Introduction
Virgil Tibbs, an African-American Philadelphia police detective, is arrested on suspicion of murder by Bill Gillespie, the prejudiced police chief of little Sparta, Mississippi. Tibbs links up with Gillespie to locate the genuine criminal after establishing his own and another man’s innocence. Tibbs encounters both opponents and strange acquaintances in his search for the truth, leading them through the town’s social levels. The picture is also notable for being the first big Hollywood color film to be lighted with due regard for a black person. According to Haskell Wexler, the standard solid lighting employed in shooting generated too much glare on dark complexions, obscuring the features. As a result, Wexler altered the lighting to allow Poitier to be photographed more effectively. The protagonist is confronted with prejudice and labels, and harsh discrimination. The labelling theory would be an excellent topic for debate in the context of the events depicted in the video.
An Explanation of the Labeling Theory
According to the labelling theory, individuals’ self-identity and behavior may be regulated or influenced by the labels used to identify or classify them. It has to do with preconceptions and self-fulfilling prophecies. According to the labelling theory, the deviation is produced by majorities’ tendency to negatively label minorities or individuals who are thought to be deviant from mainstream cultural standards. In the 1960s and 1970s, the concept gained popularity, and various modified forms emerged that are still in use today. A stigma is a word or phrase that has a negative impact on a person’s self-esteem and social identity.
In the Heat of the Night in Light of the Labeling Theory
The use of theoretical aspects of knowledge and related theories can provide valuable insight into the work and help to understand it better. Thus, this work applies liberal theory to the analysis of the Norman Jewison film “In the Heat of the Night.” It can provide information and predictions about what the motives of some characters’ behavior were. For this purpose, such components of the theory as a systematic description and claims of knowledge will be used.
Social-construction and symbolic-interaction analysis are both closely connected to labeling theory. During the 1960s, sociologists developed the labeling hypothesis. Aside from crime, labeling theory has applications in other disciplines. For example, there is a labeling theory that applies to homosexuality. The notion that guys doing feminine activities suggest homosexuality is one example. The term does not relate to criminal behavior, but rather to actions that are socially unacceptable owing to mental illness.
Labeling Theory
Thus, the theory enables researchers to gain an understanding of behavioral patterns in humans. For this analysis, labeling theory was chosen, the main concept of which implies that specific labels force people to conform and act according to them (Pastore 1). Often this theory is used in the field of crimes. African – Americans have had numerous labels attached to them as a people, mostly criminal. This label has provided a considerable challenge to how
African – Americans form relationships with other racial groups as well as how they are depicted in the media (Littlefield, 2008). Black characters are often written into a criminal trope which strengthens the idea that the label accurately fits the description of African-Americans (Corredera, 2017). This has resulted in not only the African population being labeled as deviant but also black culture. On the opposite end of the spectrum, whiteness is commonly labeled as good and is seen both as infallible and incorruptible (Zimring, 2015). Stigmatization is not easily broken as African-Americans still fall victim to issues of labeling including, but not limited to, racial profiling by police, discrimination, and at times social rejection (Tannenbaum, 1938).
This is since it is in this aspect that these labels can become the results of illegal actions and poor conditions. In particular, the label theory is of interest in the fact that it considers how a confident negative attitude towards individuals can provoke undesirable behavior on their part.
Further, it is believed that the chosen theory has effectiveness in the study of deviant behavior, for example, the behavior of criminals. Its primary assumption is the fact that no crime or violation of the law has an immediate instinct. Deviant behavior thereby becomes the result of people interacting with correct and deviant behavior, conditioned by an established understanding of the legality of actions and criminality. When assigning labels to people who have power, such as politicians, educators, sociologists, they condemn society to the formation of reinforced prejudices against others.
Accurate description of label theory uses definitions of deviance, crime, and the influence of society to identify and distinguish one case from another. The systematic definition of this approach is determined by the relationship between labels on the part of society and how they affect human behavior in society, especially manifestations of deviant behavior (Cullen and Jonson 64). The equal concept can be attributed to the knowledge claims of the label theory, based on a variety of scientific studies that confirm its basic postulates.
It is worth emphasizing that, in correlation with many approaches to the study of a phenomenon, the theory of labels is criticized. Thus, the theory under study does not take into account such vital aspects as differences in the process of socialization of individuals. In addition, not in all cases, the emphasis is on relationships with other people and opportunities that directly affect the manifestation of deviant behavior. Moreover, studies have not yet proven the degree of influence of prejudice on people (Newman 340). In other words, there are other factors of influence, such as, for example, dysfunctional relationships. These conditions can, even more, influence deviant behavior and the commission of criminal actions.
