The Courtroom as a Stage: Gender, Performance, and Judgement

This website explores the courtroom as a form of public performance by comparing the play Machinal with the highly publicized defamation trial between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard. Both the play and the trial reveal how systems of judgment rely not only on evidence, but also on narrative, performance, and public perception.

Through case overviews, visual moments from both the courtroom and the stage, thematic comparisons, opinions, and an analysis of social media's influence, this project examines how credibility is constructed and contested in highly public spaces.