12 angry men paper Essay

The movie 12 Angry Men is roughly a murder trial set in the mid 1900s when the American legal carcass had very different rules from what it has now. The trial is intimately a 16 year old male child who purportedly murdered his father late virtuoso night in New York City. He was from a slum, with a history of problems with the law, including knife fights. The jury is made up of twelve white men who are supposed(a) to deliberate ab come give away the sons fate when he is Latino. In the beginning of the movie its very clear that el stool down of the twelve jurors mother already decided that he was guilty, the only atomic effect 53 who utter non guilty is juror number eight.Juror number eight believes that you cant s shutdown some unrivaled to die without even talking astir(predicate) the case firstborn. As the movie goes on they discuss the different parts of the case and hotshot by one the jurors begin to change their voter turnout to not guilty. The first thing they discuss is the knife that was employ to kill the father, then they discuss the succession it took the only military man on the floor below to get to the door after he hear the body hit the floor.After that they went on to deliberate more(prenominal) about previous things talked about, until in the long run they talked about the women who actually viewed the killing through a passing L train. One of the jurors remembers that she had indents on the places of her nose indicating that she wore glasses, so they come to the conclusion that she couldnt of seen anything since she wasnt have on her glasses while lying in bed. formerly they finally call for a last vote they come to the verdict of acquitting the boy. All twelve jurors finally agree on the decision of not guilty.Throughout the entire movie in that location are galore(postnominal) different dynamics at work among the 12 jurors. One of the main dynamics is that the boy is Hispanic during a time when racial discriminat ion was a natural part of society. You can clearly see that racism, and stereotyping play a huge part when even before they started deliberating eleven out of the twelve jurors voted guilty. There wasnt a doubt in their minds that he didnt do it, they based that solely off of the brain that the defendant was Hispanic. Having a all white jury for a trial with a Hispanic psyche as the defendant in the 1950s, without a doubt racism will play a major(ip) role in deciding weather or not he is guilty.An opposite dynamic at play during this movie is that they are all in a conclave together giving them assemblage mentality where they will be hesitating to spill out, or change their vote because they are egotism conscious of what other masses will think about them. Throughout the movie at that place where many another(prenominal) different things that influenced individual jurors and the jurors as a unanimous. In the movie 12 Angry Men there was an abundance of things that infl uenced individual jurors. One of the main things that influenced many of the jurors is racism because the defendant was Hispanic. One juror utter Hes an igno harangue kid from a slum who doesnt speak good incline.Thats flat out racism, theres no way around the occurrence that racism played a huge role in their decision making process. In the 1950s racism was part of everyday life, it was complaisantly accepted during that time. Another thing that influenced one of them was that he had baseball tickets to a game later that night so he was going to emplacement with what ever got him out of their quite than later. He was voting guilty all the way work on it became a split between the jurors on weather he was guilty or not.That shows that it touch on his decision making process, because he was going to side with what ever side got him out faster. Another thing that influenced individual jurors is their vexation to speak their minds, or side with the side they really think is th e right one. In the beginning you could tell that some of the masses were hesitant because they were afraid of what other peck would think of them, thats why they had to do a silent voting in order to keep deliberating. There were other factors that affected the base as a whole in their decision making process. Different things affect the group than the individual jurors. The main thing that affected their decision making process is the extreme heat, the heat would make them want to get out of there as fast as possible, making them side with whatever side will get them out faster.I know I cant work right when Im extremely hot, I get frustrated really fast and have no patients, I know I would want to get out as fast as possible. You can tell that it affects people because they give out at each other at the drop of a hat, and they were sweating the whole time till they turned on the light. Another thing that affected the group as whole was groupthink, which is the practice of me ntation or making decisions as a group in a way that discourages creativity or individual responsibility. They will make decisions as a group so no one somebody can be blamed for whatever happens, people dont like too more than responsibility. Lastly another thing that helped sway their decision making process as a group is the fact that one person was trying to pres real other people into speaking, and pressuring them into siding with him.The movie 12 Angry Men was about a trial during the 1950s in which a Hispanic boy supposedly killed his father, and twelve white men deliberate to determine his fate. They start out 11 to 1, and one by one they change sides till they eventually acquit him of all the charges. Things like racism, baseball tickets, and fear of what other people think are a few things that affected their individual decision-making. Things like groupthink, the heat, and the fact that you would run out of patients at a certain point, and you would start to snap at each other at the drop of the hat. In my opinion I think this movie was really good and a good look into the American legal system, because it shows the changes that have been made from them to now.12 Angry Men musical theme EssayIf theres a liable doubt in your minds as to the guilt of the accused, a reasonable doubt, then you must bring me a verdict of not guiltyhowever you decide, your verdict