s father had done some crazy things in his past and was in some facility, does not mean he could not have changed over time. He kept forcing the loony label onto Teddy’s fathers name, reminding him of who his father was. Differential Association, learned behaviors from interacting with delinquency behavior, was best shown through Chris’s family. Even though he was a good person to those around him, his family was not the best. His mother and father did not make the best decisions and it could have corrupted Chris. Everyone thought Chris would be a nobody and turn out just like his parents but instead he later became a part of the criminal justice system. Chris always looked out for his friends when they were younger. He was the peace maker out of the group. Teddy, Chris, and Gordy were also an example of the differential association theory when it came to Vern. Vern was the furthest away from doing any delinquent behavior. His friends convinced him to do things he did not fully want to do. Just like when they were planning to go find the dead body, he did not fully want to go but after they gave him reasons of how their plan would work, he made up his mind to go along. -pieface007
After watching the movie "Stand by Me" I've realized the movie used many theories. All 4 friends come from a family where it's no support system in which way so all they have is each other, and they're willing to do whatever they can to make sure they're all good. Going back to the movie, Gordie Lachance remembers back to an incident where he was twelve involving that friend. His Story. It was just before labor Day weekend 1959 in his hometown, he's just about to enter junior high, he's an insecure young man, feels more invisible at home than usual as it's five months after the tragic death of his older brother Denny, the favored son, who he loved and misses as much as anyone. His parents who just don't understand Gordie's love of writing and storytelling as opposed to Denny's athletic pursuits, still have not gotten over their grief. Gordie spends much time with his three closets same aged friends, who attend school together. Vern Tessio is the slightly dim overweight one, that dimness largely out of naivety. Teddy Duchamp is the crazy one whose father is also crazy albeit violently, even against Teddy. And Chris Chambers, Gordie's Best friend, has in the public mindset a predetermined future as a lowlife, being just in the latest lowlife in the Chambers family. Regardless, Chris acts more as a responsible father figure to Gordie in many ways than Goride's own father. Vern learns from secretly overhearing his older delinquent brother Billy's conversation that he has discovered a dead body in the woods about twenty or thirty miles away, but does not want to do anything with it or tell anyone about it, especially in authority. With Vern telling his three friends, the four believe it is probably Ray Brower, a boy around their age from another town who went missing three days ago while going blueberry picking. Needing to walk there, they decide to go retrieve the body and this become heroes in the process. They devise a plan of attack that will give them about twenty-four hours before their respective families may even realize is that Billy does does eventually tell his group of friends, led by the sadistic Ace Merrill, who has a win at any cost mentality, and such it becomes a race to retrieve the body. But in their physical journey, the four boys also go through an emotional journey about their lives, their friendship and for Goride why he has what becomes an obsession to see that dead body. Throughout the movie Vern kept hesitating to do things, he had a second thought but his friends pumped his head up and explained to him what they weren't supposed to do was ok and we went along with it. Most theories we've learned about in class was used in the movie as well. Dealing with Gordie, Vern, Teddy, and Chris. At the end of the movie all the boys went on to Junior High, years go by without speaking to each other, they separate. Teddy and Vern grew apart from Gordie and Chris, Teddy ends up going to jail, haven't changed since he was a kid, Chris, who was always the peacemaker gets between a fight, trying to break it up ends up getting stabbed in the throat and dies. Chris tried to get into college, but he had his downfall, but that didn't stop him from trying. He became a lawyer. And Gordie gets married, becomes a writer and has kids. At the end Gordie writes "I never had any friends later on like the the ones I had when I was 12. Jesus, does anyone" Which explains no matter what direction his friends went into they will always be his best friends. -dbaby007
At first I wasn't sure that I was going to like the movie but it turned out that I did, this was a good movie and also somewhat sad as well. There were so many theories in the movie that relatable to what we discussed I’m class. First there were so many examples of delinquency with the older boys. First they were drinking and driving and driving very reckless on the highway making the truck veer off the road, Also when drinking and driving they were knocking people's mailbox over. To me this would be considered differential association. I do believe while they were knocking down the mailboxes one of the older boys didn't want to do it but because he was in that group setting and everybody else was drinking and hitting the mailboxes so did he. As we know when you are part of a group that is doing delinquent behavior that you don't do, you then start to learn and micmic what everybody else is doing. The next theory I noticed was the neutralization theory and also a little of the choice theory. I do believe the boys knew going to search for a dead body was a bad idea however they kept telling each other they would become a hero, have their pictures taken, and be on tv etc if they find and report the body. For them the reward of having those things happen to them was well worth the risk that they took. When your that age who doesn't want to be a hero or get recognized for doing the right thing. I also feel like they wanted to take that risk and get acknowledged for doing something good because, they had already been labeled as “bad kids” and they probably believed that to be true since they heard it so much. I really feel bad for all the boys because in their own way their family life isn't the greatest, it's almost as if they are hopeless and have nothing else to look forward to In the beginning when all of the boys were in the treehouse and even after dinner they had to smoke. That exhibits the social learning theory. When the boys had something “nothing life a after dinner smoke” or something to that extent that had amazed me because, that obviously was learned by watching their parents or even their older siblings. When we were at that age we were told smoking isn't good for you. The fact they were doing it like it was normal is what they have been observing. Also, everything was done in the group setting which doesn't make it any better but to them it was okay because they were doing it together. If the parents to me really did care they wouldn't have started smoking and they also wouldn't have done other delinquent behavior The theory I seen the most of would be the labeling theory. They all had some type of label on them that seemed to follow them. When at the junkyard the owner did a good job of showing the labeling theory. With Ted his father is in a mental institution after serving in the war im assuming. Ted then gets the label of crazy, that would explain his actions behind a lot of things that he does. Chris got labeled as a thief due to him stealing the milk money however, because his family background which was already bad it was almost as if he was bound to get labeled. After Gordy’s brother died his family almost didn't have anything to do with him, almost as if they didn't want him anymore. Even at the funeral his father told Gordy it should have been you or something along those lines. Although everybody came from different but similar backgrounds they didn't let that shape and form who they would become in the future. Just because somebody labels you as something or believe you wont be successful you can always prove them wrong. -21Miami007
The movie generally seemed to have been well enjoyed by the class from what we saw on Monday but more importantly the film did have noticeable examples of different kinds of Social Structure Theories. A prime example of Social Disorganization Theory is that we can see a character like Chris come from a more disadvantaged home which in turn leads to him likely internalizing the labels placed on him by most people and then proceeding to do delinquent acts like stealing his father's gun, stealing money from his school (even if he did return it) and setting out to find a corpse with his friends. A prime example of Strain Theory, which is when a societal structure encourages crime, would be potentially in what happened with Chris. Chris was labelled a thief by his school which would then lead to internalization which certainly is not further helped by the fact that he was given three days off of school as a kind of suspension. That suspension likely leads to Chris just being unsupervised for long periods of time and in many cases that may encourage the child to commit crimes during that time especially since they already believe themselves to be a crook. Cultural Deviance Theory states that there is a kind of divide between the social values and beliefs of particular economic classes. For example in the movie we can see Teddy and Chris have an odd relationship where they seem to understand each other a bit better than the other kids. Chris's father is a drunk and Teddy's is insane yet in scenes like the Train Jumping attempt where Teddy plays with his life we can watch as Chris realizes that somebody needs to intervene. In my notes for this class I have written down under Social Structure Theories that "Not all youthful offenders become adult offenders" which is touched on in the film when we see that Chris becomes a lawyer but we also see the downside where it is possible for young delinquents to become criminals in the case of Teddy. In the end of the movie we find out that Teddy has been in and out of jail for much of his adult life though that may very well be because of his family's mental health complications which almost certainly were passed down to him. 1/3
We can see an example of ideas like becoming uncultured in Vern's clear disinterest in wanting to help to find the body because he knows that behavior is frowned upon by society though because of the pressure of his closest friends he participates anyways. An example of Social Control theory is evident in the case of Gordy. He's a good kid with good grades and a decent home life (that has it's own troubles but he isn't abused) yet he does ultimately turn towards delinquent behavior in doing things from trespassing to searching for a corpse to threatening to murder somebody with a stolen gun. Neutralization Theory can oddly enough be seen in the story that Gordy told about Lard ass where Lard ass intentionally eats all the pie he can and then vomits on the nearest person which causes a chain reaction of everybody in the vicinity to vomit but ultimately Lard ass distances himself from the act and enacts neutralization because he believes that all of those folks deserved what they got for being generally mean to him because of his weight. He decides to not empathize with them because of their past actions to him which leads to his deviance. We can also witness things such as Informal Labeling when Gordy's father essentially tells him that Gordy isn't enough or is a failure or a disappointment. We can really notice that Gordy internalizes that and it even haunts him in his nightmares where his father tells him that "it should have been you" in reference to Gordy's beloved brother dying and being buried. Formal labeling can be seen when Chris is labeled a thief by his school and that label spreads out throughout the community to folks such as the junkyard owner, the junkyard owner manages to perfectly describe all of the ascribed labels of the boys which is very interesting if you go back and rewatch that seen where the gate divides the man and the boys. The man acts almost as a representation of society to the boys in my opinion. 2/3
At the beginning of “Stand by me” Eddie Gets called crazy and to the narrator is protruded to be nothing in life because of the bond he has with his father who was fit with rage, which can also differential associates because Eddie witnessed torture he can pick up and learn how to torture other people.
ReplyDeleteChris was the leader of the group but was the leader of the gang but came from a bad family. Which possibly controlled how we was going turnout once he grew in age he was also look upon as a failure already just because of his family background and if is already thinking it than “Psychological Transfer” is already in full effect.
Vern is trying to find his pennies that 9 months ago he buried when he come across Billy and Charlie Hogan, talking about the Ray Bowards story as he’s listening to the two young teens talk about it, you can easily tell that Billy and Charlie Hogan have set of beliefs that nobody will ever find the dead remaining’s of Ray Bowards. Now there’s to ways you could go about this the illegal way which is trying to make sure that nobody ever finds this video, which would cause you to do whatever it takes, which most likely will add to the problems that you already have or you do it the legal way and go to the authority a let them know what you’ve done and accept the consequences of your actions. In the mix of the conversation one of the Billy states that “you don’t go telling the police” because the police already know that they don’t have an vehicle to be all the way out in “Back hollow rd.” Billy already have this belief that the police know exactly who they are, where they live, and what they have, or don’t have.
In the summer Gordy Becomes the invisible at home, he’s kind of the disruption within his family. Turns out that Gordy isn’t the disruption it’s the loss of his brother Danny that, have his family disrupted and instable because the just haven’t been having to jump that hurdle to the point where they are able to put the pieces back together again. Further along you see Gordy in his brother room yeah is belief have set in more then his parents that is older brother Danny is gone but you can still see a little of instability because of the bond that Gordy had with his brother.
You start to see that Gordy’s dad doesn’t like his friends and wished that Gordy had friends like Danny’s who wasn’t thieves, but because of the bond that Gordy have with Chris he had is back and tried to defend him.
Chris and Gordy come across to bullies who calls them all type of foul and hateful names trying to be funny and tough guys.
They guys are sitting on the train tracks collecting money trying to find something to eat, when a train start to head they way when all of a sudden teddy decide he wants to dodge trains and that when because of the bond and friendship that the groups have with one another and no one wants to ever see the friend die Chris forces teddy off of the train tracks saving teddy life.
Within Charlie and Billy group you can see they more of group that likes to do delinquent behavior like play mailbox baseball, but they also use name calling within they friendship circle a lot.
