Little things in life – these are not a coffee in the morning, not silk skirts, not funny posts on live journal and new pictures on the mirror, not a fast, unlimited Internet, not a fashionable cafe, not new books or old silent films. It's not that, no. Little things in life are small, simple, unicellular, kind actions marked nearly touch. One man committed, did, asked, said something important for another, when it is not needed and is not asked to do. That are - those fractional pebbles and pearls that make up the picture, mosaic, fresco of our life.
Ordinary people are not characterized by any monumentality or epic - on the contrary, they are made of contradictions, random phrases and actions, everyday habits. They live in the ordinary, customary and familiar to the each person world, making the journey of their life from birth to death surrounded by the same, as they are, simple and ordinary people. Their life is not always a place of heroic, extraordinary and a stunning acts. But this daily routine and commonness become the tools that shape and hone the characteristics of any individual. Therefore, a person's character, his experience, and the whole meaning of his life, expressed in terms of small, uncomplicated, "narrow-minded" episodes, which often fit into the hours or even minutes.
Details are always important. The nuances of the situation can also play a cruel joke with the person. New York, summer, a terrible heat. The court session on the case of 18-year-old Puerto Rican teenager who is accused of murdering his father. The jury listened to the prosecution and the protection, and tired judge sends them to a special room for the verdict: guilty or innocent. Chairman of the jury, and almost all the other men that are present in room do not intend to delay the case for a long time. The evidence, in their view, were quite convincing, the guy belongs to the dregs of society, and therefore, he is guilty – and that’s all. For these 12 men decision on the execution of the boy - a routine, time-consuming duty that they want to fulfill for the excuses and get away. When something becomes routine, it dulls the senses, perception and, most worryingly, the mind. And automatism that appeared is responsible for a person's life.
“- You're talking about a matter of seconds! Nobody can be that accurate.
I think testimony that could put a boy into the electric chair should be that accurate.” [43:15 – 43:20] (12 Angry Men)
However, in the voting process suddenly it turns out that the eighth juror does not agree with the verdict "guilty" and abstains. And now because of the abstained one, they cannot leave the burning fiery room - for the verdict is to be handed down unanimously. In his view, the evidence presented by the prosecution, rather precarious, and eyewitness testimonies raise certain doubts. You cannot send the guy on the electric chair on the basis of such evidence. One of the jury is late for baseball, the other is expected at home, the third agreed to meet with friends in the pub - in general, they all have better things to do than sit in a stuffy room and find out how reliable evidence of the charges contained in the session. A hot room, fatigue, depression, personal affairs and duties would seem not be compared with the importance of human life, prevail in the priority system of jury.
Blind unwillingness to look into the depth of the problem indicates conformism, following the crowd, the absence of an opinion, mental laziness, comfortable stereotypes and prejudices, resentments, failed expectations, internal conflicts, complexes and psychological "clips" of man. Moreover, one could mention an unwillingness to work. The fault lies on the surface, but the man's innocence is hidden deep in the details of what happened. So without understanding what had happened, you can come to the wrong conclusions, to make a wrong choice from which good relationships with loved ones, a good state of health or even the life of a person will depend on.
Works Cited
12 Angry Men. MGM Studios [United States]: Sidney Lumet, 1957. film.
