ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book suggests that the focus of media enquiry transforms over time in order to confront issues that may concern the current dominant ideological structures within a particular society. It analyses how media and legal discourse reflects back onto the society in which the cases occur in a way that acts to stabilize existing structures. The book examines the function of media representation in criminal legal cases. It considers what makes some criminal legal cases prone to scrutiny and spectacle. The book outlines the political content of legal decisions by presenting a deconstruction of the representations surrounding the Louise Woodward and Stephen Lawrence cases. It suggests a more inclusive form of social and legal judgement that can take into account social inequalities. The book explores the formulation of the law and social norms that determine the place of otherness in the social system.
