Legal dramas have long been popular subjects for popular culture media. In the early days, television and film lawyers were typically portrayed as upstanding citizens but the recent trend has been to show lawyers in a less flattering light. UCLA Professor of Law Michael Asimow believes this is problematic. In Law and Popular Culture: Bad Lawyers in the Movies, Asimow discusses that while the depiction of lawyers in film is a reflection of popular opinion, it is also a force for the formation of new opinions, with perhaps unintended consequences. Columbia Law Professor William Simon also examines how lawyers are depicted in popular culture but presents a different viewpoint. In Moral Pluck:Legal Ethics in Popular Culture, Simon discusses a public morality that is accepting of ethical rule breaking when in the interest of correcting injustice, and seems to suggest that the study of popular culture might lend itself to revisions in ethics standards. Both authors seem to agree that the public perception of what is ethical and moral behavior for lawyers may be different than the state perceives it is or should be, but while Asimow suggests popular culture tends to put down lawyers, Simon suggests popular culture tends to make heroes of them. Although these seem to be opposing views, they both emphasize the important role that popular culture can play in measuring and determining ethical standards.
In Law and Popular Culture: Bad Lawyers in the Movies Asimow examines the portrayal of lawyers in films from 1929 through 1999, as well as those on television from Perry Mason in the late 1950’s and 1960’s to (then) present day shows such as The Practice and Law and Order. Asimow outlines theories for causes of the dec...
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... and therefore have potential consequences perhaps film-makers should be mindful of these effects. Simon also recognizes that popular culture can have influence but suggests that rather than changing popular culture to drive public opinion, it is important to study it to gauge public opinion of ethics and morals and could be used to influence the standards on which rules of ethics are based. Both articles offer compelling arguments about the importance of popular culture to both the study and the formation of legal ethical standards.
Works Cited
Asimow, Michael. " Law and Popular Culture: Bad Lawyers In The Movies." Nova Law Review (n.d.): 24 Nova L. Rev.533. LexisNexisAcademic. Web. 1 Mar. 2014.
Simon, William H. "Moral Pluck: Legal Ethics In Popular Culture." Columbia Law Review 101.2 (2001): 421. Academic Search Premier. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.
Based on a true story, “Gideon’s Trumpet” covers the events of Gideon vs. Wainwright and how it proved to be an important case for the United States legal system. ¬¬¬¬It shows that even after 200 years of changes and refinement, the United State’s legal system is far from perfect and is always improving. The movie provides a visual representation of the struggles between the haves and have-nots. The haves, also known as repeat players, are people who have superior access to resources, money, and superior legal experience. They are usually people who have been in multiple legal situations and know how to handle themselves in these legal situations. On the opposite end of the spectrum are the have-nots. The have-nots, also known as one shotters,
“No matter where you run into it, prejudice obscures the trues” (page 66). Prejudice can be a dangerous thing, especially when it comes to adjusting somebody’s life. At that time in America a jury consists of twelve men can determine the life or death of one person by giving a unanimous verdict. A typical reflection of this reality is an influential drama “Twelve Anger Men”. Reginald Rose wrote this drama inspired by his experience of being a juror on a manslaughter case to reveal a common social phenomenon of prejudice. To stress the main idea that, Rose presents the key points that biased individuals are less rational or blinding themselves with an unfair judgement about one’s guilt. Moreover, she conveys the facts that stereotype produces an effect on one’s statement. Furthermore, prejudice constantly affect other jurors’ opinion, intentionally or unintentionally. With Rose’s vivid description and clear contrast between each juror, he emphasizes the existence of prejudice and further to spread an idea that prejudice influence the outcome of the trial.
Johnny’s experience as an attorney falls far short of being the legal crusader that he envisioned for himself. Rather, it is quite short-lived . His legal career ends abruptly when his unpreparedness for an easy trial against a wealthy white woman causes him to lose the case for his client. Upon his hu...
[2] In this issue essay I will first discuss the history of pornography in America and the emergence of Hustler. I will then show how the movie makes the viewer feel proud of the country without letting the viewer choose if he or she is really pleased with what is being protected, pointing out the impossibility of portraying the obscene images in an R-rated film. After that, I will discuss the possible ramifications of pornography, including violence against women and children. I will then address the moral implications of a complete freedom of expression and the possible effects of promoting ignorance about pornography through the movie. Finally, I will comment on my views regarding pornography and censorship in our society.
Cohen, Andrew. "Law and Justice and George Zimmerman." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 13 July 2013. Web. 25 Apr. 2014.