As you get further into the movie “Stand By Me” is an good movie to watch because you see how “Structural Theory, Social Disorganized theory, Strain theory, Neutralization Theory, Social learning theory, Social contrast theory, and Labelling theory” all play a factor and how one theory can go hand and hand with multiple theories at time and If it’s labelled one theory that don’t mean and it can’t be labelled with two or three more theories.
you really start to see how the theories work like how these can give a somewhat of who this person is or why they act the way the do, talk the way they talk you start to see a correlation which gives you an idea how you should treat somebody your meeting for the first time
-Statechamp007
I agree with you when you say that Chris went/was going through a psychological transfer, despite being the leader of the group. Because Chris came from a bad family, this had a negative effect on him psychologically. By being around that negativity for all of his life, Chris did not really have a choice and only knew how to be a failure because of his upbringing. Chris definitely could have grown up to be successful, but it would have been very hard for him to do since he was surrounded by negativity his entire life. I also liked how you described each of the characters and their roles throughout the movie. A third thing I found interesting from your post was the fact that you discussed what theories were in the movie towards the end of your blog. I really liked how you did this, as this helps the reader get a feel for what happened to the characters first and then at the end of your blog, the reader can then see how the theories were in play throughout the film and may have affected some of the characters. I found your blog to be very interesting and knowledgeable of the theories that we learned in class.
Delete-Fozz007
I agree with everything that you said. I agree when you said that Chris is the leader of the group. I also noticed that as well throughout the movie. Chris would be the decision maker in almost every situation they had. I also noticed Vern trying to find his pennies from 9 months ago and in the beginning when he started to look that’s when he found out about the dead body from Billy and Charlie. I also agree with you when you said it’s a good movie because of all the theories that are being shown throughout. I agree with you when you said that you really start to see how theories work and can get somewhat of who a persons is or why they act the way they do because it’s shown everyday in life.
Delete-SR
I really like the way how you add in here the theories and how they are seen and portrayed throughout the the movie. You depicted the characters and their lives and brought in the importance of them all as a group. Because you can definitely see all theories throughout the movie at one point or another. I also like how you added in the meeting someone for the first time part. All of these boys knew of each other but truly did not know each other until this journey began for them. You can see the constant rush of emotions for all of them as they are constantly dealing with something throughout the movie. Just like when gordie and chris both took times crying to each other and letting all of their emotions out, they found a sense of security and that someone for once, knew them and understood them and why they are the way they act and that they each come from a not so perfect or ideal lifestyle and deal with their own demons at home as young children. How you added their beliefs and talks, some of it I did not even really remember conversation wise from the movie until I re-read your post and you brought up some good points. -notacop007
ReplyDeleteI liked the way you depicted the characters and showed each of their importance in the film. The emotions felt through this film was strong due to each character finding their own path, but still being a part of something, that being the gang. The way you added the theories I liked. You found a few more theories I didn't even think of or come across. This movie really did a great job of showing the theories in action and helped me at least to gather a better grasp on them. I think the notes in class can only do so much, but actually getting to see them helped me alot at least. Overall, I thought you brought up some really good points. -CUBSFAN007
ReplyDeleteAt the very beginning of the movie “Stand by me” when Gordy described where he lived and how many people lived their, what it looked like used Social Disorganization theory the reason why it was used, was because, the definition of the the “theory” says that inability of a community to extort social control. And it shows that throughout the movie. How delinquency is being developed theory is used with Teddy when the two boys was playing the card game and it eventually ending with name calling and they called Teddy crazy Chris label him as crazy. And even though Teddy denied his label as being crazy, he still will be labeled as that. Labeling theory is also used again when Chris when they know he was going to be nothing because of his family so he was basically label as “nothing” or Eric. The strain theory is used in this scene too. Since Chris family is nothing, Chris will turn into a delinquent based on the economic mainstream… Also don't believe this is a theory but Differential opportunity is also used in this scene. By Chrus not having a good environment he will turn out to be a juvenile delinquent. Differential Associations is used when you see the two youngers boys smoking a cigarette. Social control theory is used with Gordy and his friends because they hang out with each other there is a theory, potential to become a delinquent if they have strong bonds with each other if their is a potential to become a delinquent if they have strong bonds with( family, peers,school). SCT is being used when the two teenagers had a commitment that they would not tell anyone about the dead kid. Another example is being used when Vern was pressured from all his to join them to look at the dead body. Neutralization theory is being used with Gordy when agreed upon going to see the dead body the NT was in effect because Gordy parents were said about their son's death. They forgot about their other son. And since that will had happen Gordy is doing something that abnormal… Labeling theory is being used again with Gordie’s father when he called Gordie friends “thieves”. Social Bond Theory was being used Teddie and Chris shaked on that Teddy will be able to dodge the next train. Social Disorganization theory is being used with the teenagers and riding around using the bat and hitting mailboxes. Labeling theory is used again when Teddie and Gordy was arguing and Teddie got called “retarded” and then later on that day the kids got chased by the junk man and he started talking about Teddie's dad and how his dad was a looney so Teddi has to be a looney too, label theory. When Chris and Gordie was having a conversation about where their going after junior high. Chris had made a statement that him and Teddie are not going to get nowhere in life but where they are now. And that Gorgie is going to go for in life. The theory being used is social process theory. Since Chris and Teddie might not come from a good home. Then they won't be nothing but since Gordie has a two parent home he is more than likely will become something in life because of their social status. Social Control theory how Chris didn't steal the money but someone blamed it on him and everyone believed that he did it because of his older brother reputation in the town. And how Vern is fat so that means he want more and that he is also a scary cat the label theory is being used The two groups of boys thought if they find the body first they would get a lot of money and be famous SCT is being used here.
ReplyDeleteThought out the entire moving their were many methods that was being used such as the ones I found Neutralization, Social Bond Theory and many others. Smiles007
When you used the example as Teddy being labeled as crazy, I thought that was a good example. I kind of noticed Teddy living up to the label through out the movie even when he denied that he was. I also thought it was sad when Chris was labeled as nothing and he was only twelve years old. I also noticed the social control theory. Since they were around each other all the time, that could of increased their chances of becoming a delinquent. Although everyone has a risk of becoming a delinquent. Gordie and Vern were the ones that didn't really do any juvenile acts and they could of possible became a juvenile based on their surroundings but they never did. Both of them went on to be successful including Chris. The example you used for neutralization theory, I didn't think to look at it like that and I really liked that example. I also felt really bad for Goride because he basically became the “invisible child”. I liked the social bond theory example that you used. I didn't notice that one at first. The way the junk man was talking to Teddy about his father, I thought that was really sad and Teddy knew and he stood up for his father. I agree that Gordie will most likely become successful but since his parents aren't showing him attention or compassion, that could of affected how he grew up even though he was still successful. -Soccer31007
DeleteStand by Me has a lot of theories that were shown in the different scenes. Labeling theory is when someone or a group of people is called something and they were basically given a label. If you call someone dumb, overtime they might start to believe it then they will start living up to the label that was given to them. Gordie’s father told Gordie that he was no good and he eventually started to believe it. Gordie’s father labeled Chris as a thief. Chris tried to get rid of the label by attempting to return the milk money that he stole. He was already given a negative label that is hard to get rid of. Chris proved that it is always possible to get rid of a negative label. Everyone thought he wasn't going to do anything with his life and he will always cause trouble. When he became an adult he became a lawyer and proved everyone wrong. When it comes to the label theory, the things we say to people can really take a toll on them. During Gordie’s brothers funeral, Gordie’s father said that it should of been Gordie and eventually Gordie started feeling guilty and he began agreeing that it should of been him. Social control theory is when delinquency happens when there is a weakened commitment that has to do with family, peers, and school. Everyone has the potential to become a delinquent but most people are controlled by their bonds to society. After Gordie's brother died, his parents were kind of emotionally distant. Gordie’s father treated him differently compared to Gordie’s brother. The father never gave Gordie any attention. Gordie called out to his mother and she could hear him but she never acknowledge him. His father is the weakened commitment because he never gave Gordie any attention or compassion during the film. Even though Gordie did not participate in delinquent behavior, the things I just listed could of possible influenced him to participate in delinquent behavior even though he didn’t. Chris’s father had a drinking problem and he was abusive. His older brother was also abusive. It also never showed Chris having a mother in the picture. Chris stole milk money and he also took his father’s gun. Chris doesn't really have a person to look up to or be a role model and that is the weakened commitment from his father. These factors could be the reason on why Chris is committing delinquent acts. This could also be the reason on why Ace commits delinquent acts because of the effect his father has had on him. Teddy’s father was abusive. He almost burnt Teddy’s ear off with a stove. His father also lives in a mental institution. His father was mean to him and that is the weekend commitment. When Teddy got older he spent some time in jail and because he never had a good father figure, this could of contributed to that. Out of all of the boys, Vernon seemed to have the best family structure. His parents seemed to care about him and he never really did anything bad. Since he had a family structure, this could of been the reason on why he never did anything bad like stealing. Differential association theory was also shown in the movie. There was a group of older boys that were kind of the towns gang. The leader of the group was Ace’s brother. The group of older boys did delinquent behavior that was learned from each other because they spend a lot of time together. The older group was always mean to the younger group and they always enjoyed doing doing delinquent actions. Strain theory is also shown and this is when social structures in the society may pressure people to do crime. The town did not like the group of older boys and that may pressure them to live up to the label that was given to them. Neutralization theory was shown when Chris stole the milk money. He tried to lessen the impact of his behavior by doing the right thing and returning it but in the end someone stole it back and people still believed it was him. -Soccer31007
ReplyDeleteI liked that you talked about the family structure/situation of each of the characters in the movie. From pretty normal upbringing to outright insanity. These boys were either going to be leaders or followers in their own right. All the boys want to do something in order to have a better life. That something is different for each one of the boys. So much so that they need to avoid the same pitfalls and mistakes that their parents had to go through when they were the ages of the boys in the movie. I think that the characters in the movie, represents juveniles in a pretty accurate description. ---YouMustAcquit007---
DeleteI like what you said about Chris not having a role model in his life, and how that might of affected his juvenile behavior. I think that if Chris would have had an older brother to look up to or someone is his family that he truly respected, then he wouldn’t of done a lot of the things that he did in this movie. A lot of kids that I know that do delinquent acts are in the same situation as Chris, and really don’t have anyone to look up to. Having an older sibling to look up to is really one of the keys to preventing juvenile behavior in my opinion -BuffaloChickenDip007
DeleteI liked how you mentioned many different examples of each type of theories. I really liked the part that you wrote about the town gang and how they are labeled as trouble makers so they feel the need to be thugs and act in a gang like manner. I personally know a group of people that I went to high school with that were in the same situation as Ace and his gang/friends. The group was known as the druggy trouble makers of the school and everyone looked down upon them. I think that they felt like since no one liked them outside of the friend group that they had to live up to the label in which they were being given to them. Another thing that I liked while I was reading what you wrote was how you talked about each of the kids families and explained the differences in what life was like for each of them. I really do think that a lot of their delinquent acts had a lot to do with not having the correct amount of parental guidance, love, and care. I think that they would have not done some of the things that they did if they had parent supervision. -KiiNG007
DeleteYou talked about the older boys committing the delinquent acts because the town had started saying that they were in a more detestable situation, but that would be closer to labeling theory than it would be to strain theory. Strain theory applies to when society as a whole is going through a tough time, such as a recession or a sort of major disaster or attack. When those people are at rock bottom, then they commit the acts. The boys had just been labeled as a bad group of kids, ergo they became performing delinquent acts. I do agree with you though on the weakened commitment between several of the boys and their father figures. That weakened commitment could in some cases be borderline emotional abuse to those children, especially when they are at such an impressionable age. Obviously the death of Denny had been a big moment for Gordie’s family as after four months the parents were still in an immensely depressive state despite having to take care of their other child. -CAPMARVEL007
DeleteAfter watching the movie ‘Stand by Me’, I noticed that throughout the entire movie, many of the theories that we have talked about in class are also present within a majority of the film. The first theory that I noticed and would like to talk about is the theory of labeling. At the very beginning of the movie, the narrator is discussing what he thinks is going to happen to all of his friends, based solely on their families. This falls under the labeling theory due to the fact that the narrator looks at the kids’ families and assumes that if their family is poor or stuck in bad conditions, then they will also grow up to be stuck in bad conditions. Another example of the labeling theory is when the man who owns the junkyard tells Teddy that he is messed up due to the fact that his dad is crazy. By saying this, the junkyard owner is showing how he assumes that since Teddy’s father is crazy, Teddy is automatically crazy without any other evidence to back it up. A third example of the labeling theory occurred when Chris was talking about how a lady automatically accused him of a crime because of both his past and his brother’s reputation. This lady was going to say that Chris was in trouble, regardless of if he actually did the crime or not, and even if he was truly sorry. All three of these examples show how the labeling theory was playing a part within this film. In each one of these examples, someone tells another person how they are something solely because of someone else’s influence on them. Another theory that can be found in the film is the theory known as the social disorganization theory. In the movie, the town where this all takes place is a small town, which means that there is already a low number of police around. On top of this, the farther out of the town the kids go, the more crimes they tend to commit because of the lack of police and other authoritative figures. While in the town, the worst crime they commit is shooting a gun off one or two times. However, once they hit the deep forest, they start shooting the gun more and smoking cigarettes. This theory can also be seen in action while watching the older high school kids as well. The father out of town these high schoolers drive, deeper into the country, the more juvenile acts they begin to carryout. They start drinking, drinking and driving, smashing people’s mailboxes, etc. all because of the fact that they are out of the town where they would be much more likely to get in trouble if they were carrying out the same acts.
