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...