The entertainment industry at times can give great insight into the inner workings of various legal systems throughout the world and at various times through those depictions it highlights the connection between a society and its legal system. This essay will examine the legal themes and concepts in the films “The Crucible” and “Red Corner” and it’s how relates to the current United States legal system. The two legal systems in the film are in many ways different from the modern United States legal systems due to the time period and culture differences, respectively. However, there could possibly be some similarities, which of course will be highlighted by this essay.
The film “The Crucible” which is set in Puritan-era Massachusetts appears …show more content…
The legal tradition depicted in the film is Puritan Law. The roots of Puritanism go back to its split from the from the Church of England in the late 1500’s and over time Puritans left England and many of them settled in the then colony of English colony known as New England where they were free to practice their religion and set up laws based off of their belief system (History.com Staff 2009). In the film, due to the methods that were used to punish people who did not assist the judges the way they saw fit in the witchcraft trials it appeared at first glance that the laws that govern this society were very strict. In real life, the laws indeed were so strict that even the slightest infraction such as private matters like adultery and even people who didn’t produce food or beverages the correct way were subject to severe and humiliating punishments (Almoutawa 2011). The type of law depicted in the movie was religiously based. The legal structure in Puritan Massachusetts at least according to the film consisted of a religiously based court system that was presided over by three Puritan judges who in regards to the witchcraft trails, would order the accused person/people to appear before the court and the accused would have to answer a series of questions from the judges in order to determine their guilt or innocence. Additionally, there no lawyers …show more content…
The type of law represented in the film appears to be based from civil law because of the lack of a jury and the accused with his lawyer has to prove his innocence directly to the judges rather than by winning the case against an accuser based off of a preponderance of evidence. The legal structure in the film is the Supreme People’s Court of China which is the highest court in China, in which the distinctive feature of the court in regards to the other levels of the Chinese court system is that it covers criminal law which is seen in the film (Ole Miss). In the film, the courtroom structure is represented by a panel of 5 judges with one lead judge in charge of the proceedings known as the presiding chairman who hears the case by listening to arguments from the lawyer and witness testimony from high ranking members of Chinese society from the military, government officials and businessmen. After hearing arguments and testimony, although there is a panel of 5 judges the decision to render a guilty or not guilty verdict rest solely with the presiding chairman. However, if there is additional information the other members of the panel wants hear the presiding chairman can choose at their discretion to allow that additional bit of information to be heard. The Chinese Socialist legal system is different from the United States legal
The film “The Crucible” which is set in Puritan-era Massachusetts appears …show more content…
The legal tradition depicted in the film is Puritan Law. The roots of Puritanism go back to its split from the from the Church of England in the late 1500’s and over time Puritans left England and many of them settled in the then colony of English colony known as New England where they were free to practice their religion and set up laws based off of their belief system (History.com Staff 2009). In the film, due to the methods that were used to punish people who did not assist the judges the way they saw fit in the witchcraft trials it appeared at first glance that the laws that govern this society were very strict. In real life, the laws indeed were so strict that even the slightest infraction such as private matters like adultery and even people who didn’t produce food or beverages the correct way were subject to severe and humiliating punishments (Almoutawa 2011). The type of law depicted in the movie was religiously based. The legal structure in Puritan Massachusetts at least according to the film consisted of a religiously based court system that was presided over by three Puritan judges who in regards to the witchcraft trails, would order the accused person/people to appear before the court and the accused would have to answer a series of questions from the judges in order to determine their guilt or innocence. Additionally, there no lawyers …show more content…
The type of law represented in the film appears to be based from civil law because of the lack of a jury and the accused with his lawyer has to prove his innocence directly to the judges rather than by winning the case against an accuser based off of a preponderance of evidence. The legal structure in the film is the Supreme People’s Court of China which is the highest court in China, in which the distinctive feature of the court in regards to the other levels of the Chinese court system is that it covers criminal law which is seen in the film (Ole Miss). In the film, the courtroom structure is represented by a panel of 5 judges with one lead judge in charge of the proceedings known as the presiding chairman who hears the case by listening to arguments from the lawyer and witness testimony from high ranking members of Chinese society from the military, government officials and businessmen. After hearing arguments and testimony, although there is a panel of 5 judges the decision to render a guilty or not guilty verdict rest solely with the presiding chairman. However, if there is additional information the other members of the panel wants hear the presiding chairman can choose at their discretion to allow that additional bit of information to be heard. The Chinese Socialist legal system is different from the United States legal