ReplyDelete-Fozz007
A third theory I caught onto is a theory known as the differential opportunity/association theory. When the main kids of the movie are together, they do things that they would not do if they were alone. For example, when they were all sitting in the treehouse or walking on the train tracks together, they would all be smoking cigarettes at the same time. By having close, trusted people around, the kids knew that if one of them lit a cig, then the rest would more than likely follow with the same action. Also, none of the kids were extremely rich and wealthy or anything like that, so they set a goal for themselves to reach, so they could feel like they really worked for and achieved something big in their lives. In this specific case, their goal was partially reached. The goal of the kids was to find the body and become famous for their discovery and be seen and adored everywhere they went. After working all that way and finding the body, the kids decided that their goal had already been reached and they did not want to be the ones who got all of the attention for finding the body. The final theory I was noticing in the movie is a theory called the neutralization theory. This theory was most noticeable when the kids all make the decision to go looking for the body. By making this decision, the kids are ignoring all of the consequences that will come from their parents for going on this adventure because they convince themselves that the consequences won’t actually be that bad or the fact that they found the body will bring achievements that will cover up the consequences. After watching this movie, I learned how all of these theories really do have an impact on the characters and their actions.
Delete-Fozz007
I agree with you and how you state that the labeling theory is the most prevalent. Labeling was a huge thing in this movie especially with all the name calling and cruelty to each other. Now from being a boy growing up with the same set of friends, I know that none of those words affected me in any way which is what i'd imagine to be in the boys case in the movie. Sometimes they would affect Gordie just because he has more of an insecure attitude which makes him most vulnerable to the labeling theory and becoming victim to their insulting schemes. GVFF007
DeleteIn the movie, “Stand by Me”, a group of boys, all juveniles, all going through life in different ways and dealing with different problems or issues in their lives that they present themselves. Throughout the movie, different theories that have been talked about in class can be attributed to each of the boys in the movie. The theories that I saw portrayed in the movie were: labeling theory, differential association theory, structural theory, strain theory, and neutralization theory. The boys grow closer to each other throughout the movie because they helped each other fill an import need in their life. A need that they could not find within their own families. Each character in the movie: Gordie, Chris, Teddy, Vern, and Billy each lead different lives, but the theories mentioned above are constantly at work, either singularly or multiple theories occurring at once in different scenes throughout the movie. I believe for the time period that this movie was made, created, and set in was appropriate for that generation of kids. More so, I also believe that juveniles today, deal with and face many of the same things that the characters had to deal with in the movie. So in a sense this movie is timeless in a way, because theories that were in play throughout the movie, grow change and adapt to fit with and into today’s day/age/society. Why? Because most, not if all like order. Human beings in general are always trying to analyze and explain, what seems to be pretty much anything and everything these days. Yet, there are those who believe that long gone are they days, of when the excuse. “Oh kids will just be kids has gone out the window. Instead it has been replaced wit figuring out how to categorize ,classify, and possibly medicate. I believe, that each generation tries to explain the shortcomings of the previous generation, through the creation of ideas, theories, etc. In doing so, the next generation will be able to hopefully live/ have a better quality of life. Human beings, individuals are unique, due to the fact that they will not grow up the same, they will live in different neighborhoods, go to different schools, etc. In the process making making friends, and hanging out with peers, who will have some type of influence in their life.
ReplyDelete---YouMustAcquit007
I agree with you that there many theories that can be seen in this movie, either a single one or many in one scene. One of the theories that I saw most in this movie is the labeling theory. Each main character would call each other names. You do not think that it is a big deal because they are joking but we can see that characters such as Chris do think that they are dumb and will not go anywhere in life. I also agree with you that juveniles today deal with many of the same problems as these kids faced. My personal experience from when I was younger my friend group faced some of the same problems as these kids. We were labeled for doing nothing most of the time. One example was when me and my friend went into a candy shop and the lady at the registered said she was keeping an eye on us because my friend looked like his dad and she knew his dad would steal candy when he was our age. He was labeled a thief just because he looked like his father at that age, she had no other reason but that. Even worse that kid was always a straight “A” student and never stole anything in his life. -ClarkKent007
DeleteChildren especially children who are between the ages of 10-17 are impressionable, confused, scared, ambitious, etc. The point I am trying to make is that if there are not people in children’s lives that realize that they need to tell kids growing up not to make the same mistakes they made when they were kid. Realization is very important, to realize that positive changes can be made in a persons life, especially a juvenile’s is important. In doing so, it will reduce the chances of that juvenile, committing crimes, acting out inappropriately, etc. All in all factors such as race, wealth, and power have a major influence on children. In terms of seeing one race have it all and other racers at a disadvantage, and trying their best to be on a level playing field. Being poor and disadvantaged however does not have a color. In other words, the same problems and issues that juveniles deal with happen allover the world. Either a person is told to accept their lot in life at a young age, or make proper changes to make something out of themselves so that do not just end up another statistic. Why should they, if they have the drive, then push for success. Each of the characters in the movie, grew up with different problems, but they found strength in each other. They had to grow up through and within the other characters in the movie. Lastly, I believe that there needs to be a remake of this movie, set in today’s day and age. I think that there would be a lot of similarities as well as differences between the two different sets of characters. Specifically in terms, of society changes in the way it views juveniles and the rights they have. Lastly, this was a good movie that used examples of the different theories that we have learned about and discussed in class.
ReplyDelete---YouMustAcquit007---
At the beginning of the film, “Stand by me”, the narrator describes each characters background and gets the audience caught up on who they are. One of these characters who has a tough childhood is Teddy. He is described as crazy by the narrator. The narrator ,which turns out to be Gordie, says that Teddy is probably to be nothing in life because of the bond he has with his father who was fit with rage. He once held Teddy’s ear to a hot stove even. This shows Teddy torture techniques that he can pick up and learn how to harm others. The next character described was Chris. He is Gordie’s best friend in the film. He is described from coming from a bad family even though he was the leader of the group. Chris might of thought his future was already made up due to his troubled family. Chris thinking these things because of his family background might already put the psychological transfer into effect. Vern is the next character described. Often picked on due his size. Vern was trying to find his money that 9 months ago he had buried. He did this when all of the sudden he came across Billy and Charlie Hogan talking about the Ray Bowards story. Within Charlie and Billy’s group you can see they like doing a lot of delinquent behavior. The two boys talk about the story and you can see these boys have a set of beliefs that nobody will find the remains of Ray Bowards. They appeared to have seen the body while dumping a stolen car. In the mix of the conversation one Billy states to Charlie to not go to the police because they already know that they don’t have a vehicle and a reason for it to be all the way out at hollow road. Billy already has the belief that the police know exactly who they are and even where they live. In the summer Gordy becomes almost completely non visible at home. You could say he is kind of the disturbance within his family. It actually turned out that Gordy wasn’t the problem. It actually was the loss of his brother Danny. Gordy’s family have been in anguish really heartbroken. Gordy is more ready to move on with his life than his family, but he still remembers the bond with his brother. Even though he is gone you can still see a little bit of unstableness because of the bond that Gordy had with his brother.As the movie goes on you as the audience start to see that Gordy’s father is not fond of his friends at all. He even said he wished that Gordy had friends like his brothers, ones that don’t go around causing grief and stealing. Fast forward to the friends sitting on the train tracks collecting money. They are talking when a train starts to head their way. Teddy comes up with the bright idea that he wants to dodge this train. Due to the bond these friends share they don’t want to see one another die. Chris makes a quick decision and saves Teddy’s life by pushing him out of the way. The film is filled with lots of emotion which each and every character because each and every one of them is going through something throughout the film. As you finish“Stand By Me”, you can see how good the movie is to show the theories such as Social Disorganized, Strain, Structural, and Labelling theory. These theories all play a factor in the film and give you perfect examples of each of them, which makes learning these theories much easier to understand. Going into the movie I had a decent grasp on the theories, but actually seeing them was so much more helpful to me learning them. This movie actually does a great job by showing the theories we learned in class by just watching a group of friends in their normal environment relative to them. -CUBSFAN007
ReplyDeleteTeddy might pick up those torture techniques and use them. I agree he is being affected by the Differential association theory. Yes Chris got affected by labeling for a little bit, but with the help of his best friend, Gordie, he does become the best version of him. Gordie's family life does suck. His dad does understand that hanging out with bad apples makes you a bad apple, I think that was a good thing to pick up. His dad just wants him to do good things like his deceased older brother. Although, he doesn't really care and just wants to be his own person, so it makes his parents not really accept him, and kind of ignore him. Teddy has that thing voice in his head telling him to do it. He just seems like his father a lot. He wants to do something big in his life, but nothing seems to being going right. You do see a the theories get shown off in examples a lot. I honestly could say this is among one of my favorite movies. Kind of makes you think of what decisions you made as an twelve year old kid. Probably good, and bad.
Delete^~^Itis007
Yes Chris is for sure affected by the labeling theory throughout a majority of this film. He is accused of stealing milk money from the school and this was just because the teacher knew of his family and that automatically made Chris a suspect through her eyes. This also does happen to Teddy because his father is not the best person and he is even in an Insane asylum people often think that Teddy is just like his father in the sense that he too is crazy. This is shown in the movie when the owner of the junkyard recognizes Teddy and calls him crazy just like his father and says that it makes sense that someone like him would be committing delinquent acts. I also agree that watching this movie was a beneficial learning experience. It truly does show a great detail many of these theories that we have been reading about and and discussing in class. I definitely think that it has made it easier to understand these theories.
Delete-RHB007
The movie is about four kids growing up in the town of Castle Rock, Oregon. They decide to adventure off to look at a dead body that Vern overheard some teenagers talking about, from sitting underneath his porch. At the beginning of this movie you can already figure some things out about the characters, and the place they live in. You can tell this kids don’t come from families with a lot of money. So, society already prejudges them. The movie starts off with the main character, Gordie, walking into his friends tree house. There you see two of the other main characters smoking cigarettes, Chris and Teddy. You get to learn more about their backgrounds as well. Chris comes from a family of no good. His family is either drunkards, or criminals. Teddy has a veteran father who is mentally handicapped. It tells us in the movie that his dad got mad at him one dad and burn his ear in an oven. Scarring him for life. I took this as, he probably has more run ins with his dad. So, both the kids smoking cigarettes come from a troubled home life. Gordie comes from a family where his older brother had just died, and his family kind of ignores him. He takes that as, his family thinks it should’ve been him, and he battles with that thought throughout the movie. The last main character introduced is Vern. He is the cubby kid that gets picked on a lot. Nothing is said about his family, but we know he is a shy kid. We can put Social Control theory into place here in this next part, and also Neutralization Theory. So Vern talks about how he overheard his older brother and his friend talking about a dead body found in the woods. After the whole gang hears this story, they want to find the body and report to the police. That way they can be seen as heros. Social Control theory is seen here. If their parents were more involved in their lives, they could stop this delinquent behavior. Sorry, but searching for a body and trying to take the fame for it, instead of just telling their parents or reporting it to the police seems like abnormal behavior. At least to society. With no one telling them it’s a bad idea, or not having supporting parents telling them what to do to win their approval in life. They kind of just do their own thing, and sometimes it’s bad things. Neutralization Theory occurs when, instead of reporting a know location of a body to the local police, or their parents, they decide that earning fame from people, in a town where labeling theory is in full affect, negates any moral apprehension they may have about committing the “crime.” I guess the cigarettes smoking can also be talked about. Their lives are bad for them, and cigarettes relieve that pain. So the illegal side of smoking doesn’t matter to them. Differential Association can also be said here. They probably see their family smoking a lot. Chris also has a older brother and he smokes. Chris sees this and thinks its not a big deal. He doesn’t respect his brother, because he’s a dick. But you can see how it is learned. I saw the Labeling Theory a couple times, but the best time I saw it was when Chris and Gordie were staying up after setting up camp for the night. Chris starting talking about when he took milk money. He tried to give it back, but a girl that comes from the higher up of the town, took it. She used it to buy a skirt, but still Chris got in trouble. He didn’t even tell the teachers because he felt like he was already labeled. He didn’t believe he was smart, and could do much in life. He said everyone expects him to be a bum and end up not doing much. He accepts the label that others put on him. He does break that labeling and does become a lawyer after college. I feel like this is because of Gordie’s positive effect on him.
