Robin Hood Stories: Encouraging Attitudes and Behaviors of Good and Opportunistic Burglars - Research Paper Example

?How stories and media productions of such heroes as Robin Hood could encourage the attitudes and behaviors of "good" and "opportunistic" burglars Introduction Robin Hood is a folk hero of The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood. This character is one of the most widely known and liked characters in the history of English literature. Although the story dates back to the 1930’s, yet it is read with just as much curiosity and interest today as it was back then. Robin Hood had a band of Merry Men with whom, he conducted robberies to take money from the rich and give it to the needy. Along with being a robber with a gang, Robin Hood wooed Marian, the maid. Several other interesting activities of Robin Hood are narrated in The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood. Analysis of the character of Robin Hood suggests that he plays a very important role in the society and for much part, his contribution to the development of society is positive as he takes money from the rich and helps the poor. This creates a balance in the socioeconomic system, and eradicates poverty. Robin Hood’s efforts helped the poor get richer while the rich got poorer. The economic gap between the rich and the poor that reduces as a result of such acts solves numerous problems of the society that include but are not limited to categorization of the people on the basis of financial status, racism, and the class system. Charity is considered as a very noble thing. The fundamental purpose of charity is to eradicate the very evils of racism, differentiation, and class system from the society. What Robin Hood did was indirectly charity work, though he adopted an illegal channel to make it happen. The Influence of Media on the Society Media is one of the most powerful systems in the contemporary age. It is the fundamental source of news as well as entertainment for the society. Programs based on crime shown in the media are equally informative for the criminals and the non-criminals. While the criminals learn new ways of making offence, the non-criminals discover new ways of protecting themselves. People gain the knowledge of various types and techniques of crime and justice mainly from the media. Crime and justice is a fascinating topic for the Western society. People frequently talk about crime in everyday conversations, books, magazines, films, and newspapers. The construction of the criminal justice system is largely governed by the mass media. “The public’s perception of victims, criminals, deviants, and law enforcement officials is largely determined by their portrayal in the mass media” (Dowler, 2003, p. 109). There is considerable research e.g. Surette (1998) and Roberts and Doob (1986) to suggest that most of the knowledge people have related to crime and justice is media-driven. There are two prime interconnected questions around which the effect of media on the attitudes and behaviors of public revolves; whether the coverage of sensationalistic crime induces fear in the audience? and if it does, does it affect the attitudes of the criminal justice policy? According to Surette (1998), there are mixed effects of the news media on the development of an attitude of fear in the audience. Several variables control the effect of news media on the audience that include but are not limited to the length of time an individual watches such programs, the age of the individual watching the programs, and the frequency with which he/she reads such news or watches such programs. The type of medium e.g. Internet, TV, or radio employed to project the crime also affects its influence on the audience’s attitudes and behaviors. When the acts of crime like burglary are shown on the TV, “…viewers internalize these images and develop a "mean world view" or a scary image of reality. This view is characterized by "mistrust, cynicism, alienation, and perceptions of higher than average levels of threat of crime in society"” (Dowler, 2003, p. 109). Ferguson’s Model Ferguson et al. (2008) proposed a model that explains the effect of media on the attitudes and behaviors of the audience. The model is shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 1: “A Catalyst Model for Violent Antisocial Behavior” (Ferguson, n.d., p. 45). Ferguson’s model tends to explain the interaction between the external and biological factors on the aggressive behavior. The model suggests that antisocial personalities form as a result of the interaction between physical abuse and genetics. People become aggressive when they are provoked. Since aggression can lead to ostracism, people have developed an impulse control device that limits the impulses of aggression. Damage to this device causes the aggressive responses to increase specially in the times of increased environmental stress like unemployment or failure in exams. These environmental stressors play the role of catalysts in inculcating violence in the audience. Ferguson’s model promotes the view that media violence is neither a causal factor of the violent crime nor it does anything to stimulate it. Instead, media violence serves as a stylistic catalyst. In other words, people who have already resolved to act in an aggressive manner may do so in the same way as they saw happening in the media. Removal of the media influence would still have the individual act in a violent manner since it was his/her decision, but the act of violence would be different in that case. Following the Ferguson model, it can be deduced that stories and media productions of such heroes as Robin Hood have a lot of potential to encourage the attitudes and behaviors of “good” and “opportunistic” burglars because burglary is projected in such programs. Of course not every person in the audience would opt to become a burglar after watching such productions. Only the ones with a prior inclination towards crime or offence in general but also a will to do something good would get a direction from such productions, and thus get involved in the acts of burglary. Influence of Robin Hood If stories like Robin Hood are projected in the media and revived from time to time by making new films, soaps, and theatres for the same old stories, the character will be carved in people’s memory across generations. This has a potential effect on the psychology of the audiences as they not only see such characters in a positive way, but also many “good” and “opportunistic” people might become burglars to play their role in making people happier as well as raise their on standard of living. The power and influence of Robin Hood can be estimated from the extreme level of burglary