When the Law Goes Pop!

Points:

1. There is a continuous cycle of pop culture’s influence on law. Pop culture is every changing in respect to storytelling styles and technologies. Pop culture, public opinion, and/or the media all have a profound influence on individuals. Lawyer must adapt their current persuasion, or storytelling techniques in regards to what cultural changes. They must do this in order to maintain their effectiveness on the audience they are trying to persuade. This includes both jury members and judges.

2. The extent to which law is converging with pop culture is a significant issue. Law is too easily influenced by public opinion and the media, which affects its stability and continuing legitimacy.

3. In the past, there was a print-based culture, one which used words to convey meanings. Today’s culture is image-based or associative cognitive. Visuals can be more power than print-media, because the public may take fiction as reality. As we discussed in class, viewers of Law & Order may take the show as reality, when in fact it is fiction. The show’s purpose is to provide entertainment not facts of legal processes.

4. I agree with the points provided in this book. The media and pop culture have a strong influence on the opinions of individuals. Pop culture’s influence on law has also become too strong, affecting its stability and legitimacy.