ReplyDelete^~^Itis007 Part 1
You can also see Labeling Theory in work during the junkyard scene. Teddy is verbally assaulted by the junkyard owner. Telling him that he will end up looney. Just like his father. Now Teddy was more offended by the fact his veteran father was being insulted. He does end up with a bad life, he was in prison, and now is doing odd jobs around town. So, maybe he heard bad things about him during his life and let himself become labeled, and become the label! That is pretty much everything I got from the movie.
ReplyDelete^~^ Itis007 Part2
In this movie Stand By Me there are many different theories that we can see. One of the first things that I noticed is that the town that they are in is small and seems to be a friendly neighborhood. You do not see any broken windows or cars broken down. You did notice that is was during the summer time and the parents were at work. Even when the parents are around they are not paying attention or physically hurting the children. For Gordy, he became the invisible child when the hardship and the strain that the family is put under when they lost their oldest child in a car accident. We learn later that even when the oldest child was alive Gordy was still that child not noticed by his father. In the case of Chris and Ted their fathers would physically hurt them. Chris father would beat him for the simplest of reasons and Teds father is mentally unstable and put Teds ear to the stove badly burning it. We do not get to see Vern’s parents but we get to see his brother who commits delinquent behavior throughout the movie. One primary deviance that was in this movie was the young kids smoking. They smoked throughout their journey even referencing that the best smoke is after a meal. Another primary deviance we saw in the movie is when the older delinquents are drinking and driving and smashing mail boxes with a baseball bat. The theory that I saw the most was the label theory. One example of the informal label theory that I saw was when Gordy’s father said to Gordy that he needs new friends. He labeled Gordy’s friend Chris as a thief, because he had heard that Chris stole the milk money. He did now know the whole story but just because he heard that Chris stole the money he quickly assumed that he is a thief. You see more informal labeling when the groups calls each other names. It seems harmless because these kids are friends but when Chris and Gordy are talking about Junior high, Chris calls himself and the other two people in their group stupid. It seems that he has assumed a self-fulling prophecy, that he will not do well in school and wont get out of the small town that he lives in. But at the end of the movie we learned that he broke the mold that he had given himself and left the town and became a lawyer. An example of a formal label is when Gordy’s’ father calls him no good. We see that take effect when he dreams about his brothers funeral and his father leans over and says that should have been you. He is able to overcome that formal label when Chris tells Gordy that he will go somewhere and be someone. We get to see that what Chris said was true and Gordy was able to overcome his label and become a what seems to be a successful author with a family We also see throughout the movie is the gang culture is a motivating factor in delinquent behavior of the older kids. The leader of the Cobras Ace seems to be a very control and unstable person. Many accounts of his unstableness is when he is racing the other car and when a truck with logs is coming at him he does not deviate from his path and causes the truck to veer off the road. We can also see that his controlling behavior causes that other people in his gang to do delinquent behavior that they do not want to do. For example when they are drinking and driving he is smashing mail boxes with a bat. He ask the other gang members in the back of the seat to take the bat and start hit mail boxes. They refuse at first, but he forces them to start smashing mail boxes. Another example of Ace control over the gang is when they are about to hunt for the dead body Verns older brother and his friend do not want to go back to the spot of the dead body in fear they might get in trouble Ace forces them to get in the car. -ClarkKent007
ReplyDeleteAfter watching Stand By Me, I noticed that a lot of the theories we talked about in class are shown in this movie. Going into this movie I didn’t think that I would like it, but after watching it I can really see what my teacher is talking about. There are tons of theories and the kids in this movie do a ton of crazy stuff that makes my childhood look pretty boring. Some of the theories in this movie include the labeling theory, structural theory, social disorganized theory, strain theory, and more. One of these theories that we talked about in class is the labeling theory. This theory is when you give a label to someone so much that even they start to believe it. Gordie’s dad is a big culprit of this theory for a number of reasons. First of all, he kept giving his son the label of a loser and somebody that just isn’t going to make it. And sure enough, Gorgie eventually started to believe it. I saw this theory in my high school a lot because I was in a very small town, so everyone knew your parents. If your parents were bad, then people automatically assumed that you were going to be bad. The labeling theory is also used several other times throughout the movie as well. An example would be when Teddy is labeled as crazy. Teddy is labeled crazy because his dad tortures him and does a lot of bad things to him behind closed doors. What the people labeling him don’t realize is that just because your parents are crazy or have issues, doesn’t mean that you are the same way or will even turn out that way. Now sure, Teddy might of tried to get a little too close to a train, but that doesn’t exactly mean that he’s crazy. This movie relates to not only juvenile delinquency, but I think that it also relates to today’s society. I can’t count the number of times I’ve seen the labeling theory used like it was used in this movie. Several of the kids in my high school were labeled by people who knew very little about them, but knew something that wasn’t good. Another one of the many theories in Stand by Me is the social control theory. The parents in this movie are pretty sub-par to say the least, and aren’t very involved in their kid’s lives. The whole movie is based around this group of kids who find a dead body and decide to take it into their own hands by finding the murderer, instead of just telling the police. That alone shows the social control theory because if the parents were even a little more involved in their kid’s lives then they would figure out the delinquent behavior that they are doing and put a stop to it. Instead, they are oblivious to all the delinquent acts their kids are doing, which is what we see in society today a lot. Just like we learned in class, the more involved the parents are in their kids life, the less chance the kid has to commit these delinquent acts. Especially ones like the delinquent acts shown in this movie, things that kids at that age have no business doing. I saw the structural theory in the movie Stand by Me as well. The kids in this movie grew a lot closer to each other while doing these delinquent acts because they needed a relationship with someone. Not a romantic relationship, but a relationship in which they felt like someone truly had their back. They couldn’t get it with their lives at home, so they tried to find it in other ways. This happens a lot in today’s society, and is the main reason why we have gangs. Kids join gangs for very similar reasons to why the kids in this movie did the delinquent acts. They want to feel accepted and if they aren’t getting accepted at home or don’t feel loved at home then they will seek other ways to get it. Instead of the several different delinquent acts that the kids in this movie did, the kids in gangs today will commit murders and felonies. -BuffaloChickenDip007
ReplyDeleteI like how you related the kids and their group to gangs that we have today because they do seek a relationship with people that they don’t have at home. I didn't see that with the older group of boys because Ace the kid incharge seemed more demanding and the others had no say. Also, how you mentioned that if kids parents more were involved in their lives and cared, there wouldn’t be this much delinquency. Even in the movie Chris mentions that he wishes he was Gordies dad so he would go to the special classes so he couldn’t become someone in life. Chris noticed that Gordies parents didn’t care anymore. I think that is a good reason shaping delinquency starts with parents. taco007
DeleteThe movie Stand by Me was a very exciting and fun movie to watch. While watching this movie I noticed that there were many times that labeling theory was being used. Labeling theory is when someone labels you as an individual as a certain type of person. For instance, when Gordie’s father was asking why he hangs out with the people he calls friends. He called Chris Chambers a thief for stealing money, even though he did not know that Chris had given it back because he felt guilty. So Chris Chambers was from there on out a thief in the towns folks eyes. The neutralization theory was shown here when Chris Chambers tried to give back the money that he stole. Chris knew that what he had done was wrong and he felt ashamed for committing a criminal act so he thought it would be better for him to return the money. Another example of labeling theory would be when the boys found the dead body that they had been looking for and Gorgie was crying next to Chris Chambers about how he is no good and that his father hates him. He has been labeled by his father as a no good son and that he should have been the one that died, not his brother. Gordie's father told him that it should have been him in the casket and that his brother should be the one who is still alive. Gordie has been labeled as a bad son by his father for so long that he has convinced himself that he is a terrible son and that his father hates him. He also does not believe that he can ever achieve anything amazing in life because his father never believed in him or looked at Gordie as anything special. In the end, Gordie gets rid of this negative label that his father placed on him. Gordie became a writer because he always loved writing and did not allow what his father said determine how successful he would become in the future. Another theory that was noticeable throughout the film was social conflict theory. Whenever people would talk about Teddy and how his father burned his ear, they would call his father crazy. Not only would they call the father crazy but they would call Teddy crazy as well. Teddy never really had a proper father figure and this caused him to commit delinquent actions throughout his childhood and it ended up impacting him later on in life as well. Teddy ended up going away to jail at one point. Since he never had a mentally healthy father figure, Teddy never really had someone to tell him no, so that is why he possibly committed some delinquent acts. Chris did not have a very supporting father to look up too either. Chris’s father was a drunk jerk for a father and often time would be abusive and beat Chris for no reason at all. Since Chris’s father was always drunk and abusive, he was never able to tell Chris right from wrong to the extent of a normal child. This is why Chris committed delinquent acts like stealing money and his fathers firearm. Vernon’s family life never really seemed to be all that bad. It seemed like his family loved and cared for him more than any of the other boys in the group. Gordie did not have a father who enjoyed being in his presence. His father like his brother more than Gordie and made it obvious many times throughout the movie that he was unwanted. This in my opinion is the reason to why Gordie ever committed any delinquent acts throughout his childhood. Another theory that was shown in the movie was differential association theory. Differential association theory was shown by Ace and his group of thug friends. The town didn’t like them and labeled them as the town’s gang. I personally think that since the town did not like them and labeled them as delinquents and troublemakers, that they felt like they had to live up to and act like their label in which they were given. Strain theory was also shown in the movie. For example, the town’s people thought badly about Chris’s father and Teddy’s father, so they think that Chris and Teddy are both trouble makers and will turn out just like their old men. -KiiNG007
ReplyDelete“Stand by Me” is a movie that was written by Stephen King and directed by Rob Reiner. Through analysis of the movie, I have spotted several applications to delinquency theories in the different scenes. One of the main theories that I noticed was labeling theory. What this particular theory hypotheses is that when an authority figure or a person of significance n a child’s life calls them a certain word, then that child will eventually assimilate into that identity. In “Stand by Me,” Gordie’s father told Gordie that he was no good and he eventually started to believe it; that same authority figure labeled Chris as a thief after he had stolen some milk money. Chris attempted to rid himself of the label by attempting to return the milk money, but he was already given a negative label that is immensely difficult to rid oneself of. Chris eventually proved that it is always possible to get rid of a negative label. Everyone thought he was not going to do anything with his life and he will always cause trouble. When he grew to adulthood he became a lawyer and proved everyone wrong. When it comes to the labeling theory, the things we say to people can shape the life of someone in a way that we never meant to affect them. During Denny’s funeral, Gordie’s father said that it should of been Gordie and eventually Gordie started feeling guilty and he began believing that it should of been him who died in the accident.
