If television and films are where the action is, then teachers must go there, and bring their thematic content under study. Over the last five years, a law film series has been an integral part of our introductory legal studies course. The films have been important at a number of levels. Sometimes, as with documentaries like Denver v. Watson , the film is simply the best way to convey information about police discretion, criminal process, jury selection, the roles of judges, defense counsel and prosecution or being a defendant. In Wiseman's Juvenile Court , formal and informal dimensions of court activity can be unforgetably learned.
Feature films operate at another level.
While at their worst they embody most of the stereotypical views about law, at their best they poignantly show the ways that law touches the lives of people and the interconnection between social or group purpose and legal action. Sometimes famous films have great content up to a point and then are spoiled. Other gains come when films become integral with curriculum. Stu- dents who are accustomed to watching films passively become active viewers and deal consciously with what would otherwise operate only at the unconscious level. When students reach greater sophistication they can no longer be pushed around by the media.