Synopsis
This book takes as its
subject the interpenetration of popular culture and law. It gathers
together a broad range of essays that explore the various ways in which
law’s stories and images migrate from the courtroom to the court of
public opinion, and from movie, television, and computer screens back to
electronic monitors inside the courtroom itself. It also examines what
happens when lawyers and public relations experts market notorious legal
cases and controversies as if they were just another commodity. In
addition, it probes the formative relationship that is now developing
between law and digital culture in virtual worlds on the Internet.
Ultimately, this collection of essays invites readers to ponder what the
interpenetration of law and popular culture means with respect to the
current status and future fate of law, truth, and justice in contemporary
society.
Table of Contents:
| Introductory essay: | Richard K. Sherwin, “The Interpenetration of Popular Culture and Law;” |
| Part One: Law in Pop Culture | |
| Lawrence M. Friedman, “Popular
Legal Culture: Law, Lawyers, and Popular Culture” |
| Norman Rosenberg, “Looking for
Law in All the Old Traces: The Movies of Classical Hollywood, The Law,
and the Case(s) of Film Noir” |
| Ratna Kapur, “Postcolonial Erotic Disruptions” |
| Austin Sarat, “Living in a Copernican World” |
| Part Two: Pop Culture in Law | |
| Philip N. Meyer,
“‘Desperate for Love’: Cinematic Influences Upon A
Defendant’s Closing Argument to a Jury ” |
| Richard K. Sherwin, “Law
Frames: Historical Truth and Narrative Necessity in a Criminal Case”
|
| Sheila T. Murphy, “The Future of Fact: The Impact of Factual Versus Fictional Media Portrayals” |
| Steven Lubet, “Slap Leather!
Legal Culture, Wild Bill Hickok, and the Gunslinger Myth”
|
| Part Three: Law as Commodity | |
| Douglas S. Reed, “A New
Constitutional Regime: The Juridico-Entertainment Complex” |
| Susanne A. Roschwalb & Richard A.
Stack, “Litigation Public Relations” |
| Marc Galanter, “An Oil
Strike in Hell: Contemporary Legends about the Civil Justice System”
|
| Daniel M. Filler, “From Law
to Content in the New Media Marketplace” |
| Part Four: Law in Cyberspace | |
| F. Gregory Lastowka & Dan
Hunter, “The Laws of Virtual Worlds” |
| Jack M. Balkin, “Digital Speech and Democratic Culture” |
| Part Five: Pop Culture and Law in Theory | |
| Christopher J. Buccafusco, “Gaining/Losing Perspective on the Law, or Keeping Visual Evidence in Perspective” |
| Anthony Chase, “Toward A
Legal Theory of Popular Culture” |
Publisher:
Ashgate
ISBN: 0754624706