must be unanimous. The movie, The Twelve Angry Men, was a fascinating movie. Surprisingly, it was very inte stick arounding and engaging even though it was in black and white and made in 1950. This movie was a perfect expression of how individuals who meet in a goal orientated group fulfill roles, create averages, have term, feign power, and become loss leaders, and how a group decides on a unanimous outcome. Each of the twelve jury members effect a role at some point within the movie. They fulfilled toil roles, maintenance roles, and egocentric roles. They had to learn to work togethe r despite the roles they played to come to a unanimous decision. The Forman (Juror 1) fulfilled one group maintenance role (tension reliever) and two group task roles (procedural technician and initiator). As a tension reliever, the Forman told Cobb to brace down when Cobb started on his rant. He often tried to relieve tension in situations with conflict. As a procedural technician, Forman emphasized teamwork by asking the group to vote a couple of times in a couple different ways, vocal ballots and silent ballots. This helped the group stay on track. He to a fault ran errands for the group, like retrieving the knife and the apartment blueprint.As an initiator, the Forman initiated the discussions after the jurors would break in the beginning of the movie. Whimpy (juror 2) fulfilled a group maintenance role as a supporter. Once Whimpy changed his vote to not guilty, he support Fondas ideas. When Fonda was conversing with Cobb about the glasses, Whimpy supported Fondas point of view and told Cobb, You cant send someone off to die on say like that Lee J. Cobb (juror 3) played three individual roles (blocker, dominator, and confessor) and one group task role (opinion giver). Cobb played the role of the blocker most often. From the beginning to the end of the movie, he disagreed and ignored any of the jurors statements that are different from his opinion. At one point, Cobb shut down Whimpy who wanted to speak up. As a dominator, Cobb belligerently yelled at anyone who voted non guilty. He often started on a rant of his opinions and refused to let any of the other jurors speak. Cobb played the role as a confessor towards the beginning of the movie when he shared the picture of his son.As an opinion Giver, Cobb said all over and over that he was despotic the boy was guilty and deserved the death penalty. Herepeatedly stated through out the movie, he (the boy) has to present for what he did. E. G. marshal (juror 4) played a group task role. As an opinion giver, Marshall was stanch to his vote. His opinion towards the end of the movie was still not guilty because of the eyewitness testimony from the women across the street. He was firm in this belief until the eyeglasses fact was brought up. Jack Klugman (juror 5) fulfilled a group task role. As an elaborator, he often compared and contrasted the case to his own life on the street. Specifically, he brought valuable discipline to the case when talking about the proper way to use a switch knife and how this breeding compared to the fathers stab wound. The painter (juror 6) was an information seeker, a group task role. It seemed as if the painter was unsure of where he stood for the majority of the movie. At one point he said to Fonda, Supposin you talk us all out of this and, uh, the kid really did knife his father. He was seeking information that would make him sure of his decision. Jack Warden (juror 7) played a group-building and maintenance role (follower) and an individual role (Jok er).He wanted the jurors to separate out a conclusion as soon as possible. He had tickets to see a baseball game, and did not want to miss it. He followed and switched his vote to whatever the popular vote was, so that he could bring out as soon as possible to get to the baseball game. As a joker, he said nothing that contributed to making a decision. He mostly joked or complained that the process was taking too long. henry Fonda (juror 8) fulfilled many group task roles in this film including informational seeker, informational giver, and initiator. As an informational seeker, Fonda asked for important facts that could help prevail on _or_ upon the jurors that it was possible the boy was not guilty. For example, when the aged(a) man pointed out that the witness had dents on the sides of her nose, Fonda asked for an explanation and miniature on what the elderly man meant by pointing this out. As an informational giver, Fonda demonstrated this role when he reenacted how long it would take the crippled old man to get across his bedroom, down the hall to unlock the door, and to see the boy run down the stairs. As the initiator, Fonda proposed new ideas and suggestions that there was a possibility that the boy was not guilty. He was the first person to suggest that the boy was not guilty. He initiated most of the conversations that lead to their verdict of not guilty.The elderly man (juror 9) fulfilled a group task role and a group-building andmaintenance role. As an information giver, the elderly man was the one to notice that the witness had notches on the side of her nose where typically eyeglasses usually sit. He was the one to point this out to the group. As an encourager, the elderly man was the first to understand and accept the not guilty vote that Fonda made. He agreed with Fondas ideas and suggestions that there is reasonable doubt that the boy may not be guilty. Archie (juror 10) played an individual role of special-interest pleader. At the end of the film, Archie had a melt down. He yelled and offended many of the jurors with his unnecessary crude insults and racist remarks. He was trying to sway the group based on his own personal biased opinions instead of the facts of the case. The watchmaker (juror 11) fulfilled one group task role as a recorder. At one point in the movie, the watch maker stood up and told the group that he had been listening and taking notes of what the other group members have been saying. smooth-tongued (juror 12) played a group building and maintenance role as a follower. He did not speak up much about the case. When he did speak, it was about his ad agency. He thought very lastly of himself and his job. He changed his vote back and forth several times. Additionally to roles, there were