Hi, I saw a comment on NiF where you said "the ending is very sad, it’s also one of the most hopeful stories I can think of" and "it is so heartening, I tell you, to watch characters grow into conviction that justice is sacrosanct, and we have the power to achieve this ideal." I totally agree and I love it, so... do you know other shows that go for that kind of thing ?
Hi hi! Thank you very much for this ask; I hope you don’t mind I’ve taken a bit to think about it, and some of these recs’ll tangent a bit, but I hope you keep on vibing with these too :D
My absolute first response is HBO Chernobyl. Yep, hear me out. HBO Chernobyl is obviously textually centered on the nuclear disaster, but Craig Mazin gave us his thesis statement in literally the first lines:
That voice speaking there is Valery Legasov, who literally gives his life so that his government can’t keep lying and murdering people. But, crucially, he starts out as a coward. Before the disaster, he believed in the system, he’s been selfish, he still lies and endangers strangers because it’s in his own interests - his father was the Head of Ideological Compliance in the Central Committee, for crying out loud! He was a good Soviet! That is, until, he sees the absolute scope of devastation that the state has wrought with his compliance. And then he comes to realise how much bigger than him the truth is, how much more important justice is than ego. The last episode of the miniseries is a far break from historical record, but an absolute tour de force of epistemic integrity:
I don’t recommend Chernobyl lightly, but I do absolutely endorse it. Nirvana in Fire spends 40 hours correcting for a government’s mistakes because by pursuing justice, we inspire others to rise as well, and together we are capable of a better world. Chernobyl gets five hours to say that we pursue the truth not because it benefits us ourelves, but because it is objectively, morally right to use everything in our power to counteract episemic injustice. It’s not so elegant as Nirvana in Fire, nor do we get to see the fruits of our main characters’ labor, but they have the same thrust of righteousness.
(I’ve actually rambled about Chernobyl and NiF before, and it’s a bit hasty but I stand by the thrust of it - here on DW)
Also, yes, Chernobyl was written by the same Craig Mazin who was first on the Ted Cruz Hate Train back when they were roommates in for the first semester of college, and he’s kept that energy up the whole time -
I do love him so much.
(Or if you want to start one watch at a time, there’s Erin Brockovich - capitalist industrial disasters trying to cover their own asses by lying through their teeth 🤝 communist industrial disasters trying to cover their own asses by lying through their teeth)
If you want to start anywhere else, though, 12 Angry Men is the classic for a reason. A jury is human and fallable and has the power to kill someone if they feel it is right. It’s just a dozen guys arguing in a single room for an hour and a half and that knowledge makes for some of the most chilling tension. It’s up on the Internet Archive here and if it doesn’t convince you to participate in courts to the best of your ability, I don’t know what can, because holy shit can you see how easy it is for this to go wrong. Also, the world’s best primer on why standards of evidence matter.
(Honorable mention also goes to Rear Window, aka the one where someone is so intent on solving a mystery that the entire narrative hinges on private surveillance. I personally find this one very disturbing, but it is an excellent film and all the more impactful in contrast with the deliberation of 12 Angry Men. Rear Window is a voyeur’s dream, an armchair vigilante’s epic adventure of spying on his neighbors based on circumstantial evidence. This one really is best gone into without spoilers. Gotta hand it to Hitchcock, he did know how to build tension.)
The other absolute classic courtroom drama is of course To Kill A Mockingbird, your choice of the book or movie. Take or leave To Set A Watchman, but Atticus Finch in court is something special.
The Measure Of A Man, Star Trek: The Next Generation season 2 episode 9. ok, this isn’t only about pursuing justice per se, but it is a beautiful and encapsulated look at the necessity of formal sysems of law. LegalEagle does a great breakdown of the precedents the episode leans on, the philosophical issues underpinning the trial, and the role of trials in providing precedent in turn.
