Eating Popcorn like a Lawyer: A Law and Film Seminar Series

Organised in collaboration with the Sciences Po Law School, ‘Eating Popcorn like a Lawyer’ is an online seminar series that seeks to establish a continuous dialogue between the fields of law and film.

For each installment we invite a prominent legal scholar to discuss and analyse their favourite film(s).

For the inaugural event of this series, Professor Gunter Frankenberg (Goethe University Frankfurt) will give a reading on three Hollywood classics: Dirty Harry (1971 - directed by Don Siegel), Unforgiven (1992 - directed by Clint Eastwood) and Gran Torino (2008 - also directed by Clint Eastwood).

The three films represent law as violence, with Clint Eastwood’s characters as an interpretation of justice. Professor Frankenberg will open the floor for a lively discussion about vigilantism, law’s power and powerlessness, and a critical view of the Rule of Law.

We invite all students, postdocs and faculty to join us on Zoom. The idea is that participants watch one of the films beforehand. Information on how to do so will be provided in an email once you have registered to our Zoom link.

The Law and Film team:
Edward van Daalen (McGill Faculty of Law)
Vittoria Becci (Sciences Po Law School)