FILM AND LAW
- Course
- ILAW213 - FILM AND LAW
- Department
- International Law - English - Undergraduate
- Course Type
- Course
- Status
- Required
- Language
- English
- Credit
- 3
- ECTS
- 4
- T+P+L
- 2 + 2 + 0
- Course Coordinator(s)
- Asst. Prof. Dr. Eymir ALBAL
- Prerequisite
- -
Course Description
This course studies the representation of law, legal professionals, and justice in cinema focusing on a diverse range of films featuring lawyers, judges, and jury trials. The course begins with an overview of the historical development of law and film scholarship explaining the connection between legal studies and popular culture. It, then, provides a comparison between theoretical perspectives on justice and legality and the ways in which these notions are portrayed in films. The second part of the course focuses upon lawyers in films studying their appearance, legal demeanour, and courtroom behaviour. The course concludes by shifting its attention to characterization of judges in films and to a scrutiny of the good versus evil narrative.
FILM AND LAW
Evaluation Tools (Active Term)
| Item | Type | Weight (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Midterm | Midterm | 40 |
| Final | Final | 60 |
| Total | 100 | |
Course outcomes
No course outcomes have been defined yet.
Course Syllabus
| Week | Topic |
|---|---|
| Week 1 | Introduction to the course |
| Week 2 | History of cinema and its relation to the legal sphere |
| Week 3 | Adjudication and the Construction of Truth :12 Angry Men |
| Week 4 | Evidence, Persuasion, and Manipulation: The Teachers’ Lounge |
| Week 5 | Institutional Power and Responsibility: Official Secrets |
| Week 6 | The State, Bureaucracy, and Accountability: Judgment at Nuremberg |
| Week 7 | State Violence, Punishment, and the Body: A Prophet |
| Week 8 | Migration, Borders, and the Threshold of Rights: Souleymane’s Story |
| Week 9 | - |
| Week 10 | - |
| Week 11 | Access to Justice and Structural Inequality: Saint Omer |
| Week 12 | Finance, Markets, and Invisible Victims: The Laundromat |
| Week 13 | Perpetrators, Testimony, and Representation: The Act of Killing |
| Week 14 | General overview |
| Week 15 | Final exam |
Reference Books & Course Materials
- 01 Film and Law: The Cinema of Justice, Steve Greenfield, Guy Osborn, Peter Robson
- 02 Douglas Kellner, Cinema Wars: Hollywood Film and Politics in the Bush‐Cheney Era
- 03 Law and Film, Critical Reflections on a Field in Motion, ed. Vittoria Becci, Alexia Katsiginis, Edward van Daalen
Learning Outcomes
No learning outcomes have been defined.
Program Outcomes
No program outcomes have been defined.
Po-Lo Matrix
The PO-LO matrix has not been populated yet.