Film Essay
The movie, 12 Angry Men, portrays the decision-making process of a case involving twelve men as the jury. Some have clear bias while others have the sincere goal of justice being served. In the beginning, 11 jurors were ready to give a guilty verdict before the details of the case were explored. However, the two men with the most complex relationship are Juror 3 and Juror 8. Juror 3 and Juror 8 are the two characters in 12 Angry Men that drive the plot along, although their persistent conflicting views stemming from differences in backgrounds, behaviors and attitudes cause them to constantly clash.
Juror 3 and Juror 8 come from completely different background which impacts their decision-making. Juror 3, who is estranged from
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his son (due to a disagreement) does not have sympathy towards the young boy whose life depends on their unanimous decision. In the movie, it is revealed that he hasn’t spoken to his son in over three years which influences his view on teenage boys’ mindsets. In contrast to Juror 3, Juror 8 has a family-oriented background and offers the boy, the benefit of the doubt. The two jurors obviously have diverse upbringings that influences their choices on their verdicts. Furthermore, Juror 3 and Juror 8 have behaviors that differ from each other.
The first sign of the clear difference in behavior between the two jurors occurs when the men fill the deliberation room. Juror 3 immediately begins to throw his beliefs onto the other jurors. For example, he pushes his influence onto Juror 2 who is apparently the weakest compared to the others. He forcefully tries to convince the men that the young boy is obviously guilty without apparent reasoning to support his claims. When Juror 8 is the only man that votes not guilty opposed the other eleven men, Juror 3 is shocked and makes that clear by standing up irritably. When a second juror changes his vote, unknowingly, Juror 3 angrily accuses Juror 5, although it was Juror 9 who admits later one. Instead of apologizing to Juror 5, he continues to show his irritableness. Further on, Juror 3 continues to behave dramatically and exerts his opinion when he screams, “This kid is guilty! He’s got to burn! We’re letting him slip through our fingers.” Juror 8 responds to his outburst by saying that he is sadist, showing his resentment of Juror 3’s conviction. Clearly, the two jurors that have the biggest impact on the movie’s plot have opposite behaviors that contribute to their incessant
disagreeing. The fact that Juror 3 and Juror 8 have diverse attitudes, it causes them to continuously argue. Juror 8 is very caring, thoughtful and takes things into consideration. He thinks very thoroughly and takes into accord that this decision can end the life of a young boy. While the other jurors are quick to make up their mind on the verdict, Juror 3 puts the most thought into his choice. An instance of this is using expertise as an architect to make measurements of the time frame of witness reaction by using information about the individual witnesses and insisting that there is definite rational to explain everything. This contrasts to the inconsiderate, quick thinking Juror 8 inflicts upon the group. Juror 3 and Juror 8 have attitudes that mix like oil and water, thus makes it difficult for them to get along. Determining the fate of a 16-year-old boy is a stressful situation that leaves its impact on the jury. At the end, all jurors leave with a different mindset and a lesson jumping to conclusions. Without Juror 3 and Juror 8’s back and forth bickering, the movie, 12 Angry Men, wouldn’t be the same. The two men have dissimilar experiences that effect their judgement. In addition, Juror 3 and Juror 8’s actions while reaching a verdict are opposite of each other. Furthermore, the lack of similarity in the attitudes of Juror 3 and Juror 8 show how these two men are nothing alike.
Twelve Angry Men, is a play written by Reginald Rose. The play is about the process of individuals and a court case, which is determining the fate of a teenager. It presents the themes of justice, independence and ignorance. Rose emphasises these three themes through the characters and the dialogue. Justice is the principle of moral rightness or equity. This is shown through juror number eight who isn’t sure whether or not the boy is actually innocent or guilty, but he persists to ask questions and convinces the other jurors to think about the facts first. Independence is shown through both juror number three and ten. They both believe that the defendant is guilty until they both realise that they can not relate there past experiences with the court case. Ignorance is shown throughout all the jurors during the play, it is also brought out through the setting of the play.