ReplyDeleteSocial control theory is when delinquency happens when there is a weakened commitment that has to do with family, peers, and school. Everyone has the potential to become a delinquent but most people are controlled by their bonds to society. After Denny died, Gordie’s parents became emotionally distant and obviously depressed. Gordie’s father treated him differently compared to how he had treated Denny in the past. His father never gave Gordie any attention; Gordie called out to his mother and she could hear him but she would never acknowledge him. His father is the obvious weakened commitment in the film because he never gave Gordie any attention or compassion. Even though Gordie did not participate in delinquent behavior, the experiences that he had been through with Denny’s death and his parent’s estrangement influenced him to participate in delinquent behavior even though he was not previously inclined to do so. Chris’s father had a drinking problem and he was abusive, and his older brother was also abusive. The film also never showed Chris having a mother in the picture. Chris stole milk money and he also took his father’s gun. Chris did not have an obvious influence to look to as a role model and that, as well as the weakened commitment from his father, could easily be factors in the reasoning behind why Chris is committing delinquent acts. This could also be the reason on why Ace commits delinquent acts because of the effect his father also had on him. Teddy’s father was also immensely abusive. He almost burnt Teddy’s ear off with a stove; because of this his father also lives in a mental institution. His father was mean to him and that is the weekend commitment in this case. When Teddy got older he spent some time in jail and because he never had a good father figure, this could of contributed to that. Out of all of the boys, Vernon seemed to have the best family structure. His parents seemed to care about him and he never really did anything bad. Since he had a family structure, this could of been the reason on why he committed any obvious delinquent acts.
Ran out of characters, part 2 in reply. -CAPMARVEL007
Part 2
DeleteDifferential association theory was also shown in the movie. There was a group of older boys that were essentially the towns gang. The leader of the group was Ace’s brother. The group of older boys did delinquent behavior that was learned from each other as they spend a lot of time together. The older group was always bullying the younger group and always seemed to enjoy performing delinquent actions. Strain theory is also shown and this is when social structures in the society may pressure people to do crime. The town did not like the group of older boys and that may pressure them to live up to the label that was given to them. Neutralization theory was shown when Chris stole the milk money. He tried to lessen the impact of his behavior by doing the right thing and returning it but in the end someone stole it from him in the midst of him attempting to return it and people still believed it was him who ended up spending the money. These are some of the many examples of the theories we have studied in class that I spotted throughout the movie, “Stand by Me.” -CAPMARVEL007
For the majority of this post I will be applying the labeling theory, mostly because it is my favorite, and because it’s the one theory that really applies the most here. The labeling theory applies to all four of the boys. Gordie’s dad labels him as a delinquent because of who he chooses to be friends with. According to his dad, Gordie is a thief because his friend Chris is a thief. The only reason the movie gives that Chris is a thief is because he stole the milk money from school. We, or at least I, do not know why he stole the milk money, but because he did so he is now labeled as a thief. The labeling theory also applies when Teddy is labeled as crazy by the junkyard owner because his dad in a mental health facility. His dad stormed the beach at Normandy, and should be labeled as a hero, but because of issues (likely PTSD) he is instead labeled as looney. Then we have Gordy; people expect him to be good at sports and just an all around great guy because that’s how his brother was, but instead he’s not into sports, and he hangs around with kids who are supposedly “bad” for him. His dad has labeled him, even if neither realize it.
ReplyDelete-Redranger007
At the beginning of the film, “Stand by me”, the narrator describes each characters background and gets the audience caught up on who they are. One of these characters who has a tough childhood is Teddy. He is described as crazy by the narrator. This is only one scene into the movie and already you see part of the labeling theory take place. The narrator is “Gordy” and he is the friend in the group that is a good writer and is thought to be smart so it could potentially have a lasting effect when he labels Teddy, Gordy also says that says that Teddy is probably going nowhere in life because of the bond he has with his father who was fit with rage. He once held Teddy’s ear to a hot stove even. This shows Teddy torture techniques that he can pick up and learn how to harm others. Another example of the labeling theory is when the man who owns the junkyard tells Teddy that he is messed up just for the simple fact alone that his dad is crazy. By saying this, the junkyard owner is showing how he assumes that since Teddy’s father is crazy, Teddy is automatically crazy without any other evidence to back it up. A third example of the labeling theory occurred when Chris was talking about how a lady automatically accused him of a crime because of both his past and his brother’s reputation. This lady was going to say that Chris was in trouble, regardless of if he actually did the crime or not, and even if he was truly sorry. Also even Chris’ best friend labeled him as a kid who would be in trouble just because of his family and he says this in the opening scene when Gordy is narrating. You later see this having an effect on Chris because they start talking about school on the way to see the dead body and Chris is automatically assuming that wood shop will be the types of classes he will be in because he isn’t as smart as Gordy and he is already willing to settle. All of these examples above have to do with the Labeling Theory and there are in full display throughout this movie and they are very accurate with how we are often treating people who don’t always fit into social norms. Another major theory that stood out to me was Social control theory, it is when delinquency happens when there is a weakened commitment that has to do with family, peers, and school. After Gordie's brother died, his parents were kind of emotionally distant. Gordy’s father treated him differently compared to Gordy’s brother. The father never gave him any attention. He called out to his mother and she could hear him but she never acknowledge him. His father is the weakened commitment because he never gave Gordie any attention or compassion during the film. The thing that I thought was ironic was when his dad asked him why can’t he having normal friends. I found that ironic because he is almost pushed into having friends like this to almost get attention from people because he is getting at home. The group of older boys did delinquent behavior that was learned from each other because they spend a lot of time together. The older group was always mean to the younger group and they always enjoyed doing doing delinquent actions. Strain theory is also shown and this is when social structures in the society may pressure people to do crime. The town did not like the group of older boys and that may pressure them to live up to the label that was given to them. The Final theory I could think of would be Neutralization Theory and it occurs when, instead of reporting a know location of a body to the local police, or their parents. Over all this was a great movie to watch especially for a juvenile delinquency class. It shows all of these important theories that we are supposed to remember and learn in a entertain yet real scenario. I thought it was a great way to learn these theories because you can always keep the theories matched up with cerian scenes in the movie.
ReplyDeleteRHB007
You are very right and seeing that within the first scene we are seeing this labeling theory go into action and not even by the characters yet. The narrator is really where it all starts to take effect by describing each one of these kids. It's also interesting to hear gordy describe chris as the one to make trouble just solely based off his family's reputation. Later in the movie we see this take into effect when Gordy already knows that Chris took the milk money. Another thing that made me sad with chris is him believing his fate of being a nobody and doing labor work the rest of his life because of his “label”. My favorite thing about chris is he grew up and became a lawyer and threw away that label that he was given as a child. You can see a lot of these theories can be related with family problems and you hit it spot on by mentioning that Gordy’s father is the weekend commitment because he never showed Gordy any love, especially when his older brother died in a car accident. It got way worse for gordy and it's sad to see that no love is going towards him even at the end of the movie.
Delete-hollywood007
In the movie “Stand By Me” a group of four kids around the age of twelve and thirteen experience different types of situations going on in their families and are influenced by it to behave the way they do. At the the beginning of the movie it shows that the kids smoking and in a tree house. You can see how they are still kids and have a place to gather and talk but smoking in private is something that they learned. Which would probably be more influential by the older group of boys or family. Since the movie is narrated by Gordie, one of the kids in the group. He introduces his friends by what most people think of them like the labels put on them. The town the kids live in had about 2,000 people so it was easy to have a label right away about anything. When Teddy another kid in the group was mentioned his label was that he would probably be nothing in life and that his dad was crazy, that he almost burned off his ear. Later on, in the movie Teddy gets provoked by the owner of the junk yard because of the label on his family. Towards the end of the movie, it mentions what happens when they are older. Once graduating high school, he tried to be in the military but it didn’t work out for him so he was in and out of jail. Like we learned in class, when people of higher authority put a label on someone else and it impacts so deeply the person lives that lifestyle. Also, at the beginning Gordie mentions his best friend Chris that is the leader of the group. His label is that he is a thief because he stole milk money, is from a bad family and that most likely he will also end up the same way as them. This is something that everyone knows and it’s something at a twelve year old has to live with. That would be considered a result of shaping delinquency because of personal problems at home. There is also parent controls that shape delinquency, that was more related to Gordie becauses of his brothers death. His mother would ignore him and his dad made him feel as if he didn’t meet the expectations like his brother. It made him feel like he should have been the one that died instead of his brother. Throughout the movie, when they finally got to the dead body. The older group of boys tried threatening them to claim the body and Gordie because he was feeling like he had nothing to lose, he pulls out a gun. Which is one reason for juvenile delinquency they feel like they have nothing to lose because of a situation in their life so they take control of certain things that could go wrong and end up in jail. A lot of the labels that Gordies friends have is because of their family and the lifestyle they have. Like, Chris when he took the lunch money they automatically suspended him because they could suspect it from someone like him because of him family. Also, something that influences delinquency is peers like Teddy always seem to rub of on the rest to follow what he does even though he doesn't make intelligent decisions. That could be because of his being irrational or something biological. For example, when teddy tried to dodge the train just for fun, that would mostly be irrational. Another example of peers being a reason of shaping delinquency is when the older group of boys are in the car and Ace controls the other guys in playing baseball with the mail boxes. At the end of the movie, Gordie says that even though Chris had a tough life and their friendship wasn’t the same when they got older, Chris was able to leave that type of life and become a lawyer. The life of delinquency didn't follow him just because he was kill but because he tried helping. There a juveniles that are able to leave crime in the past and some that don’t. I feel like that explains the free will that delinquency talks about. taco007
ReplyDeleteThere were many theories that played a big role in this movie. One of the major theories happening in this movie is Labeling Theory. Labeling Theory is very simple. It is when someone or a group of people are called something which then gives them a label that everyone looks at. There are multiple examples in this movie. One example is Gordy's father calling Chris a thief because he stole milk money. This is also a label that many people believed based on his family background. Even though Chris tried to return the money he was still given this label. Another example is when Gordies father told him you are no good and Gordy starts to believe it because he is a young child and is influenced more by what his parents think than anyone else. Another big example is when they are at the junkyard and the owner calls Teddy a looney solely based off what he thinks of Teddy's father and there is not even evidence to back up that Teddy is a looney. Another big theory that is shown in this film is Social Disorganization theory. Which basically means that the community that they are placed in has no social control over them which in turn allows them to engage in illegal behavior. This is shown by it being a small town so there will be a very low number of police patrolling the area. One of the things they did in town was shoot off a gun. Now the farther away they get from town, in the forest, the more crimes or illegal acts that they commit. One major one being is that they are only 12 and are smoking cigarettes which is obviously not legal for there age. Another one is when they trespass a junkyard. They didnt do anything incriminating to the yard but they did disobey trespassing orders. Other big scenes showing this theory is watching the high schoolers. For one they are smoking and drinking underage as well as driving under the influence. They also damage peoples property in the game of “baseball” when they smash people's mailboxes. These things are happening when they drive farther out of town. Obviously if the town had more control they would be more likely to get caught. We see this alot in our today's society as well there are many more cops in peoria than in washington. So a lot more people will get caught in certain situations in peoria. Another theory that was touched upon was the neutralization theory. Which basically states someone's beliefs about something would be pushed for a moment so they may freely engage in that behavior. I saw this a lot in Gordy because he came from a home that was stable and had an amazing big brother that taught him right from wrong and was always there for him. Gordy is a little hesitant in some situations in the movie and always mentions about going back home throughout the movie but countines on with journey for his own curiosity. You can also see this in Vern because he is very timid and scared about doing a lot of the things in the film such as trespassing. This can also be seen as a group when the kids push aside what consequences they will get from their parents because people think that if they bring home the body people will praise them. They are hoping that the achcienvemnt will cover up the consequences. The last theory that is shown in this film is the differential opportunity/association theory. Which basically is when people learn from other others how to pursue criminal careers to achieve some goal that they have. This is seen in movie when the kids come together and choose to see a dead body which in turn shows us that they wouldn't do this by themselves. This is shown throughout the their journey when they smoke cigs together, walk on the train track, or trespass. They are doing this to achieve one goal which is finding the body and become famous. Watching this movie really showed me how these theories can impact someone on a day to day basis. Also makes me curious as to how many times I have seen this in my day to day life and just didn't notice it at the moment.
