ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the positive and negative influence of popular culture on law, legal proceedings and government crime policy, and vice versa. To illustrate that point, the chapter analyzes the so-called ‘CSI effect’, which posits watching forensic crime shows like Crime Scene Investigation, or CSI, impacts negatively on jurors, who, as a result of watching CSI and similar shows, are more likely to ‘wrongly’ acquit defendants when scientific evidence adduced in court, if provided at all, is not of the quantity and quality of evidence presented on television. In contrast, it is argued the lines between fact and fiction are breaking down, such that there is little disjunction between fictional representations in law and crime dramas and the reality of legal and criminal justice processes. Accordingly, it is suggested media representations in popular culture might educate lay people, so they can better understand legal terminology, court and police procedures, and, in the case of jurors, make more informed decisions as to the guilt or innocence of accused persons. The chapter explores the blurring of the boundaries between fiction and reality by looking mainly at movies and television shows, including law films, courtrooms dramas, cop shows and forensic-themed television. Among other things, it shows how popular culture has been used to chart transformations in society, such as changes in cop culture (e.g. Life on Mars), or to show the impact of globalization on local culture (e.g. Nordic noir), or to provide commentary on the nature of criminal subcultures in contemporary society (e.g. The Wire), or as a means of grappling with the current status of legal principles, like the separation of powers, in a post-9/11 context (e.g. Judge John Deed).