in Nottingham. “The home of Robin Hood saw house burglary levels which were 63% above the national average, according to an analysis of claims records by Endsleigh Insurance Services” (Metro, 2012). The unusual and noticeable match between the extraordinary burglary level in Nottingham and the fact that the world’s famous folk hero, Robin Hood belonged to Nottinghamshire cannot be a mere coincidence. This match provides evidence for the perception that the history and literature of a place has an impact on the psychology and social activities of the people dwelling there. Behavior of the Burglars A vast majority of the burglars live in the urban areas where the environment is built. This environment helps them in their movement and daily activities. Times have changed since the character of Robin Hood was introduced in the literature. Burglars in the contemporary age are much more facilitated as they are equipped with technology. Although they are very much like ordinary people in their attitudes and behaviors, yet one feature that makes them different from the ordinary people is that they have an inclination towards crime which helps them become a burglar. Becoming a burglar is a gradual process, and the traces can be found in the childhood. It is hard to find an individual who has not done anything illegitimate throughout his/her life. “We have all stolen a candy bar as a child, thrown a stone through a window when we were juveniles, or made up little lies when we had to fill out our tax papers. Testing boundaries is human, but knowingly and willingly crossing these borders again and again is what sets criminals apart from `ordinary' people” (Lopez, n.d., p. 423). Many burglars are not necessarily criminals. They have a tendency or urge to do something for the society. While they are being too generous to the poor, they are being offensive towards the rich, which is what makes them criminals anyways. Burglary in the Contemporary Age A lot of examples of the good and opportunistic burglars inspired by Robin Hood can be spotted in the media. In 2011, a Robin Hood of the contemporary age, Badiul Haq Nasir aged 45 was arrested in the Southeast Bangladesh for the charge of donating the gains he had made from his robbery to the local orphanages. Nasir was a benevolent burglar who had acquired millions of dollars through planned heists used to make large donations in dozens of villages in Bangladesh to help the orphans and construct mosques. However, along with helping the orphans, Nasir also spent that money on raising his standard of living. He owned a lot of property and lived in a splendid villa. The villagers had very positive image of Nasir. “The villagers say he's a benevolent man -- he would help anyone who needed it … Nasir is probably the most efficient burglar in the country. He can break any lock, get into any vault or gold shop by using a screwdriver and wrench” (Akhter cited in Tengri News, 2011). Before he was caught, Nasir had donated about $27,000 dollars to a mosque in a village. He had acquired this money from one act of robbery. Not only do such characters exist in the society, but also they are identified in the media as Robin Hoods. The title of the news report that discussed Nasir’s case read, “Bangladesh police arrest 'Robin Hood' burglar” (Tengri News, 2011). Conclusion Media controls the minds of the audience. There is not doubt in the fact that whatever is projected in the media has an influence on the society. However, burglary was practiced in the world even before Robin Hood was introduced in the literature, and there are many burglars in the present age who are not even aware of Robin Hood. It is not correct to say that all characters like Badiul Haq Nasir and others are inspired by the historic literary character of Robin Hood. In fact, the fact that the character of Robin Hood can still be witnessed in the present society in the form of burglars is one of the elements of Robin Hood that makes this play a great play. Great plays have elements that apply to all ages. Robin Hood is a story that is more popular in the West. Few people in the non-English speaking countries particularly the Southeast Asian countries know about or have read the story. Hence, inspiration of Robin Hood cannot be generalized for all burglars. It is hard to imagine that burglars like Badiul Haq Nasir would ever have read the story to have their attitudes and behaviors inspired by Robin Hood. Such characters are realistic and have the attitudes and behaviors required for burglary inherently built in them. However, educated burglars in the West might gain inspiration from Robin Hood to justify their acts. In light of the model proposed by Ferguson, behaviors are not inculcated in people by programs showing such characters as Robin Hood. In fact, people with a potential to become burglars already possess those behaviors. Showing programs based on characters like Robin Hood provide such people with a direction so that they may utilize their behaviors and potential for personal gains as well as helping the poor. The impact of literature projected on media or anywhere undoubtedly has a huge impact on the society and the high level of burglary in Nottingham, the hometown of the historic character of Robin Hood provides evidence for that. References: Dowler, K. (2003). Media Consumption And Public Attitudes Toward Crime And Justice: The Relationship Between Fear Of Crime, Punitive Attitudes, And Perceived Police Effectiveness. Journal of Criminal Justice and Popular Culture. 10(2): 109-126. Ferguson, C. J., Rueda. S., Cruz, A., Ferguson, D., Fritz, S., & Smith, S. (2008). Violent video games and aggression: Causal relationship or byproduct of family violence and intrinsic violence motivation? Criminal Justice and Behavior. 35: 311–332. Ferguson, C. J. (n.d.). Media Violence Effects and Violent Crime. Good Science or Moral Panic? pp. 37-56. Retrieved from http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/26263_3sc.pdf. Lopez, M. J. J. (n.d.). The spatial behavior of residential burglars. Retrieved from http://www.spacesyntax.tudelft.nl/media/Long%20papers%20I/manuellopez.pdf. Metro. (2012). Nottingham is UK burglary hotspot. Retrieved from http://www.metro.co.uk/news/125855-nottingham-is-uk-burglary-hotspot. Roberts, J. and A. Doob. (1986). Public Estimates of Recidivism Rates: Consequences of a Criminal Stereotype. Canadian Journal of Criminology. 28: 229-241. Surette, R. (1998). Media, Crime, and Criminal Justice: Images and Realities. 2nd Ed., New York: Wadsworth Publishing. Tengri News. (2011, June 9). Bangladesh police arrest 'Robin Hood' burglar. Retrieved from http://en.tengrinews.kz/crime/Bangladesh-police-arrest-Robin-Hood-burglar--2406/. Read More