ReplyDelete-hollywood007
The movie “Stand by Me” is about four kids growing up and finding their ways through different problems in their life. In the movie there are multiple theories that are shown in the movie that we have talked about in class. One of those theories is the labeling theory. That is when someone gives somebody a label of how they are and then the person actually becomes that label. In the beginning you can tell that one of the boys does not have a good relationship with his father. Gordy's father throughout the movie would give him the label of being basically a nobody and that he would never accomplish anything. After awhile you can see in the movie that Gordy actually starts to believe the negative things that his dad was saying. Labeling theory is shown again when Teddie was called retarded because of the crazy way that his dad was acting. This as shows labeling theory because he Teddie is being called a name just because of the way that his father was acting. Also in the movie during Gordie's brothered funeral Gordie's father was saying how it should have been him instead of his brother. In the movie Gordie talks about how he feels like it was his fault and starts to believe that it really should have been him. This movie shows how impressionable young kid can be. Gordie looks up to his father and him hearing that his own father wished he died instead of his brother can be very harmful to the kids self esteem and relationship with his father. Another example of labeling theory is when Chris was accused of the by the women of the things that he did before and of the thing that his brother did. This shows how she is judging him over the way she feels the kind of person his brother is. Labeling theory is used again when Gordie father called his friends thieves. Social control theory is another theory that we have talked about in class and is also displayed in the movie. In the movie the kids find a dead body and are doing a bunch of delinquent acts. The reason why I believe you see social control theory in the monies I'd because of the lack of attention you the the parents give the kids. If the kids got more attention from their parents at home they probably would not be the things that they do in the movie. Kids need more attention at home and figure they can look up to to tell them right from wrong. In the movie you can also see signs of strain theory being used. I believe that there is strain theory because the kids did not live in the best neighborhood. They kids have to go through all the thing that come with not living in the best community. Differential association theory is another theory that is shown in the movie. You can see differential association theory when they town group of delinquents are all doing juvenile acts. In the movie you can tell that they learned all the things they know from each other and that's what happens when you spend a lot of time with someone who is doing a number of crimes. Over the course of being together a a young kid could see what their friend is doing and what do do the same to make them feel cool or just apart of the group. Social disorganization theory is in this movie as well. You can see this theory by the way that is is a small town ik now the movie. There are not a lot of police around that can be watching the kids as they just roam the streets. One of the last theories that I found in the movie is neutralization theory. This theory is shown towards the beginning of the movie when they did go looking for the body. I believe that that is a sign of the neutralization theory because the kids know they can get in trouble but do it anyway because they knew that they would not get caught. This movie has multiple theories that we have discussed in class. It shows the life of kids growing up in a small down and displays the theories perfectly throughout the movie. ~hoop007
ReplyDeleteI had never actually sat down and watched this movie all the way through, I’m happy I did this weekend though! So many things can be learned from this movie. At the very beginning of Stand by Me the first theory I thought of was the Labeling theory. The labeling theory is the theory of how the self-identity and behavior of individuals may be determined or influenced by the terms used to describe or classify them. I first noticed this theory when Gordy described Teddy as not having much of a chance in life due to his dad, Chris coming from a bad family so everyone knew he’d turn out bad too. By Gordy telling us their backgrounds and that they would amount to nothing just like their fathers and/or families, gordy and everyone else in town has already put a label on them. Gordy’s father labeled Chris as a thief because he stole the milk money buy Chris actually felt so bad he tried to return it, it just never made it back. So he still got labeled as a thief. Gordy also got labeled during this movie too. At gordy’s older brothers funeral his father leaned it and said “why couldn’t it have been you” and gordy started to feel guilty and be actually started to believe that he should have been him too! Although every thing in this movie gave Gordy the right to act out and be just like Teddy and Chris but he did not. No one showed Gordy any attention in this film and when they did they said she should be more like his older brother! Yet gordy veered away from the delinquent acts to a certain extent. As for Chris he didn’t really have anyone to look up to or to even be an older figure to him so maybe that is why he decided to steal? This could also by why Teddy acts out too! His father was very abusive, and he lives in a mental institution. At the end of the movie Gordy states that Teddy spent some time in and out of jail and maybe that is because he didn’t have a father figure to live up to too. All these boys were the same in certain areas, Gordy just didn’t act out as much as the others. Another theory I came across was social disorganization. All these kids lived in a small town where there wasn’t very many people. example, when they climbed over the fence and the older man said “I know all your dads, they’ll be getting a call from me” then he preceded to tell them how he knew all their names. Another example is the kids smoking cigarettes not really sure why they all started doing this but Chris states that he stole them from his father so we know his father smokes and the older teenagers in the movie smoke too so they could be looking up to them even if they are bully’s and what not. The older teens drank while they drove, smashed mailboxes, and bullied the younger ones. It would not be long before the little ones started doing that too. The last theory I found was differential association and opportunity. When Gordy, Chris, Teddy, and Vern got together they all decided to do things that they might now have if they weren’t together. They all smoked together, there wasn’t one scene where just one of them smoked alone, they lied to their parents about where they were going, they all walked on the train tracks together after one of the kids told them it was the only quick way, after finding the body they were all eager to find they decided to call it in anonymous and get no credit for it just because gordy said it was not right, so these kids follow one another no matter what. Due to the bond all these kids have with one another is special for example when Teddy decided to stand in front of the train and Chris makes a fast decision and pulls him away, or when Gordy stalks down about his stories and Chris, Teddy, and Vern all love to hear his stories. All these boys from all different families come together and become friends and they all define different ways apart but together they come one. -freckles007
ReplyDeleteThe movie “Stand By Me” showed a lot of theories that we discussed in class. In the movie Vern had discover that a star her had been killed near their homes. Vern decides to tell everyone else and they all decide to go see the body by walking there. Vern knew where the body was because he over heard the two body Billy and Charlie discussing it. On the the way to the body they learn a lot about themselves and also they show the theories in several ways. The first label that I saw in the movie was future labeling which was a dead body. They quickly said that once they found the body they were going to be on the news after they told everyone. Future labeling basically means when you label something that think might happen or put a label on a person if you think the label will fit them in the future. There was a lot of primary deviance being shown also. The boys showed primary deviance towards Vern in serval ways. Teddy always had something negative to say to Vern about his appearance. Also there was a lot of primary deviance shown against each other not just Vern. Primary deviance means people who see themselves and are seen by others also if negative labels are applied its part of the persons identity. Degradation ceremony was also shown in the movie and it means when you degrade someone into the label that you are putting on them. Another way primary deviance was shown in the movie is when Chris talks to Gordie in the woods about his teacher labeling him something that he isn’t. Chris was very hurt about being labeled by his teacher and peers. Informal labeling was another theory that was shown several times in the movie. Informal labeling basically means being labeled by parents, teachers or your peers. The boys showed informal labeling a lot throughout the movie by labeling each other with positive and negative labels. Also informal labeling was shown with not just the main characters but the other people in the movie. Gordie’s father showed informal labeling by labeling him before and after his brother died. Gordie’s father would say negative things to him that put so many labels on him. Gordie didn’t take his father labeling him well at all throughout the movie. Towards the end of the movie Gordie has a breakdown to his friend Chris about the labels that his father calls him. Basically Gordies father shows primary deviance and informal labeling throughout the movie towards Gordie. Gordie’s father showed both when his farther out a label on his friends. Gordie was a quiet boy that likes to tell stores to his friends. All of Gordie’s friends was dealing with being labeled in their own ways. His friend Chris labeled his own father as a drunk. Teddy deals with labeling because of him being burned and also being a joker. Vern was always labeled because of his weight and was timid. Informal labeling was also shown in the movie when Gordie tells the other boys a story about David Hogan. Which was about an overweight boy who is always teased and bullied. Informal labeling is being shown when Hogan enters the pie-eating contest and everybody including the host laughs and talks about him in a negative way. Also I think degradation ceremony was being used because everyone was degrading him into the label of being fat. David Hogan realizes it and want revenge. Differential association was shown in several ways. The group of boys was showed differential association because they were showing delinquent behavior throughout the whole movie when they started walking to find the body and before when they caught in the mans gate. They also all learned from each other in so many ways in the movie because they are all different. They also all leaned criminal techniques from each other. Which shows what differential association means. All four boys also Billy and Charlie showed the neutralization theory. Both of them had beliefs that allowed them to show delinquent acts based off one of their beliefs.
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After watching the movie Stand By Me, I am more aware of and able to identify some of the major theories within Juvenile Delinquency. The first theory that I noticed was labeling theory. You notice how much it impacts kids lives and how it impacted Gordie. Labeling and such done by people lower or equal to you doesn’t affect you nearly as bad as labeling done by a role model, like a parent, close friend, or significant other. When we are given names and labels by people we look up to, we tend to accept that label, and accept the role of that label. You can clearly see this through Gordie and his dads relationship early on. Living in a small community like I do, you can get labeled for nearly anything. My community has a strong presence of a very serious and strict religious group, so not being incorporated within the religion as is can give you a label. Labeling continues with the choices you make and what is told and heard around the community. How your parents are and how you act can be labeled because it's different from how others in the community act and carry themselves. How you dress can also give them a reason to label you because there are strict rules for men and women and children within the religion, and showing too much skin is seen as sick and label worthy. Social Control Theory also makes a prevalent appearance throughout the movie, and I can find it strongest just based in the lack of sufficient care and interest that the parents give to their kids. Following the behavior and choices of the kids throughout the movie, it is clear to me that their parents didn’t take the steps needed to inform their kids on how to properly act or take action in the event of a major problem, in this case, finding a dead body. Not only did the kids avoid the police, who should have been contacted from the start, but they partook in other acts that would be categorized as delinquent. Structure Theory made a strong appearance as well. You see it through the little gang like atmosphere these kids enter with each other. Lacking acceptance from their primary caretakers, meaning their parents, they are forced to build stronger relationships with each other. They build these bonds throughout the movie with the decisions they make, partaking in delinquent acts with each other. I find it interesting that by following this theory in this atmosphere and in this way within the movie, the kids are doing something that most would categorize as unsafe, but by doing the acts they do, they make each other feel safer because of the bonds they are building with their friends. Differential Association Theory was incorporated within the movie and seen through the towns “gang” like group of kids. Through differential association theory, if you are given a label and it sticks with you, you must live up to that expectation to make yourself feel better. So within the movie, the more people the feared the “gang” the better. If the kids are given names and treated differently when young, that behavior is to be expected when they age, and the expected behavior will age with the kids. For example, if you label a person of the “gang” a thief, and he assumes the roll, he could start by stealing small items, like items from your yard, balls, toys, bikes, and so on. But as the kid ages, and the behavior ages, the fear from the public will increase. If I am 13 and I steal a bike, that is wrong of me to do, but you shouldn’t feel threatened because it was just a bike. But when I’m 17, and I decide to hotwire and steal your car, your fear of me will increase due to my aggressive behavior increasing, and your fear is what I feed on because I was given that label of “gang member” early on and I want to live up to that expectation. Overall, Stand By Me is a very funny movie about adventure and friendship, with themes that scream Juvenile Delinquency and the theories that are attached with Juvenile Delinquency. -Jar007
ReplyDeleteIn the movie, Stand By Me, it shows a lot of the same theories we learn about, and can see. It shows the labeling theory, social control theory, and the differential association theory as well. The labeling theory was shown an little more than the others. The labeling theory is labeling someone, and over time they begin to accept and become that label they were given. Gordie’s father told Gordie he was up to no good, and called Chris a thief, and they eventually started to believe that’s what/how they were. Because Chris was called a thief and believed it, he was also accused of a crime he didn’t commit, just because him and his brother’s past of stealing. The structural theory is also shown by how all of these kids are friends, because of the acts they cause. They needed a friend or at least someone to be there. So they all became friends by committing these delinquent acts, instead of being just kids who are friends that run around outside like when I grew up. The differential association theory is shown by how some of the kids pick up smoking. They see their parents, and older siblings smoke, so they learned how to do the same thing, thinking it’s not a big deal. The social control theory is shown by how the kids find a dead body in the woods. Instead of going to the police like kids shohkd do, they decide to try to take this crime into their own hands. You can see here how their parents are barely involved in what they are doing, and obviously not teaching them good life lessons. Which is more common than it should be in today’s society. The book says the less kids are to commit an act of delinquency if their parents are around more, and can put a stop to their behavior or not. Which they obviously are not doing. Many more of the theories we talk about were shown, but these are just a few of the main ones shown in juvenile delinquency. Stlblues007
ReplyDeleteThe movie Stand By Me is a great movie. Stand by me shows five different theories within the movie. The five theories are the three structural strain theories (social disorganized theory, strain theory, and cultural deviance theory), the neutralization theory, the social control theory, the labeling theory and the social conflict theory.
