Unit 3 Discussion forum

Politicians, business leaders, and celebrities are not immune to human error and are not exempt

from being arrested for allegedly committing crimes. Regardless of their social status or fame,

they are people like everyone else and can foul up.

The discussion assignment, I will be talking about a well-known Hollywood actor Shia

LaBeouf. Shia LaBeouf is known for movies such as “Transformers” in 2007, “Honey Boy” in

2019, and “Eagle Eye” in 2008. LaBeouf was charged with battery and theft in October 2020, for

a crime that he committed in June 2020. (Wilkinson, 2020). The victim was a man by the name

of Tyler Murphy. LaBeouf allegedly instigated a fight with the victim and walked away with his

hat when the fight was over (Wilkinson, 2020). In terms of the sociological paradigm, I will say

that LaBeouf’s case is aligned with the ‘conflict theory approach’. Conflict theory talks about the

manner in which people in society are treated differently based on their social status (Little et al.,

2016 ).A Battery is a serious offense, even though it is treated as a misdemeanor in most states

in the U.S. LaBeouf knew in his mind that he was starting a fight with someone who has no

status in society, and is not an important person. He also knew that even if he gets arrested for it,

he would not be spending a day in jail because he has the money to buy himself “a jail-free card”

for such crimes. Sociologist C. Wright Mills stated that “…the rules of society are stacked in

favor of a privileged few who manipulate them to stay on top. It is these people who decide what

is criminal and what is not, and the effects are often felt most by those who have little power”.

(Little et al., 2016 P. 209).

If LaBeouf is convicted of the crime, he might just be given probation for a couple of months.

This is because of the type of justice system. he committed similar offenses three years prior and

did not get any jail time for it. In 2017, LaBeouf was arrested twice, once for assault, and a

second time for disorderly conduct and harassment (Wilkinson, 2020). The victim later dropped

the assault charges, and LaBeouf paid a $1000 fine for the harassment and was sentenced to one-

year probation (Wilkinson, 2020).

I do believe that the rich and famous receive different treatment like community service or their

jail time is minimal and given privileges along with comfortable accommodations. It is not fair to

others, but its just the way it is.

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References:

Little, W., Scaramuzzo, G., Cody-Rydzewski, S., Griffiths, H., Strayer, E., Keirns, N.,

McGivern, R. (2016). Introduction to Sociology -- 1 st Canadian Edition. Rice University

OpenStax. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0). Retrieved

from https://my.uopeople.edu/course/view.php?id=3956

Wilkinson, J (2020). Shia LaBeouf charged with assaulting man, taking his hat in Los Angeles

fight. New York Daily News. Retrieved from: https://www.nydailynews.com/snyde/ny-shia-

labeouf-charged-withcrimes-again-20201002-gpy7d26jmnfppjvglehyvuikwq-story.html