Law in Pop Culture

I had a first year law subject where one of the weekly topics was the perception of law in pop culture. That week the two hour lecture was mainly filled by watching Legally Blonde. It was an awful subject, mainly because the lecture was one of those ridiculous 8am ones that are quite easy to sleep through, both in class and out of class. At 10am I returned home to watch the rest of Legally Blonde before continuing to the sequel. For the tutorial we had to watch some other show or movie where there is a perception of the legal profession. For the life of me I can't really remember the point, but I remember the discussions we had. 

A conversation I was having with some fellow students lately got me thinking. Someone suggested that watching a show like Crownies could be quasi-study. Since I became a law student I have spent much more time watching shows and movies that relate to the law. The Good Wife, Suits, The Defenders (before it was unfortunately cancelled), not to mention all the criminal investigation shows or the older shows that are on DVD. You name it and I watch, or watched it, at least for a few episodes. 

Most of these shows are set in the US and refers so rarely to actual law. The shows give such a romanticised view of what it is like to be a practicing lawyer and, while I am no more than a student, it doesn't take a genius to know that it isn't the reality. 

Crownies is different to these other shows. Not only is it Australian, but it also makes quite a few references to actual law and legal principles. That said, I'm not totally a fan. I hate the idea that it is set in an unnamed fictional Australian jurisdiction. I do, however, love the clothes that these recent graduates wear! It is, in a way, pretty cool to recognise principles that are being referenced. It is much less of a romanticised version of life as a lawyer, with one of the characters living in his office.

Even though I know it's unrealistic, I rather like to think that the romanticised version of events is how it will be for me as a lawyer. Perhaps a 21st Century Ally McBeal?