Drama reviews help raise legal awareness

Close to the audience

As a judicial assistant at the Chaoyang court, Zhang Qian helps deal with civil disputes, including those related to divorce, inheritance and contracts.

She also wrote an article responding to trending legal issues and introducing associated laws in August, while watching the TV series, Imperfect Victim.

The 29-episode drama starring Zhou Xun, Liu Yijun and Lin Yun tells the stories of several women, showing how they brave issues including cyberbullying, sexual harassment and domestic violence.

As of Sept 13, a thread with the hashtag "Imperfect Victim" on Sina Weibo had received 1.5 billion views and had been discussed almost 1.1 million times.

"What the main characters suffer from in the drama are problems that urgently need to be solved in our country and are also public concerns, especially among women," Zhang Qian said.

"Therefore, using the drama to analyze legal problems and respond to concerns brings the article closer to people, and introducing the law in this way might also be more easily accepted. Reading my article after watching the TV series will, I believe, deepen the audience's understanding of legal provisions and help them learn how to protect their rights through the rule of law."

Qin Pengbo, who works at the Beijing Haidian District People's Court, is an avid viewer of films and TV series. He believes that when hit TV dramas or movies are released, especially those concerning crime, it is an opportunity for courts to explain the law.

"Legal knowledge explained through films and dramas not only helps viewers understand the plot, but can also help them learn about judicial work," the judicial assistant said. "In other words, what I do is get closer to people and learn their legal needs."

He said that because many films and TV dramas are popular, the number of views of articles about them is much higher than those that explain the law directly.

He said that, in general, articles about actual and influential cases receive 4,000 to 5,000 views on the court's WeChat account, but the figure can exceed 30,000 if they involve popular films or dramas.

"Many netizens interact with us after reading film-related articles, leaving text messages to show their satisfaction with the content and also to express their gratitude for the further explanation of the law," he added.