Menace II Society (1993) details the story of a gangster, Caine, as he navigates his life throughout crime-ridden South Central LA. Having grown up with parents who were involved in criminal activities and drug trading, Caine followed in their footsteps, engaging in crime throughout his teenage and adult life. After committing murders, burglaries, and dealing drugs, Caine meets his own end at the hands of a rival gang seeking revenge. Though the movie is purely a work of fiction, it offers a realistic depiction of life in South Central and can be analyzed through a sociological lens. Control theory, a key theory in criminology, stipulates that everyone has a natural desire to deviate and commit crimes, but the bonds they have with society hold them back–the bonds being attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief. 

Attachment to society is the concern for the opinion of others; people are restrained from committing crimes if they fear backlash or rejection from society. Those who are insensitive to the opinions of others are not bound by societal norms and are free to deviate. Caine has a weak attachment to society: he legitimately does not care for the opinions of others, as shown through his disobedience to his grandparents, lack of respect for household rules, and eagerness to commit murder. He has proven himself to be an entirely self-interested individual without giving a second thought to how his actions may impact others.

Commitment explains that people obey societal rules in fear of consequences that may impact the investment they have already made through conventional behavior. For example, someone who spent considerable time, resources, and effort into building a business would risk everything they have accomplished up to this point if they choose to commit deviant behavior. Caine has a weak commitment to society: since he grew up in poverty, he does not fear the consequences of society on his nonexistent investment – with no job, no higher education, and no family of his own, he simply has nothing to lose. This is best exemplified by his treatment of Ronnie, a close friend of his who isn’t involved in criminal activities. As an upstanding citizen, Ronnie has a child and greatly cares for him as a mother, but Caine doesn’t fear invoking Ronnie’s wrath when he cusses around her child and even shows her child how to handle a firearm, despite how much Ronnie means to him. Without caring to obey social rules, he is free to engage in whatever delinquent acts he wants.

Involvement details that people who do conventional behaviors are simply too busy to commit acts of delinquency; those who are engaged in conventional, non-delinquent behavior are commonly burdened with appointments, deadlines, work, plans, etc., that give them fewer opportunities to commit deviant acts. Caine has a weak involvement in society: as a delinquent, he does not have a job, nor does he plan to attain one. He has a lot of free time on his hands as a result, and due to this unbusy nature, is free from the time constraints burdened by conventional behavior, allowing him to commit acts of delinquency frequently.

Finally, belief posits that commitment to the social constraints that define certain acts as wrong may be internalized by members of society who share a common value system. Simply put, people will not commit deviant acts if they believe in the social norms that consider those acts to be wrong. Delinquency results as a consequence of weak bonds to society, which are all apparent within Caine. Caine has a weak belief in society: he does not have the same commitment to the value system shared by the rest of society. At a young age, Caine was introduced to the world of crime and drugs by his parents – “(he) heard a lot, and saw a lot; caught onto the criminal life real quick. Instead of keeping out of trouble, they turned (him) on to it.” Growing up with a father who sold drugs, he didn’t share the belief that the drug trade was evil, and as such, he was not restrained by the moral social constraints that discouraged him from committing crimes, which led him to murder, theft, and drugs.

As shown in the film, much of Caine’s criminal behavior stemmed from his experiences as a child growing up around criminal activities; he adopts the same low attachment, commitment, involvement, and beliefs to society as his parents who frequently engage in crime and rarely in conventional behavior. As a result, he grows up with those weak bonds to society as well, leading him to a life of crime, delinquency, and ultimately death. Menace II Society may be a fictional movie, but the insight it gives into how and why people become criminals is absolutely real and important to understand.