For Juvenile Court [Wiseman] spent over a month in the Juvenile Court of Memphis and Shelby County, Tenn and shot 62 hours of film, four per cent of which is used here. There is no narrative overtly manipulating the audience's responses and despite the choice involved in the shooting and editing of the material, a film of this length which does not incorporate an analytical structure may well serve to reinforce the prejudices and attitudes which the audience already brings to it. It is not possible to assess the extent of the effect on those filmed…. No-one ever speaks directly to the camera and the film functions as an outsider's exploration of an institution. (p. 43)

The film opens and closes with an exterior shot of the Court House. Otherwise the camera never moves from the confines of the building. In terms of the predicaments of the offenders or victims...