Character Development and Legal Message in Popular Culture

Abstract

A typical narrative pattern in law-related popular culture involves a problem-solving individual encountering and overcoming various obstacles. In many products such as films, TV series, or operas, the character of the protagonist develops in response to challenges. Witnessing this process, the audience is suggested a message on the nature of the law, legal personnel, and legal institutions, in the final analysis, if the law can be trusted.

Characters help to make a story understandable to an audience and to make any message stick. Popular culture has a large arsenal of character stories which can be drawn on and are familiar to the audience. To different degrees, the viewers or listeners are knowledgeable in relation to pop cultural conventions and “media literate”. They enjoy recognising common tropes and relish their variation as long as their understanding is not stretched too far. As much as the message of law-related formats, found in film, TV, or e.g., opera, reinforces existing stereotypes, it also involves constant variation and innovation. In this way, following the fate of pop cultural characters contributes to conservation and change in society.