Marlyn Robinson asks:
>I'm responding
> to a paper on the image of lawyers in film and I need a quick survey.  The
> writers propose that law is seen "with rose colored glasses" and that
> frequently the lawyer is an heroic figure.  I think the public is more
> likely to view lawyers in a negative light and that film reflects this
> attitude.  I know hundreds of nasty lawyer movies, but that's because it's
> my area.  I would like to know, absolutely off the top of your head(s), what
> movies come to mind when you think of lawyers?  If you had to think
> specifically of corrupt, manipulative, sleazy mouthpieces, what would you
> come up with?
 
I think that there are, of course, lots of movies that depict
individual lawyers as venal or worse, but there are many that
depict them as idealistic (Saul in _Married To It_) or shrewd on
the side of right (Perry Mason). The _practice_ of law seems
generally to be disillusioning and perhaps even corrupting
(backstory in _True Believer_) but the _institution_ of the law
seems generally to grind fine, slow, and redemptively (_A Few
Good Men_).
 
Eric
 
Eric Rabkin                [log in to unmask]
Department of English      [log in to unmask]
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