Sunday, May 19, 2013

Television & Movies Influence the Language of Legal Opinions

Star Trek has been both a television series and a movie with several sequels. Star Trek Into Darkness, the most recent sequel has earned $70.6 million dollars since its launch last week. Star Trek has done more than earn money for the networks and studios; it has worked its way into the language of the popular culture. Most people have likely heard phrases made famous by Star Trek such as "boldly go where no man has gone before" or "live long and prosper." But perhaps the most well-known phrase is Spock's assertion that it is logical that the "needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." As a quick search of WestlawNext reveals, this phrase has made it into several court opinions, including the opinion in the Northern District of Indiana Bankruptcy decision of In Re Smith.

As indicated by the posting to this blog on February 25, 2013, the Law Library has begun to collect law related DVDs. While popular, the Star Trek movies would not likely have sufficient law related content to be included in the collection.

(This entry was originally written and posted by Darla Jackson)

No comments:

Post a Comment