Media, Culture & Crime

CRM 470

Lincoln Lawyer: Movie Questions

Directions:

  1. Read this assignment in its entirety. Familiarize yourself with all of the requirements.
  2. Answer in a Microsoft Word document or PDF.  Be sure to include your name in the title of this document.
  1. Review the course readings, slides, and supplemental content posted on our course Blackboard site.
  2. Listed below are a series of questions. Using your course readings, course slides, and the supplemental content address the following questions in a short answer (paragraph) format. You may type your responses in the spaces provided below each question. Do not merely copy and paste your responses from the chapter or slides. Review all of the content as instructed in step three and offer a summarized response.

Assignment:1. Watch The Lincoln Lawyer posted on our Blackboard page.  The video is approximately 2 hours. 2. Address the following questions using course content from Module 2.  Use complete sentences and punctuation.

Questions (Use as much space in between the questions as you would like):

  1. When considering crime fighters that are represented as “professional soldiers,” there are 3 common themes. Which thematic pattern do the police detectives in the film represent and why?
  2. When considering crime fighters, your author refers to the representation of police as a “schizophrenic reality?” What does this mean and list examples of both options depicted within the film?
  3. Does the representation of the courtroom and court proceedings parallel the typical fictional representation of our courts? Why or Why not?
  4. We’ve discussed the common typologies of attorneys in fictional media. Which typology do the following characters fit into? Be sure to explain your responses.

 

Defense Attorney (Mick Haller – Matthew McConaughey)

 

Assistant District Attorney (Ted Minton – Josh Lucas)

 

Assistant District Attorney & Ex-wife (Maggie McPherson – Marisa Tomei)

 

  1. Does the representation of the Judge in the film parallel the typical fictional representation of judges in film? Why or why not?
  2. The film does an adequate job of comparing and contrasting the notions legal guilt and factual guilt. Define the concepts and briefly describe how these concepts are represented in the film.
  3. The film depicts a private investigator (Frank Levin – William H. Macy). Does the representation of the private investigator in the film parallel the typical fictional representations in film? Why or why not?
  4. How are the news media represented in the film? Is this an accurate portrayal of the manner in which the news media often cover high profile cases? Why or Why not?
  5. How are the correctional facilities portrayed in the film? Is this typical within fictional media representations of correctional institutions? Why or why not?
  6. How are the inmates portrayed within the film? Is this typical within fictional media representations of correctional institutions? Why or why not?

 

Turn in this assignment to our class Blackboard site.  Anything turned in late will receive a grade of zero.  If you experience problems posting this assignment to Blackboard email it to me as an attachment immediately. If I have a problem with your post I will email you individually.  You have 24 hours to respond to such emails.  You have the possibility of earning up to 70 points. A rubric is available on our course Blackboard page. If you have any additional questions, please let me know.

Additionally, note that your professor reserves the right to submit any of your assignments to CCSU’s plagiarism detection software SafeAssign.  The software not only permits your professor to cross reference copyrighted and online sources, but also to cross reference your assignments against other students in this course as well as in previous courses and assignments submitted to any other course at CCSU.