Academic Literature Review
For an even more detailed understanding of the concept of label theory, in the course of the research, the works of scholars on the topic of label theory were studied. The first work considered is “Labeling theory. Handbook on crime and deviance,” written by Jón Gunnar Bernburg. This source provides evidence of how the labels of deviant behavior affect the behavior of people who are prescribed to them. The author notes that “although deviant behavior may initially stem from various causes and conditions, once individuals are labeled as deviants, they experience problems that stem from powerful, negative stereotypes” (Bernburg 180). The manifestation of such behavior more strongly roots negative consequences for society. There is an extensive number of new literary works on the topic of labeling theory, which are of particular value for combating this issue even in modern society. This is reflected in weakening social bonds, reducing the number of opportunities, and motivating the manifestation of deviant behavior in people who get labels and prejudices in their direction.
Another source studying the theory of labels and providing its explanation in the context of how it affects the behavior of the younger generation is written by Prince Boamah Abraham and is called “Labeling Theory and Life Stories of Juvenile Delinquents Transitioning into Adulthood.” Thus, in this scientific paper, the author argues that prejudices negative attitudes based on specific imposed characteristics can leak into criminal behavior in children in the future. To confirm his point of view, the researcher cites more than twenty different stories of juvenile delinquents (Abrah 179). Thus, in the article, there is a study of the problem in the context of the effect exerted by the adverse reactions of society that contribute to the change and strengthening of deviant behavior.
Moreover, a valuable aspect of this scientific work is that the author, based on the results of a qualitative study, proves that changing the situation or moving to places where there is no practice of labeling has a positive effect on reducing criminal tendencies in adolescents. Thus, the conclusion indicates that labels are not the primary determinant in the manifestation of deviant behavior and that people can immensely change the situation with the right attitude to the problem and support. However, in the absence of these factors, criminal behavior can prevail in a person and have significant negative consequences.
“In the Heat of the Night”
The considered theory of labels in this paper will be applied to understanding the motivation of the characters of Norman Jewison’s detective work “In the Heat of the Night.” This cinematic film examines the communist ideology of twentieth-century America, in which racism was clearly traced. This film represented a significant breakthrough in the industry, as it was one of the first that so openly pointed out the problem of racial prejudice. The main story reveals an attempt by entirely different people to solve a mystical murder. Throughout the action, the audience is exposed to changes in the relationship between the two men, who go from hatred fueled by racism to admiration and respect for a partner.
Special surprise and excitement among the public of that time were caused by the fact that the leading role in the work was played by an African-American actor, which was utterly uncommon at the end of the twentieth century. His character Virgill Tibbs is presented as a very educated and resourceful detective. He investigates the crime of the murder of a man, in which many different aspects manifest themselves. The movie’s ending is unexpected and a little confusing, but at the same time, it is also not as satisfactory as the whole plot.
The theory of labels can be effectively applied to the film under study, “In the Heat of the Night.” Thus, it can be used to explain the behavior of some characters who were subjected to the oppression of racism that prevailed in their society. Even the main protagonist, a detective, is subject to prejudice against his person. Firstly, he is suspected of committing a crime since he is found at the station with a wallet full of money. Secondly, these assumptions are reinforced by his skin color, which for residents of the city, is one of the principal identifiers of the crime.
This assumption can also be supported by the fact that society has an entirely different attitude towards representatives of the African-American community than towards other people. Hence, in schools, they are treated much more strictly and harshly. The police, as in the studied cinematic picture, treat blacks much tougher, sometimes allowing themselves to exceed their powers. All this can also be supported by the theory of labels, which indicates that stereotypes and prejudices that are not strongly formed lead to a similar assessment of black people and viewing them as deviants.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this research paper considered the theory of labels. As an example, the film “In the Heat of the Night” was studied, where the main character is just exposed to the prejudices of society. The analyzed theory indicates that those formed in society have an effect not only on people’s views but also on behavior. Thus, a negative attitude towards a particular group or race can lead to an increase in deviant behavior and actions. It is not easy to get rid of these, and more efforts are needed to help such people.
Works Cited
Abrah, Prince Boamah. “Labeling Theory and Life Stories of Juvenile Delinquents Transitioning into Adulthood.” International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, vol. 63, no. 2, 2019, pp. 179-197.
Bernburg, Jón Gunnar “Labeling theory. Handbook on crime and deviance.” Springer, 2019, pp. 179-196.
Corredera, V. (2017). Far More Black Than Black: Stereotypes, Black Masculinity, and Americanization in Tim Blake Nelson’s O. Literature/Film Quarterly, 45(3).
Cullen, Francis T., and Cheryl Lero Jonson. “Labeling Theory and Correctional Rehabilitation: Beyond Unanticipated Consequences.” Labeling Theory, 2017, pp. 63-85.
Littlefield, Marci Bounds (2008). The media as a system of racialization. American Behavioral Scientist.51 (5), pp.675-685
Newman, Graeme. Comparative Deviance: Perception and Law in Six Cultures. Routledge, 2017.
Pastore, Gerardo. “Labeling Theory.” The Wiley‐Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social Theory, 2017, pp. 1-2. Tannenbaum, F. (1938). Crime and the Community New York: Columbia University.
Zimring, C. A. (2015) Clean and white: a history of environmental racism in the United States. New York, New York: New York University Press.