American Trial Films and the Popular Culture of Law
Document Type
Book Chapter
Publication Date
2017
Editor(s)
Henry Pontell
ISSN
9780190264079
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Language
en-US
Abstract
The American trial and American cinema share certain epistemological tendencies. Both stake claims to an authoritative form of knowledge based on the indubitable quality of observable phenomena. And both are preoccupied with sustaining the authority that underlies the knowledge produced by visual perception. The American trial and cinematic form also increasingly share cultural space. Although the trial film (otherwise known as the courtroom drama) is as old as the medium of film, the continuing popularity of the legal drama centered on a courtroom verdict suggests more than a trend. The inherent affinities between law and film not only produce enduring and memorable stories about law and justice but help constitute a popular legal consciousness that sustains the authority of the rule of law in the United States. This article describes these affinities in more detail, tracing the common themes in trial films, the special case of trial film based on true stories, and the future of the genre in American popular culture. It concludes by reviewing the disciplinary approach to the study of law and visual popular culture.
Recommended Citation
Jessica Silbey,
American Trial Films and the Popular Culture of Law
,
in
Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Criminology
(Henry Pontell ed.,
2017).
Available at:
https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264079.013.200
Working paper version.
Please note the file available on SSRN may not be the final published version of this work.