Even before the jury sits to take an initial vote, the third man has found something to complain about. Describing “the way these lawyers can talk, and talk and talk, even when the case is as obvious as this” one was. Then, without discussing any of the facts presented in court, three immediately voiced his opinion that the boy is guilty. It is like this with juror number three quite often, jumping to conclusions without any kind of proof. When the idea that the murder weapon, a unique switchblade knife, is not the only one of its kind, three expresses “[that] it’s not possible!” Juror eight, on the other hand, is a man who takes a much more patient approach to the task of dictating which path the defendant's life takes. The actions of juror three are antagonistic to juror eight as he tries people to take time and look at the evidence. During any discussion, juror number three sided with those who shared his opinion and was put off by anyone who sided with “this golden-voiced little preacher over here,” juror eight. His superior attitude was an influence on his ability to admit when the jury’s argument was weak. Even when a fellow juror had provided a reasonable doubt for evidence to implicate the young defendant, three was the last one to let the argument go. Ironically, the play ends with a 180 turn from where it began; with juror three
As the story unfolds, he tries to rush the case and continues to call for votes. He then becomes more frantic when he sees that the other jurors are starting to become less convinced of the defendants guilt. When any of the other jurors contradict Juror 3, he becomes aggressive and insults them commenting, "you're crazy" (241) or "We don't need a sermon" (224). Similarly, if another juror states something trying to prove the minor is innocent, Juror 3 immediately negates their claim and tries make it seem as if they couldn't possibly know what they were talking about. In another situation where the jurors are disputing whether to believe a witness account made by an old man, Juror 9, who is also an elderly man, describes why the evidence may be skewed. Juror 9 explains that he believes the witness may have accidentally
Guilty or not guilty? This the key question during the murder trial of a young man accused of fatally stabbing his father. The play 12 Angry Men, by Reginald Rose, introduces to the audience twelve members of a jury made up of contrasting men from various backgrounds. One of the most critical elements of the play is how the personalities and experiences of these men influence their initial majority vote of guilty. Three of the most influential members include juror #3, juror #10, and juror #11. Their past experiences and personal bias determine their thoughts and opinions on the case. Therefore, how a person feels inside is reflected in his/her thoughts, opinions, and behavior.
12 Angry Men is about 12 men who are the jury for an 18 year old accused of murder. The judge states in the opening scene that it is a premeditated murder in the 1st degree, if found guilty will automatically receive the death penalty. The 18 year old male is accused of killing his father with a “one of a kind” switch blade, in their home. The prosecutors have several eye witness testimonies, and all of the evidence that they could need to convict the 18 year old male. In the movie it takes place on the hottest day of the year in New York City. There are 12 jurors whom are to decide if the evidence is enough to convict the teen of murder in the first degree. In the first initial vote it is 11-1. The only way that the jurors could turn in their votes was if there was unanimous vote either guilty or not guilty among the 12 jurors. As the movie progressed the jurors ended up changing their minds as new evidence was brought to their attention by simple facts that were overlooked by the police and prosecutors in the initial investigation. Tempers were raised, and words flew, there was prejudice and laziness of a few of the jurors that affected the amount of time it took to go over all of the eye witness testimonies and evidence. The eye witness testimonies ended up being proven wrong and some of the evidence was thrown out because it was put there under false pretense.
