Overview

'Law and Justice on the Small Screen' is a wide-ranging collection of essays about law in and on television. In light of the book's innovative taxonomy of the field and its international reach, it will make a novel contribution to the scholarly literature about law and popular culture. Television shows from France, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain and the United States are discussed. The essays are organised into three sections: (1) methodological questions regarding the analysis of law and popular culture on television; (2) a focus on genre studies within television programming (including a subsection on reality television), and (3) content analysis of individual television shows with attention to big-picture jurisprudential questions of law's efficacy and the promise of justice. The book's content is organised to make it appropriate for undergraduate and graduate classes in the following areas: media studies, law and culture, socio-legal studies, comparative law, jurisprudence, the law of lawyering, alternative dispute resolution and criminal law. Individual chapters have been contributed by, among others: Taunya Banks, Paul Bergman, Lief Carter, Christine Corcos, Rebecca Johnson, Stefan Machura, Nancy Marder, Michael McCann, Kimberlianne Podlas and Susan Ross, with an Introduction by Peter Robson and Jessica Silbey.

Full Product Details

Author:   Peter Robson ,  Jessica Silbey
Publisher:   Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Imprint:   Hart Publishing
Dimensions:   Width: 15.60cm , Height: 1.80cm , Length: 23.40cm
Weight:   0.776kg
ISBN:  

9781849462693

ISBN 10:   1849462690
Pages:   488
Publication Date:   01 August 2012
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Tertiary & Higher Education ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Table of Contents

Introduction Peter Robson and Jessica Silbey Part I: Method/Context 1. Measuring Humanity: Rights in the 24th Century Lief H Carter and Michael McCann 2. Television, Pleasure and the Empire of Force: Interrogating Law and Affect in Deadwood Rebecca Johnson 3. Making 'Bad Apples' on The Bridge: A Production Study of the Making of a Police Drama Anita Lam 4. Testing Television: Studying and Understanding the Impact of Television's Depictions of Law and Justice Kimberlianne Podlas 5. Let's See How Far We've Come: The Role of Empirical Methodology in Exploring Television Audiences Cassandra Sharp Part II: Genre Studies A. The Evolved Law TV Genres 6. Dark Justice: Women Legal Actors on Basic Cable Taunya Lovell Banks 7. A Third Rapist? Television Portrayals of Rape Evidence Rules Paul Bergman 8. Prosecutors and Psychics on the Air: Does a 'Psychic Detective Effect' Exist? Christine A Corcos 9. Lawyers in Terrorism Thrillers Tung Yin B. Reality Law TV 10. Til Debt Do Us Part: Reality TV and the Financial Literacy Regulatory Project Freya Kodar 11. Judging Reality Television Judges Nancy S Marder 12. Television Judges in Germany Stefan Machura 13. Judge Judy: Constructions of 'Justice with an Attitude' Marilyn Terzic 14. Reality TV and the Entrapment of Predators Mark Tunick Part III: Specific Shows 15. Bordering on Identity: How English Canadian Television Differentiates American and Canadian Styles of Justice Ummni Khan 16. Television Divorce in Post-Franco Spain: Anillos de oro (Wedding Rings) Anja Louis 17. 'McNutty' on the Small Screen: Improvised Legality and the Irish-American Cop in HBO's The Wire Sara Ramshaw 18. Torture and Contempt of the Law in '24': Selling America New 'Patriotic' Values Ryan J Thomas and Susan Dente Ross 19. Decoding the Dark Passenger: The Serial Killer as a Force for Justice. Adapting Jeff Lindsay's Dexter for the Small Screen Angus Nurse 20. Canada: ADR and The Associates Jennifer L Schulz 21. Stranger Danger?: Sadistic Serial Killers on the Small Screen Annette Houlihan

Reviews

By raising questions which enact a thorough reflection on the fundamental issues in the shaping of popular legal culture, this volume allows its readers to approach the wide range of televised legal programmes with greater awareness, pointing out the important role that television continues to play in everyone's lives.Raffaele CutoloPOLEMOS Journal of Law, Literature and CultureVolume 7(1)The authors impressed me in providing a more nuanced understanding of TV representations of a number of contemporary social problems, such as violence against women, racism and homophobia, in Australia and beyondThis is an important book for legal academics, students and practitioners who wish to explore the diverse impacts and 'meanings' of TV portrayals of legal matters in our society. More than that, the volume provides excellent teaching and learning material, raising many jurisprudential issues One could easily use the volume as the primary materials for courses in law and popular culture, as well as a seminar course in jurisprudence.Gill BoehringerAlternative Law JournalVolume 38(1)One virtue of edited volumes with multiple authors is the variety of perspectives and topics represented, and on this count, Law and Justice succeeds; it casts a very wide net. The volume may be of particular interest to scholars and students unfamiliar with, for example, approaches such as actor-network theory, which helpfully unpacked the blackbox of how television shows are produced. The chapters were educational and stimulating, and the anecdotal and interpretive evidence intriguing.Nicholas LaRoweLaw and Politics Book ReviewVolume 23, No.1

One virtue of edited volumes with multiple authors is the variety of perspectives and topics represented, and on this count, Law and Justice succeeds; it casts a very wide net. The volume may be of particular interest to scholars and students unfamiliar with, for example, approaches such as actor-network theory, which helpfully unpacked the blackbox of how television shows are produced. The chapters were educational and stimulating, and the anecdotal and interpretive evidence intriguing.Nicholas LaRoweLaw and Politics Book ReviewVolume 23, No.1

This is an important book for legal academics, students and practitioners who wish to explore the diverse impacts and 'meanings' of TV portrayals of legal matters in our society. More than that, the volume provides excellent teaching and learning material, raising many jurisprudential issues in the context of narratives discussed by the authors...One could easily use the volume as the primary materials for courses in law and popular culture, as well as a seminar course in jurisprudence.Gill BoehringerAlternative Law JournalVolume 38(1)One virtue of edited volumes with multiple authors is the variety of perspectives and topics represented, and on this count, Law and Justice succeeds; it casts a very wide net. The volume may be of particular interest to scholars and students unfamiliar with, for example, approaches such as actor-network theory, which helpfully unpacked the blackbox of how television shows are produced. The chapters were educational and stimulating, and the anecdotal and interpretive evidence intriguing.Nicholas LaRoweLaw and Politics Book ReviewVolume 23, No.1

Author Information

Peter Robson is a Professor of Law at the University of Strathclyde. Jessica Silbey is Professor of Law at Suffolk University Law School, Boston, Massachusetts.

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