The dynamic cluster "Justiz- und Kriminalfilm" at the CRC 1385 puts a new podcast episode in the series "Recht abgedreht" online approximately every second month since September 2021. It deals with films about law. "Recht abgedreht" tries to cover different areas: new and old, Indie and Hollywood, documentary and fiction, east and west, south and north. Not only are divergent films selected, but these films also address law in very different ways. The episodes stand for themselves.
In Hillsboro, Tennessee, there is peace - until the young teacher Bertram T. Cates dares to introduce the theory of evolution in school in 1925. Cates and his fiancée Rachel Brown find themselves caught between the ideological fronts embodied by defense attorney Henry Drummond and prosecutor Matthew Harrison Brady. The film shows how ideas separate people and how alone you can be when being against the mainstream. The legal discourse becomes a catalyst for the juxtaposition of creationism and evolution theory: In the end, the accuser is called to the stand and it is up to him to defend the Bible and God against the changing times.
Scopes, John Thomas (1971). The world's most famous court trial, State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes; complete stenographic report of the court test of the Tennessee anti-evolution act at Dayton, July 10 to 21, 1925, including speeches and arguments of attorneys, New York: Da Capo Press.
Decision of the Supreme Court of Tennessee (Appeal) of 1927:
Nader und Simin – Eine Trennung (2011) by Asghar Farhadi
Law does not solve problems
In the beginning there is a separation. Simin wants to leave Iran because she expects a better future for her daughter abroad. Nader does not want to get Termeh out of the familiar surroundings. After 14 years of marriage, Simin and Nader divorce, but the judge does not decide what that means for Termeh. Instead: doors are closed, windows that stand between people, walls everywhere. Children are pushed out, adults are pushing each other away. In general: maybe. In addition to the separations, the other term in the film: Maybe Nader is responsible for the miscarriage of his household helper because he pushed Razieh out of his apartment. Maybe Razieh stole some money. Maybe she is doing something that the Imam has forbidden to do. Or maybe she is innocent, has tried to do everything justice.
The characters are looking to the law for answers to all these questions. Judges should decide. But it is increasingly questionable whether the law is capable of solving the problems raised here to the satisfaction of those involved. In his Oscar-winning drama, director Asghar Farhadi deals with questions of belonging and the question why people are separated from one another: social class, religion, gender. All of these categories play an essential role. But also prejudices, feelings of guilt and shame separate the characters in this film, which despite the allegorical, symbolic style comes with an authentic, realistic depiction.
The discussion shows which problems and questions are raised but not answered, and how the film puts the audience in the role of judges, in a case that brings two families from completely different social classes very close and also gets them apart.
Felix Lenz. "Beobachten und Urteilen. Filmische Form und Politik in Asghar Farhadis Nader und Simin - Eine Trennung." In: Film-Konzepte 55 (2019): 49-70.
Kurosawa's cult movie Rashomon does not only preoccupy Steven Spielberg for some time, but also us. We have taken the masterpiece of Japanese film art from the 1950s to discuss questions of guilt, responsibility, truth, and perspective. Rashomon is a masterfully composed film that (for its time) has, cinematically, a lot to offer. The moral and normative questions are of special interest.
As 'Pitaval', the GDR television series follows a long tradition of crime and trial reporting. In this episode, the 'star lawyer' Friedrich Karl Kaul presents a business model that still makes the recipients despair of the denazification efforts of the young BRD. Beginning with a trial in the Weimar Republic the episode traces a German legal career that began in the politically heated Weimar Republic and knew how to use the National Socialist dictatorship to one's own advantage.
Speakers are Daniel Arjomand, Kathrin Löhr, Marcus Schnetter and Dr. Sebastian Speth.
Editing: Johannes Ueberfeldt
Cover design: Julius Noack
Intro: Johannes Ueberfeldt
Members of the dynamic cluster: Daniel Arjomand, Gesine Heger, Kathrin Löhr, Julius Noack, Marcus Schnetter, Dr. Sebastian Speth, Johannes Ueberfeldt, Laura Wittmann
