Law & Popular Culture

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Law & Popular Culture Can the Lex Populi increase access to the Legal System? There exists much argument in the legal profession that the Lex Populi, or law in popular culture, serves no purpose other then that of entertainment. Modern depictions of lawyers, the courtroom, judges and the legal system are criticised because they have little substantial value and are an inaccurate portrayal of the law in action. This paper considers that argument and examines the way in which law in popular culture can have a positive effect on increasing the lay man’s access to the legal system. Discussion centres around concepts of the lawyer as a translator, how the Lex Populi diminishes the value of the legal system because of its inaccuracies, the positives of law being depicted in popular culture and the role of the media and its influence on access to the legal system. The paper uses a number of examples from the Lex Populi, focussing in detail on ‘A Few Good Men’ and the Australian film ‘The Castle’. Poetic License v ‘Real Law’ There is no question that when Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee (Tom Cruise) stands before Colonel Nathan Jessep (Jack Nicholson) in the film ‘A Few Good Men’ and yells: “Don't call me "son". I'm a lawyer and an officer in the United States Navy. And you're under arrest, you son of a bitch”, that as a viewer we secretly wish that we too will one day have a Tom Cruise to champion our rights should we ever end up in the courtroom. In fact, as Cruise screams “I want the truth!”, a piece of dialogue immortalised in film history, we may even go so far as to consider for a fleeting second that there may be a lawyer out there concerned with morals and ethics and that all is not lost. But as we fight the stereotypes, or help ensure their continued existence, one thing is certain: the law in film and other popular media is more dramatic, more colourful and more
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