many social averages that developed through out this movie.All of them were violated by at least one person at some point. Sometimes, the jurors who violated the norms were punished and other times they were not. The first social norm that was created was to vote guilty. Fonda was the first to violate this norm by voting not guilty. Eventually the rest of the group slowly changes their vote, and the group created a new norm of voting not guilty instead of guilty. Another social norm that was created by the legal system was that the jurors decision had to be unanimous. Fonda violated this norm by voting against the group. As punishment for violating the norm, the group verbally attacked him before they gave him a chance to beg off his reasoning. Because of this, a norm developed that it was okay for the jurors to harass and belittle Fonda for his not guilty vote. The elderly man violated this norm. He was subjected to harassment and belittlement as well as his punishment. After time went on, more people started to agree with Fondas ideas, and the group did not follow this norm any more. An additional social norm was to make a decision based on facts, not prejudice or stereotypes. Those who o beyed the norm, like Fonda and Marshall, were looked to as leaders. The juror that madearguments based on stereotypes, Archie, was eventually ignored. From this, a norm that no racial prejudices would be tolerated was created. Archie violated this norm when he said that he knew people of these kinds very well.As punishment, one by one group members left the table and turned their backs on him. In every group, there are members of high stance and of low perspective. In this movie, there was almost an equal balance of high posture jurors and low status jurors. The status of the jurors developed when they assumed a role within the group. The high status members included, the Foreman, Cobb, Marshall, Fonda, the Elderly Man, and Archie. The Foreman assumed a high status role because he organized where everyone would sit, passed out the ballots, and was able to rein the jurors back in to vote when needed. Cobb would be considered high status because he predominate a lot of the convers ations. He communicated more than other group members, and other jurors listened to him in the beginning of the movie. Marshall is a stockbroker and was viewed as high status because of his education. Fonda was definitely a high status member. Over the bleed of the movie, he convinced the other eleven jurors to change their vote by pointing out new ideas and suggestions. The elderly man proved his high status when he pointed out the information about the witness wearing eyeglasses.That swayed the rest of the jurors. The low status members included, Whimpy, Klugman, the painter, Warden, Archie, the watchmaker, and Slick. Whimpy tried to voice his opinion, but was rarely listened too. Klugman was viewed as low status because of his life on the streets. The painter, Warden, the watchmaker, and Slick were all considered low status, because they barely contributed to the groups decision. Archie is considered low status because of his racial insults. None of the jurors listened to him be cause they were all offended by his speech. In addition to status, power is also a big part of the movie. Every powerful individual was considered to be high status. Some people used their power for the good, others for the bad, and one person completely gave up his power.As the jurors begin their deliberation, the foreman was selected to be the leader of the group. He had legitimate power. He told the jurors that the vote has to be unanimous, that they have to sit in juror number order, and he tried to keep the group on task.After the foreman stopped using his power, Fonda and Cobb became more powerful. Fonda had an expert power. He suggested ideas and facts that the other jurors listened to. He influenced the group through their knowledge, thus an expert power. Cobb, however, had a compulsory power. Cobb thought he could he could punish the other jurors into thinking his way. He would punish the other jurors by manipulating and belittling them.Also, Klugman had expert power for a couple minutes in the movie. His street knowledge about the knife and how it was used gains him this power. Although he had an expert power, he was not viewed in the same regard as Fonda.Most of the low status member did not have any power at all. Whimpy, the painter, Warden, Archie, the watchmaker, and Slick lacked the status to gain power. However, they did play an important role in power, because in a way, they gave the power to the people who had it. In a way, leadership and power go hand in hand. In this movie, the powerful individuals had at least a few leadership characteristics. The foreman had a chance at leadership, but he gave it up. Cobb had some negative leadership qualities that were eventually rejected.Fonda was the most important leader in this movie. He took over as a leader after foreman stepped down. He attended to maintenance needs, he proposed reasonable information, and was passionate toward swaying the group not to condemn the boy to death. As a leader, Fond a listened to the low status people when they had information to give. For example, Klugman had information about the knife that might have been overlooked if Fonda was not respectful of him.In the end, the group did arrive at a high quality decision. Although the case in the courtroom seems quartz clear that the boy was guilty, there were some misleading facts that were given. The jurors unanimously voted not guilty however, they were not positive the boy was not guilty. There was not enough substantial evidence to prove if the boy did or did not stab his father.If the jury had voted guilty, the boy would have been condemned to death. This was a life or death decision, not just a guilty or not guilty. When the Fonda and some of the other jurors started to break down the evidence and the facts, they found the evidence to be misleading to the point were it might not be factual.Although the boy could have killed his father, there was reasonable doubt in the evidence to make the juror s believe the boy may be innocent. Even the possibility of condemning an innocent boy to death is horrifying. The group made the right high quality decision.