Preview

The Justice Game Essay Conflicting Perspectives

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1342 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Justice Game Essay Conflicting Perspectives
The Justice Game Essay Conflicting Perspectives by Kenneth Phang

The existence of conflicting perspectives in society is inevitable as there are an infinite amount of truths that are developed by an individual’s understanding of an idea. It is important to note that truth is constructed, not found and is entirely subjective as different perceptions of truth are influenced by culture, religion, lifestyle, interest and the sort. Geoffrey Robertson’s nonfiction text, The Justice Game and David Braithwaite’s feature article “Chaser Comic Convoy beats summit security” highlights the expected conflicts in perspectives through the issues of corruption of the law and obscenity accompanied by the overarching theme of “truths”. They explore the manipulation of how truths can mislead and warp meaning, thus creating perspectives that generate diverse and provocative insights. n
The Trials of Oz explores the theme of obscenity in order to portray conflicting perspectives as inevitable. The perspectives of Robertson, Judge Argyle and the defendants, Richard Neville, John Anderson and Felix Dennis are highlighted to provide emphasis between the prosecutor and the persecuted. The defendants, charged with “corrupting public morals” via their magazine “Oz: Schoolkids Edition” are depicted by Leary as those who “conspired to publish the twenty eighth edition of OZ”. Robertson puts affirms his opinion through the line “I knew all about the law – but nothing about justice and I was looking forward to seeing it done” hence providing the conflict between Birmingham court and the defendants. This is seen in the cross examination “Anderson: Yes, I thought it was extraordinary, even brilliant. Leary: Extraordinary it may be, however not genius”, in which Robertson has explores the contrast in values between the conservative nature of the prosecutors and the counter-culture ideals that are instilled within the defendants. It is depicted that Judge Argyle has these

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham City Jail”, King talks about how to know the difference between just and unjust laws. He states, “Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust”(Shafer-Landau 408). King believed that unjust laws promote disharmony and that these laws essentially destroy human personality, while just laws uplift personality. In his opinion, he believed that laws were characterized as just laws if they were helping to make an individual better as a person, if it did not meet those standards it was considered to be an unjust law. An unjust law is a “code that is out of harmony with the moral law”(Shafer-Landau 408) essentially meaning that an unjust law is a law that is…

    • 497 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In “Searching for truths, Searching for justice” Nancy A. Heitzeg thesis talks about the controversial issues that we as Americans have going on. Getting the facts, understanding values, truths, and justice is what Heiteg is trying to do in her writing. “The truths created by the social world call out for evaluation, for analysis, for judgment” (131). The unfairness of the world isn’t fair or equal. Heizeg points out some situations that have ruined the society of America.…

    • 213 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Gattaca Themes

    • 3901 Words
    • 16 Pages

    The texts "Scales Of Justice" and "Gattaca" are two texts which allow the reader to witness a variety of interpretations and explore the relevant issues that are visible within contemporary society. Such issues as corruption within the police force, racism, sexual harassment, discrimination and manipulation of power are shown to give different interpretations of issues which plague today's society and potentially our future.…

    • 3901 Words
    • 16 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Discuss the meaning of justice. Critically analyse the extent to which the law is successful in achieving justice, and discuss the difficulties which is faces in seeking to do so. (30 marks + 5 AO3)…

    • 3979 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Justice Game

    • 1396 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Robertson’s chapter on Diana in the Dock illustrates how the composer’s personal convictions and attitudes toward Diana Windsor, shape the reader’s interpretation of information regarding her right to privacy as an individual. The conjunction coupled with the contrasting legal jargon “I was in favour of privacy law but opposed monarchy” strongly outlines Robertson own conflict towards Diana’s situation. His use of a personal, persuasive tone coupled with colloquial idiom and military-like jargon in “There is, I’m convinced, a…

    • 1396 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Hillsborough Disaster

    • 3606 Words
    • 15 Pages

    Critically discuss the role of defamation law as guardian of the truth, focussing on the inaccurate reporting, which led to The Sun newspaper publishing a front-page article, headlined “The Truth‟ on 19th April 1989.…

    • 3606 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Trials of Oz is an essay in The Justice Game in which Robertson recounts his perspective on a court trial in which the editors of Oz Magazine are defending a series of obscenity charges. Robertson's bias towards the editors is evident through his representation of judge Michael Argyle as harsh and unreasonable, and prosecutor Brian Leary as a condescending bully. One of the first things readers are told about Judge Argyle is his well known catch-cry “We just don't do this sort of thing in Birmingham!” This immediately conveys to readers that Argyle tends to base his judgements on his own moral perspectives, rather than legal jurisdiction. This unfair impression is built upon when Robertson describes the lengthy prison terms that Argyle is known for sentencing thieves and vandals to. Argyle's harsh nature is confirmed when he quotes the Bible “Those who lead children astray deserve to be drowned in the depths of the sea, with millstones around their necks.” Robertson's bias towards the Oz editors is also evident through his portrayal of Brian Leary as a condescending bully. In the opening paragraph of the…

