12 angry men
12 angry men is a well known movie that was directed by Sidney Lumet and released in 1957. The movie describes the process of jury and explores how a consensus is reached irrespective of difference in opinions of jury members. The movie is entertaining, educating and enlightens audiences about several important aspect of our social as well as judicial processes. This paper intends to discuss the movie and examines how group effort assisted jury in finding a prudent decision.
The story revolves around twelve men who are assigned a task to find the truth of an alleged crime. These men are members of a jury and have different backgrounds. Though all these gentlemen are not familiar to each other but they have to cooperate in order to reach a conclusion. All of them enter into a room that is humid and hot due to summer and this heat increases further with their heated arguments. They are not supposed to leave unless they find a decision about a young boy who is alleged to commit a murder. These gentlemen have been portrayed showing prudence and through their group effort, they find a far-sighted conclusion before leaving the room (Fonda et al.).
12 angry men is an excellent example of how group can operate and solve issues effectively. Group supports each other and even if people are not agreed on some issues they find a conclusion which is nearly right. All the member of a group utilize their expertise and experiences and cooperate one another in order to find an appropriate conclusion. One member of a group may assist or even contradict his view if the same is not logical and others accept if any member comes with a logical point.
All these 12 Men started working as a group as soon as they were assigned a task and were agreed to work together to find a common conclusion. They were not known to each other but at the end they came up with a common conclusion which shows the group effort and its strength. Every member of Jury had a different logic and findings but their individual opinion was converted into a group decision only because of group effort ( Grossi and Velázquez-Quesada). All of these 12 men gave up their perspective of seeing the guilty and agreed on something that was decided by the group effort.
These jury members were provided information and testimonies about the crime, an alleged criminal but rest everything was done by them. Their knowledge and experience along with their group effort contributed a lot in finding the best conclusion. One of these 12 men, one member discovered that the weapon, used in the murder was not unique and was available easily. He further suggested that it was not that difficult for someone else to commit the crime and leave that knife in order to confuse the police and court.
Several other aspects related to the case were discussed among members to find a common conclusion as there was difference of opinion on these issues. Between support and counter among members of the jury, it was further discussed that how a young boy could be punished by believing an account of an eye witness who was wearing glasses because he was short sighted. Different opinion came and even some heated arguments took place but the logical arguments prevailed and others agreed upon these arguments which show the effectiveness of group effort (Buchanan and Huczynski).
When these men were summoned to find a conclusion about an alleged crime and role of a criminal, they were not directed about anything else. How to conduct a trial, how to find a conclusion, what things are important and what should be taken into account etc. they learnt all these at their own and found a perfect conclusion. When voting started after discussion in initial phase, all members voted the accused guilty except one member. This member was juror#8 who applied his logic and convinced others that the boy was not guilty of murder. He put the logic that was not easy to ignore for any member and every member of the jury gave their approval on what he found.
Juror # 8 Henry Fonda, taught every other member what jury is, how important the role of a jury is and how a jury member should apply his logic in order to find a conclusion instead of seeing things as they appear. This juror was also not aware of anything related to this case like other members of the jury but unlike others, He delved deep into the case and convinced other members to do the same before reaching to any conclusion. This juror was a wise man who suggested other members to see things with perspectives of victim as well as the accused. His role and intellect is exemplary and people can learn a lot from his attitude (McCambridge).
One important aspect of this whole affair is the negative environment that was provided to these 12 gentlemen. They were given one room which was humid. Since all this happened in midsummer, it was very hot and their passionate and heated arguments further increased the heat. They also quarreled because of this jittery condition. Irrespective of this oddness, they ignored their comfort, moved ahead and worked cautiously in order to do justice by finding the veracity of the alleged crime.
This movie is all about group effort and it has the potential to teach people how important the group effort is and how it can make difference. 12 Angry Men movie is considered as a classic and the same was preserved in the library of congress because of its valuable significance. This classic movie is considered inevitably important for the law students as well as for people who are related to the field of law but simultaneously it inspires others who believe in group effort and believe in performing.
Having observed the succinct analysis of the above mentioned movie, 12 Angry Men, it can be concluded that group effort is the main theme of this movie and the same is portrayed before the audiences in a dramatic manner. The movie educates audiences about the importance of group effort and further it suggests that however big the problem is, it can be solved easily by the group effort. This movie is a classic movie and still entertains as well educates audiences even after decades of its release. This was a very relevant piece of movie when it was released and still it is same relevant after decades of its release.
Works Cited
D. Grossi and F. R. Velázquez-Quesada. "Twelve Angry Men: A Study on the Fine-Grain of Announcements." Logic, Rationality, and Interaction (2009): 147-160 .
12 Angry Men. Dir. Sidney Lumet. H. Fonda, L. J. Cobb, E. G. Marshall, M. Balsam, J. Warden, J. Fiedler, J. Klugman, E. Binns, J. Sweeney, Ed Begley, G. Voskovec and R. Webber. 1957.
D. Buchanan and A. Huczynski. "Images of Influence 12 Angry Men and Thirteen Days." Journal of Management Inquiry (December 2004): 312-323 .
McCambridge, Jim. "12 Angry Men: A Study in Dialogue." Journal of Management Education (June 2003, 27 (3) ): 384-401 .
Work Cited
Yezierska, Anzia. Bread Givers: A Novel. USA: Persea Books, Incorporated, 2003.