ReplyDeleteUnder the structural strain theory the social disorganization theory is the inability of a community to exert social control allows youths the freedom to engage in illegal behavior. Many times in the movie the parents of the four boys did not really care about them. Chris, the leader of the friend group’s father is a drunk. In the beginning it say that everyone knows that he is not going to amount it anything. Ever since Gordie’s brother died his mother just stares off into space and his father just acts like he has no emotion and tries to tell Gordie he needs friends like his brother’s. Ted’s mother is a prostitute. She is never home. His father however in the mental hospital, so he has anyone really to look out for him. Lastly, Vern his brother is in the towns gang with Chris’s older brother. With the neglect the families showed towards the boys it leads to the deviant behavior that they show and do in the movie. The next one is the strain theory, it links delinquency to the strain of being locked out of the economic mainstream, thus creating the anger and frustration that leads to delinquent acts. Ted gets made fun of because his father is in the mental hospital. Chris steals the milk money because he just can. At the end of the movie he says that he can not get out of the town, Gordie says that he can do whatever he wants to do. Chris ended up getting out of the town and becoming a lawyer, proving everyone wrong that said he would not amount to anything like the rest of his family. The cultural deviance theory combines elements of both strain and social disorganization. According to this view, because of strain and social isolation, a unique lower class culture develops in disorganized neighborhoods. The subcultures maintain a unique set of beliefs and values that are in conflict with normal social norms. The boys grew up with nothing having to respect others or having to what they are told. I was always told to respect your elders. After jumping the fence at the junkyard the boys were nothing but rude and disrespectful to the man. That is normal for them but not to others. The older gentleman even told the boys to watch their mouths and that he was going to call their father’s except Ted’s.
jw007 part one
The neutralization theory is a set of attitudes or beliefs that allow would-be delinquents to negate any moral apprehension they may have about committing crime so that they may freely engage in antisocial behavior without regret. The different things that people said to the boys had an impact on the choices and the decisions that each one of them made. People said that Chris would not do anything and live the life of crime but he ended up being a lawyer. People told Ted that he was screwed up and would be just like his father. He however was not as crazy as his father but he did end up being a criminal. Gordy's father told him that he should of died instead of his brother. The social control theory maintains that everyone has the potential to become a delinquent but that most adolescents are controlled by their bonds to society. Like i mentioned before on how the boys ended up. The boys got labels put on them when they were kids but some chose to reject the label and change their life around. The labeling theory is also known as the social reaction theory. Basically the theory is how society creates deviance through a system of social control agencies that designate certain individuals as delinquent, therefore stigmatizing youth and encourage them to accept this negative personal identity. Chris got labeled as a thief because of stealing the milk money. Ted got labeled as a lunatic because of his father. Lastly, the social conflict theory asserts that society is in a state of constant internal conflict, and focuses on the role of government and social institutions as mechanisms for social control. Ted tried to kill himself at the train tracks trying to ‘‘dodge’’ the train. Gordie has a hard time seeing Ray’s body it takes him back to his brother when he died and how his father hates him. He is left feeling all alone and that his family doesn't like him. Ted got really emotional when the guy at the junkyard told Ted about his father. His father was not a good man by any means but he still cares about him . jw007 part two
DeleteI agree with you about their parents. I feel like they did not care too much about the boys either. None of their parents were good influences no way. They all had something going on that were not good reflections onto their children. With them being boys and coming from a small town like one they were from, what they needed was role models. Their older brothers being in the towns gang did not make it any better. Seeing their older siblings in gangs and watching them do the bad things they did, could have influenced them to be just like them. -pieface007
DeleteContinued... The lack of attention could have caused the way the boys acted. Although their parents were messed up, Chris and Gordy turned out pretty good. It is good that the two of them did not let what others said to them and labeled them as, stop them from achieving their goals and proving everyone wrong. I also agree with wat you said about respecting their elders. Even though Teddy was wrong for disrespecting the man, the man was saying disrespectful things to him as well. You do not say stuff about ones loved ones and think they will not be upset about it. The junk yard man crossed the line as well. -pieface007
DeletePART ONE: At the beginning of the movie, you can see a glimpse into all of the children’s lives at some point. Gordie is quiet and smart but someone being neglected due to the passing of his older sibling and his parents mourning that, his parents also are not fond of his friend group, wishing he had more friends similar to Gordie’s older brother Denny. Chris, comes from a family of just alcoholics and criminals. Teddy, is completely unstable and prone to outbursts. Teddy’s father and him have a horrible relationship which contributes to him being unstable. He has been burned and physically scarred by his mentally ill father. Vern is overweight and timid and seems to get picked on because of being that. Vern overheard his older brother billy discussing a child named ray brower who went missing and is presumed as dead. Gordie, chris, teddy and vern decide to go out and try to find this kid’s body in hopes of becoming local heroes. Chris can be seen as the leader of the group. As they scavenge for money along the tracks and sit down, a train can be seen coming. As they all get up to get off of the tracks, Teddy stops and stays standing saying that he is going to dodge the train. The three plead for teddy to come off the tracks and he neglects to listen, causing chris to come up and physically pull him from the tracks saving his life. The boys come across a bridge at a point in the movie and not knowing when the next train is due, they decide to cross the tracks. Gordie periodically, checking the rails to see if he can feel movement. Coming over nearly half the bridge, he feels it and turns to see a train coming, he yells train and they take off running besides Vern, who was crawling becomes completely petrified and curls up and just freezes. Gordie yells at him to get up and the possibility of them dying if he does not, and he aids him up and runs behind him yelling at him the whole way and can be seen approaching the end of the tracks and grabbing vern and jumping off to the side, saving his life in a sense.-notacop007
ReplyDeletePART TWO He could have just left him when he curled up. Gordie and chris both spend a time during the movie crying to each other. They have a lot of real moments throughout the movie coming to realizations and truly getting to know and understand each other for who they are. As they come across the boy’s body and Ace’s group with Vern’s brother, come about and want to take claim of finding the body from the boy’s. Ace wants them to hand over the body but chris stands his ground and tells them they are not taking the body. Ace comes walking down with a knife, threatening to kill chris and chris tells him that he will have to kill him first and ace puts a knife tho chris’ throat presumably to slice it and gordie fires the gun off into the air. Then points it at Ace. Ace says, “you going to kill all of us?” as he has a clan with him and gordie says, “no, just you ace”. And Ace’s clan leaves. At the end of the movie after all the boys disperse and call in an anonymous tip to the police, we find out that Vern married out of high school and has four children and works at a local lumberyard as a fork lift driver. Teddy attempted to join the military but was turned down due to having bad eyesight and an ear injury. He actually served time incarcerated and picks up jobs around town that he can. Chris went to college and actually became a lawyer, but was in a restaurant and while in an attempt to break up a fight he was stabbed to death.-notacop007
ReplyDeletePART THREE Gordie becomes a successful, published writer. Chris was always the mediator and a leader and attempted to always do right so his death was honestly fitting as bad as it sounds because he died due to his heroic behaviors. Gordie always loved to tell stories and was the narrator so his job is very suiting and teddy behind bars was always a possibility because of the social learning theory aspect. Vern established himself into his own person from this ‘coming of age’ movie. You can see labeling theory because Ace’s clan is known for not being good and they engage in smashing mailboxes and being delinquent. Neutralization theory can be seen because of the boy’s making some choices throughout that they put that it was okay and lessened because of their reasoning for committing certain acts. Differential association can more so be seen from Teddy witnessing his father and following that path due to it being his childhood. -notacop007
ReplyDeleteStand by me was one of the best examples of childhood delinquency taking place in older times. It really helps show that different times have the same exact delinquency acts in youthful characters. I was a pretty good kid according to everyone who watched me grow up but these kids on the other hand were the worst of the worst. I had no idea what a cigarette was until i was fourteen years old. I wish I was joking when I say that but i'm not scared to admit that i was a very sheltered child. One of the theories that we have learned about in class is structural functionalism. This theory basically says that kids who are raised around inappropriate behavior such as criminal activity, will grow up performing exactly what they saw a sa child. For example, Vern talks about in the beginning of the movie and throughout how his dad is an alcoholic and doesn't care about his son. This sort of behavior towards a child takes its toll and as we know, Vern isn't the most normal of kids. He has a major hyper activity problem and he is smoking as a juvenile. Not to mention he cusses like a sailor. The transfer of problems from adult to child is a major problem and has been for hundreds of years. Sadly, it just became a subject of study and it has been proven to have a huge effect on a child's success rate and juvenile crime rate. Another problem with these kids is lack of control. For example, when Chris’s dad told him that he wished he had normal friends, Chris began to argue and say that they are normal. Therefore two theories come out of this single scene. The first is the theory of control which juust states that a lack of control in a certain household will more than likely result in delinquent behavior. The other theory is labeling theory. The father labeled his friends as abnormal and thieves. Now it isn't the fact that he called them that, but the fact that he is actually right. People in the town know that these boys are trouble makers which makes them publicly labeled. They have already accepted this label and really don't care, especially Vern. I mean, who goes around town giving their friend a loaded gun and tell them it is unloaded and then proceed to watch them pull the trigger and laugh. While Chris was worried, Vern found it funny that the store owner came outside and saw them and though it was firecrackers. Another scene that displayed labeling theory is the scene where they get caught in the junkyard and beghin scrutinizing the big bad chopper dog. The owner approached them and realized he recognized Teddy. Teddies father had been in Normandy on D-Day and had lost his marbles shortly after returning home which got him sent straight to a nuthouse. Teddy is very passionate about his father and what he did on that day, so any negative remarks made about him triggers Ted instantly. Well the owner of the junkyard was pretty fired up about them being in his lot so he started firing off insults about Teddy's father calling him a lunatic and how he is locked up in a loony house. He labeled teddy's dad as a lunatic and it began to break down Teddy to the point he lashed out and said he was going to kill him. This is a good example of labeling because he said it so many times that Teddy realized he had a point and lashed out in defense of his family and if his friends hadn't been there, he probably would've had a couple juvenile charges brought against him. Not to mention he would also be charged with trespassing and destruction of property. Overall this movie was an excellent film and quite a good laugh but all of that aside, it is one of the best examples of how childhood delinquency begins and how it ends up in older ages. It shows from the earliest onset how kids react to certain obstacles that life throws at them and whether or not they go down a criminal path. GVFF007
ReplyDeletePart 1: This movie opened up my eyes to labeling from many different point of views. Chris was labeled from the family he had and from the previous acts of his older brother. He was told what he was going to be and sooner than later he started to believe it. Labeling can be very horrible to a child and it can really make the child turn into a delinquent. When you label a child as a theft or liar they will soon come to a point in life when they will give up in just start doing what you labeled them as because they don’t understand any better and they may feel depressed inside because no matter what they do to change that label people will make them still feel like that because that is the label the child is now stuck with. Chris was labeled and started to believe he wouldn’t make it out of the town he was living in, into his friend Gordie told him he would and he talked positive to him. Chris even had a formal labeling, which is a labeling that comes from school. Even when he tried to return the money that was stolen because he felt bad, a teacher took it and spent it and still told that he took it with, he got in trouble and the school didn’t even bother asking him if he took it because of his label, they figured he did it anyway.
