Social_Conflict

Social conflict is a part of our everyday lives. We see it in the news, we partake in it on a daily basis, and we grow from it. The television show, Leverage, is a prime example of social conflict and how it affects our everyday lives. From a conflict sociologist’s point of view this show has quite a few facets to study. Leverage follows a five-person team of thieves, computer experts and con artists, headed up by former insurance investigator Nate Ford, who use their skills to right corporate and governmental injustices inflicted on common citizens. When Nate goes to talk to a potential client he tells them, “that while they are suffering under an enormous weight, his team "provides leverage". Nate and his team act as modern-day Robin Hoods, pulling elaborate scams targeted against the greedy and the corrupt to provide justice for the client. Nathan Ford – former insurance fraud investigator for IYS Insurance and the team's mastermind. While working for IYS, Nate's young son became seriously ill; IYS refused to pay for the experimental treatment he needed, resulting in his death. The aftermath leads to Nate's drinking, his divorce from his wife Maggie, and his subsequent dismissal from the company. A skilled planner, Nate draws on his experience as an insurance investigator to anticipate the moves of his team's marks. Throughout the first season, his drinking remains problematic. Sophie Devereaux – British actress and accomplished grifter, which is basically a con-artist. Sophie has a taste for art theft Sophie and is a talentless actress onstage, but her true talent is as a grifter, where she effortlessly plays the role needed to draw the team's target into the con. Particularly adept at the use of accents, Sophie is seen to portray, among many others, a German athlete, a Southern horse broker, an airplane company representative, an American television producer and a reporter from New Zealand. Sophie also has a collection of aliases but has never revealed her real name, even to members of the team. Eliot Spencer – highly skilled martial artist, weapons expert and retrieval expert. He often plays small roles in the con, but provides physical protection for the team. This often leads him into hand-to-hand combat that draws on his martial arts skills. Eliot has a long history as a soldier-of-fortune, and has seen violence much of his life. He is proficient with guns, knives and a variety of other small weapons. Eliot appears to be good at seducing women, but tends to keep his romantic life private, as he does much of his background. Parker – expert thief, cat-burglar, pickpocket and safe-cracker. Parker is a risk-taker who loves money above anything. The product of an abusive childhood spent in more than one foster home, Parker has a decided lack of people skills. She is awkward or will say inappropriate things in most social settings, although Sophie attempts to help her develop these skills, with mixed success. Alec Hardison – computer/Internet specialist and hacker. He is a self-proclaimed geek and science fiction fan, with a dry, unusual wit and a catch-phrase for every situation. Hardison can hack into most forms of electronics. Hardison designed and assembled the computer and television systems in the team's headquarters, and is responsible for the electronic applications used by the team for their cons. Within the group there is a lot of conflict amongst themselves, but overall the work together to achieve a common goal. A conflict sociologist would be hard pressed to explain on a micro level, how a complex group of individuals work together, but from a macro level it’s easy to understand. When pushed against a wall humanity tends to work together to achieve the greater goal. On a larger scale the television show portrays a David and Goliath type of type of conflict. The little guy (common citizen) with no legal recourse with the help of the Leverage team, take on the big guy (corporate giants and corrupt officials). Even though some of the events that take place are borderline illegal, it still pales in comparison to what initiated the conflict. The television show is entertaining and provides hope to the common citizen that corruption and unethical practices does not always go unpunished. By providing this stimulation the audience gets a good feeling about life and may quite possibly go out of their own way to provide a service to someone in need.