Beyond visual media, though, Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series has got to be my favorite take. ok, yes, the whole series is pretty long, but the City Watch subseries hits the nail right on the head for pursuit of justice. (Also, they’re not american for once, because this list is hella skewed, sorry!) Again we have a protagonist who honestly doesn’t start as much, but has become the greatest defender of equality under law I know in fiction. Specifically, Sam Vimes, who goes from drunk in a gutter after his colleague’s funeral to publicly arresting the ruler of his city for treason. It doesn’t matter if he’s your friend; there can’t be two laws. You respect the will of the people and see justice done.
“They say that in Ankh-Morpork one of your ancestors killed a king,” said the Prince. “And he also came to no good end.” ...[Vimes] had always wondered how Old Stoneface had felt, that frosty morning when he picked up the axe that had no legal blessing because the King wouldn’t recognise a court even if a jury could be found, that frosty morning when he prepared to sever what people thought was a link between men and deity--
...that was the point, wasn’t it? If you could arrest anyone, that’s what you had to do. You couldn’t turn around and say “but not him.”
(Jingo)
And this coming from the same guy who also said
‘The common people?’ said Vimes. ‘They’re nothing special. They’re no different from the rich and powerful except they’ve got no money or power. But the law should be there to balance things up a bit.'
(Feet of Clay)
That’s what it’s all about. That’s the point of jurisprudence, that is the essence of justice. Something has to be there to even the scales, something has to be there to say, no, that’s not right, and then enforce that so that people can’t get away with hurting each other. Sam Vimes is here to confront addiction, read to his son, and arrest armies for behavior likely to cause a breach of the peace, and he’s addressed his alcoholism and tucked his son in for the night.
And in recommending a story about a police force, I want to stress that Vimes both learns from his ignorances and, as soon as he figures out what’s what, he does not tolerate prejudice in his force. Again, old friend or not, what’s not permitted is not permitted. And he didn’t play along with martial law being called, either:
“You laid him out, Sarge!” Sam squeaked, still staring at the sleeping captain. Vimes shook some life back into his hand. “Let the record show that I took command after the captain’s sudden attack of obvious insanity,” he said. “Waddy, Wiglet…drag him back to the house and lock him up, will you?”
...“Was he insane, Sarge?”
...“He asked you to shoot at people who weren’t shooting back,” growled Vimes, striding forward. “That makes him insane, wouldn’t you say?”
(Night Watch)
If police really aren’t your speed, though, there’s a one-shot (so to speak), aptly titled The Truth, about the development of the public newspaper, and its relationship with epistemic and social privelege.
“You will of course show this...article to us before you put it in the paper,” said Lord Downey, rallying a little. William wore his haughtiness like an overcoat. “Um, no, I don’t think I will, my lord. It’s my paper, you see.” “Can he—” “Yes, my lord, he can,” said Mr. Slant. “I’m afraid he can. The right to free speech is a fine old Ankh-Morpork tradition.” “Good heavens, is it?” “Yes, my lord.” “How did that one survive?” “I couldn’t say, my lord,” said Slant. “But Mr. de Worde,” he added, staring at William, “is, I believe, a young man who would not go out of his way to upset the smooth running of the city.” William smiled at him, politely, nodded to the rest of the company, and walked back across the courtyard and out into the street. He waited until he was some distance away before he burst out laughing.
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So, this certainly isn’t anything like a comprehensive list but these are all close to my heart and I do hope you enjoy them too! I am totally slanted towards american media, sorry, so please everyone who wants, chime in. Further tangents that I’ve enjoyed are the first season of The Terror (we can still be kind, even when we can do nothing else, it is worth learning to be kind) and the film of And The Band Played On (Don’t bring back the Gaëtan Dugas blame, but the scientist’s narrative of we will find the truth, this is not popular but it is right is obviously right up my alley). Also, epistemic (in)justice is my bread and butter, in the department, so if you want to go in a more scholastic direction, Down Girl by Kate Manne has a great introduction to the topic as well as a ton of other great discussion, Dr Veronica Ivy (sometimes publishing as Rachel McKinnon) has great things to say about gaslighting, and Miranda Fricker literally wrote the book Epistemic Injustice.
