Law and Film: Where are the Mediators?

Abstract

A review of Michael Asimow and Shannon Mader’s text, Law and Popular Culture: A Course Book (New York: Peter Lang, 2004). Asimow and Mader strongly promote the idea that popular representations of law are crucial to how people understand the legal system. This is an important, social constructionist insight that is not stressed often enough in legal pedagogical materials. The text is well organized and has an excellent focus on cinematic technique, using films as illuminating case studies through which to more fully understand the law and legal actors. However, the text would be stronger if all aspects of legal practice, including negotiation and mediation, and all legal actors, including women and mediators, were included.