One of the most famous cases of the mid-nineties (and possibly one of the most controversial) of the wealthy being above the law is the O.J. Simpson trial, who fatally stabbed his ex-wife Nicole Brown and Ronald Goldman. Being accused of murder, the court had sufficient biological and psychological evidence to prove Simpson’s act of murder. However, Simpson was found not guilty by the jury and lives as a fre...
Countering the Culture of Sex is an article by Ellen Goodman dealing with the entertainment industry’s plague upon society. With sex rooted deep in children’s minds it creates this idea of what life revolves around. Digging deeper, Goodman brings up the point of why one never sees the consequences of sex. If the media were to show the consequences of people’s actions, the industry could create a sense of fear into the public.
The social construction of myths of crime and criminal justice seems to follow a series of recurrent patterns. These patterns allow for an unprecedented amount of social attention to be focused upon a few isolated criminal events or issues. This attention is promoted by intense, but often brief, mass media coverage of a select problem. Intense social concern of an issue is achieved by a variety of means from the mass media, government, law enforcement officials, interpersonal communications, and the interests of reform groups whom all play major roles in focusing the publics attention on select so...
When people observe gender roles in a television show it is seen as an ideal—what they should aspire to be. Both men and women look for something to reaffirm what they believe is true, and in our current society, the main medium of providing information to a large public is the media. Should there be any kind of cognitive dissonance, studies have shown that people are more likely to passively agree to something even if they think it is wrong to avoid conflict (Annatucci and Gilligan 225). For example, a young boy is watching a movie with his friends in which a man has an affair. All his friends think the man in the film had every right to cheat on his significant other. Even if the boy does not agree with his friends, he will stay passive and agree with them, which in turn reaffirms and justifies the thoughts his friends are having. In cases such as these, it is not what is taught from families as much as the social interactions that further shape the morality and can change it among an
The media is a dominating aspect of American culture. The way the media depicts crime and criminal behavior has an effect on the way society views crime and criminals. Television series such as CSI, NCIS, Law and Order, Criminal Minds and countless others, have become very popular in our society today showing that our culture has an immense interest in crime. It is clear that there is a fascination with criminals and why they do the things they do. To analyze the way crime dramas represent crime and criminal behavior, I completed a content analysis of one episode of Criminal Minds. The episode I chose was season one; episode eight, which first aired in 2005, titled ‘Natural Born Killer’.
Maasik, Sonia, and J. Fisher Solomon. "The Offensive Movie Cliche That Won't die." Signs of life in the U.S.A.: readings on popular culture for writers. Boston: Bedford Books of St. Martin's Press, 1994. 407-411. Print.
Hariman, R. “Performing the Laws: Popular Trials and Social Knowledge” from Popular Trials: Rhetoric, Mass Media, and the Law, Robert Hariman, ed(s)., University of Alabama Press, 1990. 17-30.
The movie “12 Angry Men” examines the dynamics at play in a United States jury room in the 1950’s. It revolves around the opinions and mindsets of twelve diverse characters that are tasked with pronouncing the guilt or innocence of a young man accused of patricide. The extraordinary element is that their finding will determine his life or death. This play was made into a movie in 1957, produced by Henry Fonda who played the lead role, Juror #8, and Reginald Rose who wrote the original screenplay. This essay will explore some of the critical thinking elements found within the context of this movie, and will show that rational reason and logic when used effectively can overcome the mostly ineffective rush to judgment that can be prevalent in a population. The juror that seemed interesting is Juror #8, who was played by Henry Fonda. Juror #8, or Davis, is an architect, the first dissenter and protagonist in the film. He was the first one to declare that the young man was innocent and he managed to convince the other jurors to see his point of view. Durkheim states that when we respond to deviance, it brings people together (Macionis, 2013, p. 159). We affirm the moral ties that bind us together, which was seen in the movie. At first, almost all of the jurors were so bent on convicting the young man based on their feelings, but they then started to analyze the facts and they came together to make their final decision.
Media portrayal of crime and criminal justice has become incredibly widespread in the last decade, with crime often considered both a source of news and entertainment. As a source of entertainment, crime and criminal justice have emerged as central themes across various sources of media. Most individuals do not have any direct experience with the criminal justice system, so their only source of information on this topic is the media. Particularly in television shows, portrayals of crime and criminal justice can be seen in everything from courtroom dramas to nightly news programs. Indeed, the popularity of crime shows has lead to some of television’s most enduring series, such as Law and Order and CSI. Because of this, fictional
Television has seen plenty of producers, writers and viewers attracted to crime and deviance. The crime drama series is not an unchanging structure but develops in an intricate relationship with audiences, media institutions, social contexts and other genres. Crime drama series’ structure often begins with some strains to the social order by criminal forces. Historically police officers or “cops” are good and the criminals are bad. However today we can notice “bent” cops and sometimes sympathetic villains.