The film 12 Angry Men depicts the challenge faced by a jury as they deliberate the charges brought against an 18-year-old boy for the first-degree murder of his father. Their task is to come to an impartial verdict, based on the testimony that was heard in court. The group went through the case over and over while personal prejudices, personality differences, and tension mounted as the process evolved. While the scorching hot weather conditions and personal affairs to tend to led the juror to make quick and rash decisions, one juror convinced them the fate of the 18 year old was more important than everyone’s problems an convinced them that they could not be sure he was guilty. Juror three took the most convincing. After fighting till he
It was not a good idea to take a vote without a discussion, because the other jurors do not know other opinions that might change their mind. The eighth juror voted not guilty because he did think about all of the details that happened the night of the murder. It turned out that the jurors had over looked a few
The first vote ended with eleven men voting guilty and one man not guilty. We soon learn that several of the men voted guilty since the boy had a rough background not because of the facts they were presented with. Although numerous jurors did make racist or prejudice comments, juror ten and juror three seemed to be especially judgmental of certain types of people. Juror three happened to be intolerant of young men and stereotyped them due to an incident that happened to his son. In addition, the third juror began to become somewhat emotional talking about his son, showing his past experience may cloud his judgment. Juror ten who considered all people from the slums “those people” was clearly prejudiced against people from a different social background. Also, Juror ten stated in the beginning of the play “You 're not going to tell us that we 're supposed to believe that kid, knowing what he is. Listen, I 've lived among 'em all my life. You can 't believe a word they say. I mean, they 're born liars.” Juror ten did not respect people from the slums and believed them to all act the same. As a result, Juror ten believed that listening to the facts of the case were pointless. For this reason, the tenth juror already knew how “those people” acted and knew for sure the boy was not innocent. Even juror four mentioned just how the slums are a “breeding ground
Twelve Angry Men is a play written by Reginald Rose concerning the jury of a murder trial. It is centred around a debate of wether the accused is guilty or not guilty of murdering his father. Initially, 11 out of the 12 jurors deem him as guilty, however the 8th votes
Some Heroes don't wear capes in the play 12 Angry Men juror number 8 is that kind of person in the play is About a Boy on trial for murder and a jury filled with different people trying to decide his fate while some jurors want to leave or don't care juror number 8 is a man who fights for justice juror number 8 represents the best of our American justice system because he is truthful gentle and strong. He is interested in and getting to the facts and seeing Justice served “there were 11 votes for guilty it's not so easy for me to raise my hand and send a boy off to die without talking about it first” (rose5). It might take a long time to reach a fair verdict but Juror 8 does not seem intimidated from the naysayers. Juror 8 even calls out juror
...a unanimous vote of not guilty. The final scene takes place signifying the "adjourning stage". Two of the jurors, eight and three exchange the only character names mentioned during the film. The entire process of groupthink occurs in multiple ways that display its symptoms on individual behavior, emotions, and personal filters. These symptoms adversity affected the productivity throughout the juror's debate. In all, all twelve men came to an agreement but displayed group social psychological aspects.
These two jurors are almost the plain opposite of each other. Juror 3 appears to be a very intolerant man accustomed of forcing his wishes and views upon others. On the other hand, Juror 8 is an honest man who keeps an open mind for both evidence and reasonable doubt. Since these two people are indeed very different, they both have singular thoughts relating to the murder case. Juror 8 is a man who is loyal to justice. In the beginning of the play, he was the only one to vote ‘not guilty’ the first time the twelve men called a vote. Although his personality is reflected on being a quiet, thoughtful, gentle man, he is still a very persistent person who will fight for justice to be done. Juror 8 is a convincing man who presents his arguments well, but can also be seen as manipulative. An example would be when he kept provoking Juror 3 until he finally said “I’m going to kill you" to Juror 8. He did this because he wanted to prove that saying "I’ll kill you" doesn’t necessarily mean that Juror 3 was actually going to kill him. Juror 3 is a totally different character. He is a stubborn man who can be detected with a streak of sad...
The jurors had several conflicts in disagreeing with each other and it didn't help that they would shout over one another. The very first conflict is when juror 8 voted not guilty against the 11 guilty votes. The other 11 jurors don't seem to want to hear this man out; they don't want to hear why he has voted not guilty. Some of these men, jurors 3 and 7, just want to get this case over with so they can get on with their lives. They don't think it is imperative enough to look over the evidence and put themselves in the place of the defendant. They get upset with this man and try to get him to vote guilty.
However, juror 3 did not maintain control after discussions with juror 8. For example, when juror 8 made a personal attack on juror 3, juror 3 lost his cool, requiring restraint from the other jurors to the point of yelling, “Let me go! I’ll kill him! I’ll kill him!” (Flouri & Fitsakis, 2007, p.459). His emotional intelligence (Budjac Corvette, 2007, p. 29) was a superior negotiation tactic throughout the deliberation process.
Juror#3 you could tell from the start that he wasn't a very happy man. He tells of how he has three kids, but one of them got in a fight with him and left his house, never really forgave him for that. He was the first to say that the boy was guilty. Shown as a very angry, visual, prideful man. As things heat up, he gets head to head with guy#8 and threatens...