MovieChat Forums > Down by Law (1986) Discussion > What does 'down by law' mean, anyway?

What does 'down by law' mean, anyway?


That is to say, I'd heard the phrase "down by law" long before the movie was made, but I've never known what it meant. Can anyone tell me?

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Jim Jarmusch says on the DVD that it means you have a close connection with someone, that you're good friends and look out for one another. Apparently prison-wise it means that if you're "down by law" with someone, if they get out before you they'll look out for your friends and family and make sure they're okay. Also there's the literal interpretation of it - to be brought down because of the law. Apparently Jarmusch liked the way those two meanings played against one another - that they became close by being brought down by the law.

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Oh, and it also means just to be in control, and to know what you're doing.

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Ah, thanks.

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There was a writing on the wall of the cell about life being like limbo dance and getting down or low or smth. Do you remember that? Do you think it has anything to do with "Down by Law"?

I finally had an orgasm, and my doctor said it was the wrong kind

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that's nice

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It's just my interpretation: I thought, when I saw the movie that I means you are being imprisoned by law even though you are innocent. I thought it was about you in a position without resistance, it's just law.

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from what i gathered,the phrase also seems to mean the same thing as the beat writers used the term "beat", it implies a hopeless situation. to be down by law, means that the situation is down and kept down by somekind of immovable force; the law of averages, the law of selection, or murphy's law maybe.

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Strange that Jarmusch used such an obscure phrase for title.

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"Down by Law" is about the laws of physics... literally!

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"Down By Law," in addition to what others have pointed out, is a phrase fairly common in jazz slang, used particularly during the jazz age and later in the beat and bebop era. "Down By Law" meant that you had paid your dues, logged your hours on the road and performed in hundreds of tiny, sweatbox clubs, and that you didn't earn your respect overnight, nothing was handed to you; you earned it the hard way, you're deserving of your status and don't need to defend it because it's automatic, it's law. After which, no matter where you go or play, you get respect, you're down by law. Hip hop has also picked up on this and employed it in a relative manner, whether it be skills as an MC or getting respect in your neighborhood, similar to the OG term in Cali, if a guy had done time and then comes home and goes straight, he doesn't need to prove himself anymore, he's down by law, he's already lived it.

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CraigADowd - Yours is a perfect explanation of the term "Down By Law." I grew up in a very tough neighborhood and attended inner-city public schools. Your definition is what I've always known it to mean and haven't heard of it being used in any other context.

"Down" became the 80's and 90's term for "hip" or "with it" and "By Law" declares that you have - in some way or other - earned much credibility and respect from your peers. "OG" was a great example and originated on the West Coast, while DBL was a product of the Eastern and some Southern urban circles.

Jarmusch is probably a fan of Hip-Hop based on the Coffee And Cigarettes vignette featuring Bill Murray and members of Wu Tang... "Are you a bug, Bill Murray?"






"Crime is just a left-handed form of human endeavor."

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CraigADowd, thank you for the explanation! We were baffled.






"Joey, have you ever been in a Turkish prison?"

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