Audience studies

[rivkat]

So, I've got a colleague writing about images of lawyers in popular culture, only she wants to get beyond "images of" and into how various groups perceive lawyers in TV shows/movies. Is anyone aware of any work on this? Reception studies involving Ally McBeal or LA Law? Even if there's only a mention of reaction to a legal storyline in a larger study of a non-legal show or movie, that would be a huge addition to the project -- because right now she's got theory and no practice. No pun intended.

Also, if anyone knew of a good place to go for a recent reception studies bibliography, that would be great.

Comments

[gianna24.livejournal.com]

These articles might be helpful;

http://www.iuinfo.indiana.edu/homepages/0124/0124text/pop.htm

http://www.usfca.edu/pj/libel_trach.htm,

and this one (UCLA law review article) will almost certainly be useful,

http://tarlton.law.utexas.edu/lpop/etext/ucla/rosenberg48.htm.

[rivkat.livejournal.com]

Thanks -- I'm really hoping to point her in the direction of nonlawyers' reactions, because it's one thing for lawyers to say "the images of law in popular culture convey the message that X" and another to have nonlawyers say "I think law is X," or "I think the story in LA Law shows X." The UCLA Law Review piece looks interesting.