Cousin Vinny: Hollywood's Influence In The Courtroom

Hollywood’s influence has often created a false perception of what occurs in state and federal courtrooms in the United States. However, such a viewpoint is not always negative, for average citizens and some lawyers, there may be a guilty pleasure in watching orchestrated trials. Orchestrated trials like real trials are as much about look and feel as they are about facts. It is not the facts alone, but how they are presented to the jurors that determine the outcome of a court case. To prevail, litigators must motivate, educate, and influence jurors more so than their opponents. They must strive to manipulate and control jurors’ emotions and reactions the instant they enter the courtroom with their clients. There are many movies and television shows that depict the struggle a litigator has in influencing the jury …show more content…
12 Angry Men and To Kill A Mockingbird are two of the most popular movies when it comes to making an analysis on influence in the courtroom. However, a movie that is often not included in such assessments is My Cousin Vinny. My Cousin Vinny is not necessarily a heart-wrenching movie like 12 Angry Men nor is it a movie that brings into question the bigoted cultural society of an entire nation like To Kill a Mockingbird. Rather, My Cousin Vinny is a comedy. Yet, this comedy shows the importance of a lawyer as a persuader, the need to follow the Elaboration Likelihood Model to portray to the jury credibility, likeability, competence and trustworthiness. It is a film that takes the reality of trials, the reality of limited budgets, impatient judges, limited preparation time, inimical experts, and futile arguments, and turns it into a cinematic experience that shows the power of persuasion.
My Cousin Vinny is about two Italian American