    • 1063 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Justice Game

    • 941 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In the chapter “Afterword” in The Justice Game, Robertson enforces the importance of excluding emotion and personal opinion from the courtroom. Robertson’s perspective of the justice system is that “Justice’ is not a result conforming to popular expectation”, but is rather “an objective judgment”. The audience is positioned to accept his opinion because of the use of non-fiction memoir as the textual form. Non-fiction is perceived as fact or truth, hence the audience is positioned to view his opinion as truth. The medium of production adds to his credibility because traditionally, print is also perceived as a reliable source as it has been repeatedly edited and scrutinized, again giving credibility to Robertson’s view that the justice system should be objective. In “Diana on the Dock”, the inclusion of “I was the author of a textbook” apprises…

    • 941 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Justice Game

    • 407 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Is the glass half full or half empty? I'm sure most of you have been asked this question before and I'm sure everyone in this room has a different answer. This is because 'truth' is relative, it is personal. Some might say half empty and some may say full, depending on our circumstances.…

    • 407 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Child interviewing techniques derived from transcripts of the McMartin Preschool case were found to be substantially more effective than simple suggestive questions at inducing preschool children to make false allegations against a classroom visitor. Thirty-six children interviewed with McMartin techniques made 58% accusations, compared with 17% for 30 children interviewed with suggestive questions. Social influence and reinforcement appeared to be more powerful determinants of children's answers than simple suggestive questions. The SIRR model is proposed to explain how false statements may be elicited from children or adults. Categories identified in the SIRR model are suggestive questions, social influence, reinforcement, and removal from direct experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]…

    • 2090 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Justice and Injustice

    • 639 Words
    • 3 Pages

    society, which is inevitable. There is no way to stop injustice from happening and there is no…

    • 639 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Achieving Justice

    • 1219 Words
    • 5 Pages

    I suffer from many nightmares and have done so for many years. Strangely, I didn't have them during the 15 years I in spent in prison after being wrongly convicted, with three others, for the 1975 Guildford and Woolwich pub bombings. It was almost as if I was in the eye of the storm while I was inside, and everything was being held back for a replay later in my life. Our case is well known now as one of first major miscarriages of justice. I am often contacted by people who, like me, spent many years on death row after being wrongly convicted. People ask whether a case like ours could happen today. Of course it could. I know of many innocent people still behind bars and I know there are echoes of what happened to us in cases that are still coming to light today. We were tortured – guns held to our heads. The case against us was circumstantial. We tried to get people to listen to what had happened to us, and it took years before our voices were heard outside.…

    • 1219 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Aristotle once said, “It is in justice that the ordering of society is centered”. In our society there are theories of justice, which is Retribution, Utilitarianism and Restitution. These forms have similarities and differences and are use in many different social groups every day.…

    • 176 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Everything can be bought” (31) says Claire Zachanassian near the end of the first act of The Visit. This statement was made in response to the Mayor who said “But justice can’t be bought!” (31). This raises the question: Can justice be bought? According to Claire Zachanassian, everything can be bought. However, real justice can never be bought because money corrupts justice and purchases revenge. Justice is the fair and unbiased treatment of an individual based on their crimes. If justice is payed for, it would receive a bias and become corrupted which means it is no longer justice. This new corrupted justice would now be defined as revenge since it is biased and directed by an outside force. This is the exact situation…

    • 758 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The American justice system is one of the greatest aspects of the U.S. Constitution. The judicial branch insures that anyone in America receives a fair trial, that a nobody is incarcerated without due process and significant evidence, it assumes innocents until proven guilt, and protects the rights of citizens, victims, and the accused. The American justice system works most of the time, in that criminals normally go to jail while innocent people are set free; however, every system has its faults. Foremost, there is much debate over the concept of “guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.” Many argue that courts do not always prove guilt or innocence, as in many people who are guilty of their crimes are not convicted because there was not enough evidence. The concept of ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’ is subjective and left up to the standards of the jurors. In today’s society, if a case does not have physical evidence, but strong circumstantial evidence and eyewitness accounts (evidence that was often deemed enough to convict several decades ago), the jury still may not convict because they have the idea that their should be some type of physical evidence for the person to be found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Often times, the idea of true guilt is lost in trying to prove ‘beyond a reasonable doubt.’…

    • 582 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays