SKEPTICISM BORDERING ON DISTRUST: FAMILY LAW IN THE HOLLYWOOD CINEMA

This article critiques Hollywood films from the last last 20–30 years that relate to family law. More specifically, this article considers films involving marriage, divorce, child custody, and adoption and focuses on the portrayal of law in those films. While the films are not tightly connected to one another and surely do not share a unified theme, the films do share a surprising skepticism bordering on distrust regarding law, legal procedures, and legal institutions. Hollywood appears to have picked up a general sentiment that family should be a private, intimate sanctuary and is better off without state intrusion through law. The films incorporate this sentiment and also reinforce it by teaching viewers to be leery of law in family matters. Key Points for the Family Court Community:

• 1 Recent Hollywood films include not only abundant portrayals of family life but also numerous examples of family law.
• 2 As a result, these Hollywood films have the potential to educate viewers about family law and to prompt certain normative attitudes about family law.
• 3 In general, Hollywood films invite viewers to be skeptical and even disdainful of family law.

     

The Obligations and Expectations of Couples Within Families: Three Modes of Interaction

What kinds of family structures emerge after a couple relationship is formed? How are obligations perceived towards the family of origin and the family of the partner? How are obligations perceived towards the older generation and towards children? How are conflicts of interest approached or resolved? How are the obligations arising from these personal relationships affected by gender, ethnicity, culture and religion? This paper reports some findings from a qualitative study of 39 men and women aged 25–40 which investigates the social context for the legal regulation of couple relationships; whether marriage, cohabitation or civil partnerships.     

Modern weddings in Uzbekistan: ritual change from ‘above’ and from ‘below’

Under the new conditions of independence, wedding ceremonies in Uzbekistan have increasingly diversified along growing social and economic divides. Recent state measures to curb ritual expenditures follow the furrow of a long tradition of criticism against ritual prodigality which, however, falls short of its self-set target of enforcing more ‘rational’ rituals. Based on fieldwork conducted in the Ferghana Valley, this paper sheds a new light on the controversy around ‘excessive ritual expenditures’ by discussing tensions in local practices arising from changing livelihoods and consumption patterns, on the one hand, and, on the other, from an ambivalent state policy that aims at containing ritual expenditures and social polarization, while also promoting an ideal of modern wedding that undermines the very aim of the policy.     

Household formation, institutions, and economic development: Evidence from imperial Russia

Household formation patterns have been adduced in recent years by historians and other social scientists to account for the economic development of western Europe. The so-called European Marriage Pattern, which prevailed throughout northwest Europe, is viewed as having been particularly conducive to early industrialisation and economic growth. But to what extent were household formation systems exogenous to the broader economic and social context in which they were located? Evidence from nineteenth-century Russia indicates that family systems were influenced by the same variables that determined the shape of the local economy; they were part of a complex web of institutions and thus cannot be viewed as independent determinants of economic development.     

商榷“婚姻法解释（三）”第十一条规定之不适当——基于“对夫妻共有产权另一方权益保护”视角

本文通过引用《宪法》的规定,列举和分析此条对夫妻共有房产权另一方权益的侵害及其程度,以及由此导致的司法资源浪费、社会不安定因素的增加等方面的不适当之处,以《宪法》至高无上的法律效力、特别法优先于一般法、侵权行为是无效法律行为等法制的原理和原则,从维护司法公正、权威,保护妇女合法权益,维护全社会共同保障妇女权益的大好局势和社会安定团结等方面,提出对“婚姻法解释（三）”第十一条改变或撤销建议。     

凉山彝族婚姻习惯法及其司法实践的合理性运用

随着经济的发展,凉山彝族的婚姻习惯法也在不断的蜕变当中,全面掌握彝族婚姻习惯法现状对彝区法律工作具有十分重要的意义.彝族婚姻习惯法的主要原则包括:同族内婚、家支外婚、等级内婚.其许多方面都与我国的法律原则相背离.我们应就凉山彝族习惯法与国家制定法的调适和司法实践的合理性运用进行探索.     

UNTIL DEATH DO US PART? WHY COURTS SHOULD EXPAND PRENUPTIAL AGREEMENTS TO INCLUDE TEN‐YEAR MARRIAGES

It has become apparent that marriage, while still strongly valued by society and government, has become less appealing to Americans as a whole. The changes taking place in society, whether economic or moral, have resulted in married couples becoming the minority in the United States. This decrease demonstrates that there is a need for reform, and that couples need to be provided with new options that will incentivize them to choose this union over cohabitation. This Note will discuss how expanding prenuptial agreements to allow couples to contract to the length of their marriage may help to accomplish that goal. This expansion will give couples the ability to tailor their relationship to fit their individual expectations and quell the reservations commonly associated with formalized relationships. Furthermore, such an expansion would be consistent with current law regulating premarital agreements and would still allow state governments to remain involved in regulation, making it less drastic of a reform than privatization.