Lex Populi: The Jurisprudence of Popular Culture (The Cultural Lives of Law) [Hardcover]

William MacNeil (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0804753679 | ISBN-13: 978-0804753678 | Publication Date: February 15, 2007 | Edition: 1

This is a book about jurisprudence—or legal philosophy. The legal philosophical texts under consideration are—to say the least—unorthodox. Tolkien, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Harry Potter, Legally Blonde, and others are referenced as instances of what the author calls lex populi—"pop law". Here, however, issues of legal philosophy are heavily coded, for few of these pop cultural texts announce themselves as expressly legal. Lex Populi reads these texts "jurisprudentially", with an eye to their hidden legal philosophical meanings, enabling connections such as: Tolkien's Ring as Kelsen's grundnorm; vampire slaying as legal language's semiosis; and Hogwarts as substantively unjust. Lex Populi attempts not only a jurisprudential reading of popular culture, but also a popular rereading of jurisprudence, removing it from the legal experts in order to restore it to the public at large: a lex populi by and for the people.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"With unmatched eloquence, with veritable clusters of mots justes, and with an unerring ear for the symptoms of legal anxiety in popular texts, MacNeil walks the reader through his intricate and intensely intelligent interpretations of a blazing diversity of texts, tragic, comic, epic, satirical, sci-fi and more."—Media & Arts Law Review

"In obeying the form of critical cultural jurisprudence [Lex Populi] succeeds in invoking the visceral. That is, it resounds in the deep registries that drive the very subject-matter of the book itself, animations of the world that are more real than lived existence. For this stylistic achievement in a field which has become notorious for over-complex, technical performances, MacNeil should be celebrated... MacNeil presents the possibility of revolutionising jurisprudence. He offers a way for jurisprudence to actively engage with the 'masses' and in that engagement finds not only a stronger voice, but facilitates other voices on the 'people's law.'"—Griffith Law Review

"William MacNeil's book is that rarest of rarae aves – a serious legal study that is fun to read. As its name implies, the book examines "'People's law' or, more loosely, 'pop law'" (1) – law as reflected by contemporary popular culture... By recognizing how popular culture reflects legal structures we can learn not only how society implicitly understands, or misunderstands, law but also gives legal theorists a way of re-examining and rethinking jurisprudence."—Social Science Research Network

"What can pop culture contribute to the rights debate? Quite a lot, MacNeil argues. And... his unconventional analysis holds up remarkably well."—Australian Literary Review

"The prose is lively, witty, and challenging, full of puns and cultural references that pay a careful reader... Parallel to how Murphy Brown provoked conversation about single parenting, MacNeil believes we can brng jurisprudential issues into publ

From the Inside Flap

This is a book about jurisprudence—or legal philosophy. The legal philosophical texts under consideration are—to say the least—unorthodox. Tolkien, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Harry Potter, Million Dollar Baby, and other cultural products are all referenced as exemplary instances of what the author calls lex populi—“people’s” or “pop law.” There, more than anywhere else, will one find the leading issues of legal philosophy. These issues, however, are heavily coded, for few of these pop cultural texts announce themselves as expressly legal. Nonetheless, Lex Populi reads these texts “jurisprudentially,” that is, with an eye to their hidden legal philosophical meanings, enabling connections such as: Tolkien’s Ring as Kelsen’s grundnorm; vampire slaying as legal language’s semiosis; Hogwarts as substantively unjust; and a seriously injured young woman as termination’s rights-bearer. In so doing, Lex Populi attempts not only a jurisprudential reading of popular culture, but a popular rereading of jurisprudence, removing it from the legal experts in order to restore it to the public at large: a lex populi by and for the people.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 260 pages
• Publisher: Stanford University Press; 1 edition (February 15, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0804753679
• ISBN-13: 978-0804753678
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,553,324 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Macneil is to legal theory what Diddy is to hip-hop...He invented the remix!, September 30, 2009

By 

Annette Houlihan (Victoria, Australia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Lex Populi: The Jurisprudence of Popular Culture (The Cultural Lives of Law) (Hardcover)

I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in legal matters or popular culture. Professor MacNeil's collection moves us forward in understanding the caresses of justice with our everyday social lives. This book provides insightful, novel and highly intellectual analyses of recent events and popular cultural artefacts. It is tantalising and exquisite research which will invigorate and stimulate readers.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Revolution, April 23, 2008

By 

Stephen Burton (Queensland, Australia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Lex Populi: The Jurisprudence of Popular Culture (The Cultural Lives of Law) (Hardcover)

This book is a revolution in jurisprudence, never before has the law been subject to such a hugely entertaining analysis by such an avant garde scholar as William MacNeil. Regardless of your level of theoretical, legal or cultural understanding this book will engage you, and herein lies the single most important contribution that this text makes - it bridges the huge divide between the law and popular culture whilst at the same time neither talking down nor up to any one audience. Whether your a lawyer with a creative or theoretical bent, a pop culture vulture or a black letter legal scholar this book will expand your thinking and be very entertaining in the process. A one of a kind, a forerunner, the new grundnorm for post-postmodern legal and cultural thinking. Highly recommended.