Popular culture has been defined in the following way: ‘it consists of the aspects of attitudes, behaviours, beliefs, customs, and tastes that define the people of any society. Popular culture is, in the historic use of term, the culture of the people.’
Ray Browne ‘Folklore to Populore’.
Popular culture (documentaries and fictional television series, film, magazines, graphic novels, music, theatre, song, art shows, podcasts, radio etc.,) is a key cause for students to wish to enter the legal profession. Indeed, many students who study law for the first time at university have been schooled in what they know about the law by such media. In this sense, students are already well versed in the subject of this module. They are, in fact, often expert in the ways that portrayals of law and particularly criminal justice have saturated our consciousness.
Given that popular culture has such an influence on the public perception of law, indeed, continues to shape our perception of it, its study is fully justified. Although it has a contemporary feel, the study of popular culture – born of the growth of mass society and the drive to satisfy its needs – can be traced to the 18th century when it was accepted as a feature of developing civilisation. It should be noted too, that over time that perception became negative – ‘mass culture’ came inevitably to mean low culture with associations of commercial manipulation, exploitation and supplication.
Two mileposts in the study of popular culture within universities was the launch of the first (often highly academic) journal on the discipline, the Journal of Popular Culture in 1967. This was followed by the creation of the Center for Popular Culture at Bowling Green University in the US in 1969 with its stated aim: ‘to study thoroughly and seriously those productions, both artistic and commercial, designed for mass consumption. The founders were convinced that this vast body of material encompassed in print, film, television, comics, advertising, and graphics reflects the values, convictions, and patterns of thought and feeling generally dispersed and approved by American society. The organization has grown in scope, depth, and influence.’
Programme of the Twelfth Annual Convention of the Popular Culture Association, Louisville, Kentucky, April 14-18, 1982, p.2.
One question that will pervade our studies is how and why popular culture may be said to construct “narratives” or stories about the law. In pursuit of this and other questions, we will consider critical legal theory, critical race theory, feminist theory, political science and cultural studies to help understand the relationship between law and popular culture.
Through a variety of carefully chosen texts (mainly film and tv but also the written word etc.,) you will find new ways to think about how law and the institutions of law have been presented through and challenged by popular culture and what the implications of this may be – we will also consider the regressive nature of popular culture as a threat to established social norms. Applying these ideas, you will be encouraged at all stages to reflect on your own relationship with the legal system, its function within our society and the values and attributes of the profession.
Upon completion of his module you will be able to show the following (level 5 learning outcomes):
1) A knowledge and critical understanding of the theories, concepts and arguments that have emerged from scholarship in law and popular culture and an ability to analyse and apply them to appropriate texts and in your thinking about law more generally (knowledge PLO 1)
2) An ability to effectively organise and communicate regarding legal theories and literary material orally and in writing (intellectual skills PLO 1)
3) An awareness of the principles, values and ethics of law and legal practice (personal values PLO1)
4) Intellectual independence and an ability to ask cogent questions about law and its underlying justifications (personal values PLO 2)
5) An ability to develop independent thinking skills and curiosity about the ideas that inform law, and recognition of the need to challenge your own and others’ thinking (personal values PLO 3)
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