ReplyDeleteThe kids were all traveling to see another child dead body but before they went some of them really didn’t like the idea. Neutralization theory is what was used to fix that, the kids that didn’t agree to it was talked into believing they would become heroes if they found the body and that they would get a better label on them. They came up with many good points to lead the others into wanting to go and not thinking about the consequences or regrets. Many cases of Differential Association were going on, the boys were stealing and smoking cigarettes because they had seen their parent’s do it. Also cussing a lot and fighting. Chris even stole his fathers (who was an alcoholic) gun and made Gordie believe he wouldn’t get caught by saying his dad would be so drunk he would think he shot all the bullets out when he was drunk in shooting at the beer cans. The boys mostly inherited interpersonal interactions (which is when you hear cussing and you soon start to do it) and was exposed into violence (when you see fighting then soon you start to do it). Learning is by-product of interaction and most learning occurs within intimate groups, such as criminal learning. Although some differential association may vary in duration, frequency, priority and intensity.
Delinquent behavior is a protest against the norms and values of middle – class U.S. culture. Everyone has the potential to become a delinquent but delinquency occurs when the forces that bind adolescents to society are weakened or broken. Gordie wanted Chris to join him in the college prep classes he was going to and Chris didn’t think he could. Soon he developed the elements of the social bond theory, which is the attachment (bond in a friendship) commitment (actually taking it serious) involvement (to be willing to do what it takes) and belief (to believe in the friendship). Gordie was a good friend and he supported Chris which made him want to start doing better. If you have a good influence and somebody that is putting nothing but good labels on you then you will be more willingly to do better things in life and you will feel better about yourself. If you are labeled as someone that’s good, then you will want to start becoming someone that’s good because when people are giving you compliments you feel good and noticed so you are willing to do more to get more of those compliments. Low socioeconomic status (getting bullied, being poor, bad friends, or seeing people with the things that you want) is what makes you go down in life to being a bad person. Good labeling and a social bond will make that bad person want to become a better person.
LLTS78007
The movie “Stand by Me” gave good examples of the theories that we have recently been learning about in class. The older teens showed a lot of the neutralization theory; lessening the impact on the mind to do something they should not be doing and have no regret from it. There was a scene when they were hitting people’s mailboxes with a bat and knocked them down, not caring about how those people would feel. I count every time they picked with Chris and the others as an example of the neutralization theory because they knew it was wrong. They still picked with them because they could not do anything about it since they were younger than them. There was also a time when the group of older teens were racing on the street and one of the guys were driving on the wrong side and made a truck that was coming towards them swerve off the road. The guy felt no regret and only cared about winning the race. Another theory that was shown throughout the movie was informal labeling; labels given to you from someone close to you or someone you care about. Gordy’s father said his writings were stupid and a waste of time. This eventually made Gordy think his writings were stupid and not good. His father only cared about his older son playing football. All his attention was on the older the brother. Gordy thought that his father hated him because of the lack of attention he gave him. Chris and Gordy’s brother always told him his writings were good, but it was always the negative responses that stuck in his mind. There was apart in the movie when they were at a junk yard where a man had lived. The junk yard man gave a good example of the degradation ceremony theory when he was talking about Teddy’s father being a loony. Even though Teddy’s father had done some crazy things in his past and was in some facility, does not mean he could not have changed over time. He kept forcing the loony label onto Teddy’s fathers name, reminding him of who his father was. Differential Association, learned behaviors from interacting with delinquency behavior, was best shown through Chris’s family. Even though he was a good person to those around him, his family was not the best. His mother and father did not make the best decisions and it could have corrupted Chris. Everyone thought Chris would be a nobody and turn out just like his parents but instead he later became a part of the criminal justice system. Chris always looked out for his friends when they were younger. He was the peace maker out of the group. Teddy, Chris, and Gordy were also an example of the differential association theory when it came to Vern. Vern was the furthest away from doing any delinquent behavior. His friends convinced him to do things he did not fully want to do. Just like when they were planning to go find the dead body, he did not fully want to go but after they gave him reasons of how their plan would work, he made up his mind to go along. -pieface007
ReplyDeleteAfter watching the movie "Stand by Me" I've realized the movie used many theories. All 4 friends come from a family where it's no support system in which way so all they have is each other, and they're willing to do whatever they can to make sure they're all good. Going back to the movie, Gordie Lachance remembers back to an incident where he was twelve involving that friend. His Story. It was just before labor Day weekend 1959 in his hometown, he's just about to enter junior high, he's an insecure young man, feels more invisible at home than usual as it's five months after the tragic death of his older brother Denny, the favored son, who he loved and misses as much as anyone. His parents who just don't understand Gordie's love of writing and storytelling as opposed to Denny's athletic pursuits, still have not gotten over their grief. Gordie spends much time with his three closets same aged friends, who attend school together. Vern Tessio is the slightly dim overweight one, that dimness largely out of naivety. Teddy Duchamp is the crazy one whose father is also crazy albeit violently, even against Teddy. And Chris Chambers, Gordie's Best friend, has in the public mindset a predetermined future as a lowlife, being just in the latest lowlife in the Chambers family. Regardless, Chris acts more as a responsible father figure to Gordie in many ways than Goride's own father. Vern learns from secretly overhearing his older delinquent brother Billy's conversation that he has discovered a dead body in the woods about twenty or thirty miles away, but does not want to do anything with it or tell anyone about it, especially in authority. With Vern telling his three friends, the four believe it is probably Ray Brower, a boy around their age from another town who went missing three days ago while going blueberry picking. Needing to walk there, they decide to go retrieve the body and this become heroes in the process. They devise a plan of attack that will give them about twenty-four hours before their respective families may even realize is that Billy does does eventually tell his group of friends, led by the sadistic Ace Merrill, who has a win at any cost mentality, and such it becomes a race to retrieve the body. But in their physical journey, the four boys also go through an emotional journey about their lives, their friendship and for Goride why he has what becomes an obsession to see that dead body. Throughout the movie Vern kept hesitating to do things, he had a second thought but his friends pumped his head up and explained to him what they weren't supposed to do was ok and we went along with it. Most theories we've learned about in class was used in the movie as well. Dealing with Gordie, Vern, Teddy, and Chris. At the end of the movie all the boys went on to Junior High, years go by without speaking to each other, they separate. Teddy and Vern grew apart from Gordie and Chris, Teddy ends up going to jail, haven't changed since he was a kid, Chris, who was always the peacemaker gets between a fight, trying to break it up ends up getting stabbed in the throat and dies. Chris tried to get into college, but he had his downfall, but that didn't stop him from trying. He became a lawyer. And Gordie gets married, becomes a writer and has kids. At the end Gordie writes "I never had any friends later on like the the ones I had when I was 12. Jesus, does anyone" Which explains no matter what direction his friends went into they will always be his best friends. -dbaby007
ReplyDeleteAt first I wasn't sure that I was going to like the movie but it turned out that I did, this was a good movie and also somewhat sad as well. There were so many theories in the movie that relatable to what we discussed I’m class. First there were so many examples of delinquency with the older boys. First they were drinking and driving and driving very reckless on the highway making the truck veer off the road, Also when drinking and driving they were knocking people's mailbox over. To me this would be considered differential association. I do believe while they were knocking down the mailboxes one of the older boys didn't want to do it but because he was in that group setting and everybody else was drinking and hitting the mailboxes so did he. As we know when you are part of a group that is doing delinquent behavior that you don't do, you then start to learn and micmic what everybody else is doing.
ReplyDeleteThe next theory I noticed was the neutralization theory and also a little of the choice theory. I do believe the boys knew going to search for a dead body was a bad idea however they kept telling each other they would become a hero, have their pictures taken, and be on tv etc if they find and report the body. For them the reward of having those things happen to them was well worth the risk that they took. When your that age who doesn't want to be a hero or get recognized for doing the right thing. I also feel like they wanted to take that risk and get acknowledged for doing something good because, they had already been labeled as “bad kids” and they probably believed that to be true since they heard it so much. I really feel bad for all the boys because in their own way their family life isn't the greatest, it's almost as if they are hopeless and have nothing else to look forward to
In the beginning when all of the boys were in the treehouse and even after dinner they had to smoke. That exhibits the social learning theory. When the boys had something “nothing life a after dinner smoke” or something to that extent that had amazed me because, that obviously was learned by watching their parents or even their older siblings. When we were at that age we were told smoking isn't good for you. The fact they were doing it like it was normal is what they
have been observing. Also, everything was done in the group setting which doesn't make it any better but to them it was okay because they were doing it together. If the parents to me really did care they wouldn't have started smoking and they also wouldn't have done other delinquent behavior
The theory I seen the most of would be the labeling theory. They all had some type of label on them that seemed to follow them. When at the junkyard the owner did a good job of showing the labeling theory. With Ted his father is in a mental institution after serving in the war im assuming. Ted then gets the label of crazy, that would explain his actions behind a lot of things that he does. Chris got labeled as a thief due to him stealing the milk money however, because his family background which was already bad it was almost as if he was bound to get labeled. After Gordy’s brother died his family almost didn't have anything to do with him, almost as if they didn't want him anymore. Even at the funeral his father told Gordy it should have been you or something along those lines. Although everybody came from different but similar backgrounds they didn't let that shape and form who they would become in the future. Just because somebody labels you as something or believe you wont be successful you can always prove them wrong.
-21Miami007
The movie generally seemed to have been well enjoyed by the class from what we saw on Monday but more importantly the film did have noticeable examples of different kinds of Social Structure Theories. A prime example of Social Disorganization Theory is that we can see a character like Chris come from a more disadvantaged home which in turn leads to him likely internalizing the labels placed on him by most people and then proceeding to do delinquent acts like stealing his father's gun, stealing money from his school (even if he did return it) and setting out to find a corpse with his friends. A prime example of Strain Theory, which is when a societal structure encourages crime, would be potentially in what happened with Chris. Chris was labelled a thief by his school which would then lead to internalization which certainly is not further helped by the fact that he was given three days off of school as a kind of suspension. That suspension likely leads to Chris just being unsupervised for long periods of time and in many cases that may encourage the child to commit crimes during that time especially since they already believe themselves to be a crook. Cultural Deviance Theory states that there is a kind of divide between the social values and beliefs of particular economic classes. For example in the movie we can see Teddy and Chris have an odd relationship where they seem to understand each other a bit better than the other kids. Chris's father is a drunk and Teddy's is insane yet in scenes like the Train Jumping attempt where Teddy plays with his life we can watch as Chris realizes that somebody needs to intervene. In my notes for this class I have written down under Social Structure Theories that "Not all youthful offenders become adult offenders" which is touched on in the film when we see that Chris becomes a lawyer but we also see the downside where it is possible for young delinquents to become criminals in the case of Teddy. In the end of the movie we find out that Teddy has been in and out of jail for much of his adult life though that may very well be because of his family's mental health complications which almost certainly were passed down to him. 1/3
ReplyDeleteWe can see an example of ideas like becoming uncultured in Vern's clear disinterest in wanting to help to find the body because he knows that behavior is frowned upon by society though because of the pressure of his closest friends he participates anyways. An example of Social Control theory is evident in the case of Gordy. He's a good kid with good grades and a decent home life (that has it's own troubles but he isn't abused) yet he does ultimately turn towards delinquent behavior in doing things from trespassing to searching for a corpse to threatening to murder somebody with a stolen gun. Neutralization Theory can oddly enough be seen in the story that Gordy told about Lard ass where Lard ass intentionally eats all the pie he can and then vomits on the nearest person which causes a chain reaction of everybody in the vicinity to vomit but ultimately Lard ass distances himself from the act and enacts neutralization because he believes that all of those folks deserved what they got for being generally mean to him because of his weight. He decides to not empathize with them because of their past actions to him which leads to his deviance. We can also witness things such as Informal Labeling when Gordy's father essentially tells him that Gordy isn't enough or is a failure or a disappointment. We can really notice that Gordy internalizes that and it even haunts him in his nightmares where his father tells him that "it should have been you" in reference to Gordy's beloved brother dying and being buried. Formal labeling can be seen when Chris is labeled a thief by his school and that label spreads out throughout the community to folks such as the junkyard owner, the junkyard owner manages to perfectly describe all of the ascribed labels of the boys which is very interesting if you go back and rewatch that seen where the gate divides the man and the boys. The man acts almost as a representation of society to the boys in my opinion. 2/3
Delete-TaxSeason 3/3
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