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SelectedWorks

Victoria S. Salzmann

Arts and Literature

Publication Year

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Full-Text Articles in Law

The Film Law Abiding Citizen: How Popular Culture Is Poisoning People's Perception Of Pleas, Victoria S. Salzmann Apr 2011

The Film Law Abiding Citizen: How Popular Culture Is Poisoning People's Perception Of Pleas, Victoria S. Salzmann

Victoria S. Salzmann

What would you do if a ruthless killer broke into your home and killed your family right before your eyes, then bargained with the prosecutor to receive only three years punishment in exchange for testifying against his innocent accomplice? Would you accept this chain of events as a just system of punishment, or would you “go rouge” and mete out your own justice, killing the defendants and even the members of the criminal system who encouraged the practice? This scenario is the plot of the blockbuster movie, Law Abiding Citizen, which stars Gerard Butler as the hero/vigilante avenging his family’s …


Honey, You're No June Cleaver: The Power Of "Dropping Pop" To Persuade, Victoria S. Salzmann Apr 2009

Honey, You're No June Cleaver: The Power Of "Dropping Pop" To Persuade, Victoria S. Salzmann

Victoria S. Salzmann

Imagine a contentious child-custody hearing in which the husband is testifying about his wife’s behavior. If he were to state “She is no June Cleaver,” that testimony would have an immediate impact upon those present. Most people would understand that the husband was making a reference to Mrs. Ward Cleaver, the pearl-clad mother figure from the popular 1950s television show Leave it to Beaver. But the reference does more than simply call to mind 1950s television. It is a vivid popular-culture allusion that immediately taps into the psyche of anyone familiar with the show. It tells the listener that the …