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12 Angry Men

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12 Angry Men
Aryaman Thakker

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12 Angry Men

The movie Twelve Angry Men begins with an eighteen year old boy from the ghetto who is on trial for the murder of his abusive father. A jury of twelve men is locked in the deliberation room to decide the fate of the young boy. All evidence is against the boy and a guilty verdict would send him to die in the electric chair. The judge informs the jurors that they are faced with a grave decision and that the court would not entertain any acts of mercy for the boy if found guilty. The mood is apparent at first when the majority of the men vote "guilty" and it almost seems as this man's fate is sealed. Juror #8 was the only man to vote for "not guilty".
12 Angry Men's characters cover a vast breathe of human personalities some more notable then others, but none more so then Juror #8. He emerges as the leader of the group. Giving new ways of looking at ideas that would never of been explored. The communications climate throughout the entire deliberations was extremely hostile once the polarization was established. This was made worse with jurors who verbally trashed the defendants race, and others utter indifference to the whole process. This made for a very defensive climate as people attacked each other's position.
No one was more under attack than Juror#8 who started the group climate. His intentions was for a supportive climate, but instead he was met with personalities the conflicted with his own and others. He found some support as he made his claim, but only a few independent wise minded fellows. This shows though that one man can make a difference. The decision making process in this group was constantly changing. The beginning of the film decisions were made off very little deliberated ideas. The complexity arose when Juror # 8 forced the deliberation into their laps.
It took more independent thinking wise jurors to come to the side of Juror #8

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