Criminal behavior theories attempt to explain the reason beyond offenders engaging in crime. The theories use logic to explain why an individual commits a crime and whether the criminal behavior is the outcome of a rational decision, external factors of internal predisposition. Similarly, different theories of victimization exist, each to explain why persons become victims of crimes, and why others do not.
Over the years, film directors have produced movies involving women in crimes. One of the films is “The Woman in the Window,” an American film noir produced by Nunnally Johnson in 1943 and directed by Fritz Lang. The criminal actions of the woman in the film, Alice Reed, can be explained using both theories of criminal behavior and victimization theories.
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One victimization theory that explains Reed’s engagement in crime is lifestyle theory. The theory focuses on a person’s lifestyle and how this may increase their chances of victimization ( Madero ‐ Hernandez, 2019) . Reeds became a victim of murder due to her lifestyle of spending time at the club at night. It is at the club where she meets Richard Wanley, whom she hooks up with, and they go to her house ( Schneider, 2004) . Unexpectedly, Claude Mazard, her rich clandestine lover, visits her, resulting in a fight between him and Wanley. Wanley kills Mazard, and both Reed and Wanley plot to conceal the murder. Wanley then disposes of the body.
Similarly, Reed’s engagement in crime can be explained through strain theory, which states that some strains like anger and frustration increase the possibility of crime ( Eriksson & Broidy, 2017) . After the murder of Mazard, police begin gathering evidence on the cause of the murder. Consequently, Heidt, a crooked ex-police and Mazard’s former bodyguard blackmail Reed ( Schneider, 2004) . In return, out of anger and frustration, Reed tries to poison him with a drug overdose, but he becomes suspicious and does not drink the drugs.
In conclusion, the practice and study of criminology explore crime causation and factors which contribute to offender criminality. In the film “The Woman in the Window,” the criminal activities of Reed can be explained by lifestyle theory and strain theory.
References
Eriksson, L., & Broidy, L. (2017). Strain Theory and Crime. In The Palgrave Handbook of Australian and New Zealand Criminology, Crime and Justice (pp. 543-556). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
Madero ‐ Hernandez, A. (2019). Lifestyle Exposure Theory of Victimization. The Encyclopedia of Women and Crime , 1-3.
Schneider, C. (2004). Woman in the Window Directed by Fritz Lang Produced by MGM/Universal Artists Studios 1944; 99 minutes. Fort Da , 10 (1), 59-64.
