Psycho-Pass: Robert Merton's Strain Theory
Deviance is a common theme used when trying to depict police settings in the different kinds of media. The Japanese anime TV show titled Psycho-Pass, released in 2012, depicts a seemingly utopic society in the 2110s dealing with deviant individuals. The way the characters adapt to a society that controls crime heavily is a clear example of Robert Merton’s Strain Theory, which explains how people adapt to attain, or reject, the various goals set by society. Psycho-Pass shows the principles of Merton’s Strain Theory when showing how the different main characters live under the Sybil System and adapt to a heavily law enforced society.
The character of Akane Tsunemori might be labeled as conformist under Merton’s theory. She is one of the many
characters that adapts well to this kind society, following the norms imposed. She is one of the few main characters with a ‘crime coefficient’ that stays relatively normal during the whole series, showing her willingness to follow the law and uphold society’s ideals of justice. She even joins the police agency in order to enforce those ideals. Although she realizes that the means of the police to achieve those ideals is a bit over the top and aims to find more pacific and less stressful ways of doing it, she mainly remains as a conformist during the first season of the show.
On the other hand, the character of Shinya Kogami falls under the Innovation category. While he still tries to attain the ideals of justice that the society seeks, his means of doing it are considered too much. During the whole show, the character is shown using a great amount of violence to deal with law breakers and criminals. His willingness to seek justice caused him to have an elevated crime coefficient, making him a deviant individual even when he still shared society’s ideals. He strays from the ‘proper path’ even more when dealing with the antagonist or villain of the series.
The character of Shogo Makishima, contrary to the two previous characters, enters in the Rebellion category. In the show, he expresses his desire to allow people to fight the system imposed, helping them to commit crimes at will. He no longer shares the same ideals as society because he thinks that those ideas, along with the Sybil System, lead people to turn into Ritualists, people that only follow the norms without a set goal or ideal. He sees the current society as one that cannot act on free will due to the fear of being labeled as criminals, making them to turn into mere followers. He shows this hatred he has for society’s ideals by actively committing crimes and inducing others to do the same.
While presenting different characters that react different to the established goals and ideals, the shows is a clear example of Merton’s Stray Theory. Having the main characters being in different categories helps the show to illustrate how easily they can clash with each other, along with showing different points of view. Overall, the show allows the reader to analyze the effects of having ideals imposed by society and how easily one can be marked as a deviant individual.
The character of Akane Tsunemori might be labeled as conformist under Merton’s theory. She is one of the many
characters that adapts well to this kind society, following the norms imposed. She is one of the few main characters with a ‘crime coefficient’ that stays relatively normal during the whole series, showing her willingness to follow the law and uphold society’s ideals of justice. She even joins the police agency in order to enforce those ideals. Although she realizes that the means of the police to achieve those ideals is a bit over the top and aims to find more pacific and less stressful ways of doing it, she mainly remains as a conformist during the first season of the show.
On the other hand, the character of Shinya Kogami falls under the Innovation category. While he still tries to attain the ideals of justice that the society seeks, his means of doing it are considered too much. During the whole show, the character is shown using a great amount of violence to deal with law breakers and criminals. His willingness to seek justice caused him to have an elevated crime coefficient, making him a deviant individual even when he still shared society’s ideals. He strays from the ‘proper path’ even more when dealing with the antagonist or villain of the series.
The character of Shogo Makishima, contrary to the two previous characters, enters in the Rebellion category. In the show, he expresses his desire to allow people to fight the system imposed, helping them to commit crimes at will. He no longer shares the same ideals as society because he thinks that those ideas, along with the Sybil System, lead people to turn into Ritualists, people that only follow the norms without a set goal or ideal. He sees the current society as one that cannot act on free will due to the fear of being labeled as criminals, making them to turn into mere followers. He shows this hatred he has for society’s ideals by actively committing crimes and inducing others to do the same.
While presenting different characters that react different to the established goals and ideals, the shows is a clear example of Merton’s Stray Theory. Having the main characters being in different categories helps the show to illustrate how easily they can clash with each other, along with showing different points of view. Overall, the show allows the reader to analyze the effects of having ideals imposed by society and how easily one can be marked as a deviant individual.