Film Analysis: Twelve Angry Men
The movie "Twelve Angry Men" is about a young man who is accused of stabbing his father to death. The twelve jurors have to decide whether the defendant is guilty or innocent. If the young man is found guilty, there is a mandatory death sentence (the jury needs to be unanimous in their decision). At the preliminary vote, eleven of the twelve jurors vote the young man guilty. Henry Fonda is the only one who voted the accused as not guilty because he doesn't want to send the defendant to the death penalty without discussing it. Throughout the movie, Henry uses various styles of leadership in which I will discuss further in the following section.
Question 1:At the beginning, Henry uses the supporting style of leadership from Hersey and Blanchard's Situational Leadership framework. In this style, Henry demonstrates low task focus and high relationship focus. As mentioned previously, at the beginning of the deliberation process Henry is the only one who votes not guilty, everybody else voted guilty without really thinking about their decision. Henry wanted to talk about it before making a serious decision concerning a young man's life. Compared to other jurors, Henry was trying to create a discussion rather than an argument. He expressed no adherence to either position but wanted to discuss the case in an open-minded manner. Although other jurors got mad and started yelling, Henry stayed calmed throughout the situation and was a good listener. He was trying to find out why the other jurors voted guilty and trying to get their cooperation (this was seen when Henry was elaborating on the juror's explanations of their choice for voting guilty). As well, he was trying to motivate individuals within the group and keep them focused; however several jurors were not cooperating and there was a lack of commitment (although the jurors possess the competence to come to an agreement). They were constantly interrupting him, shouting, and at one point two jurors were playing
Question 1:At the beginning, Henry uses the supporting style of leadership from Hersey and Blanchard's Situational Leadership framework. In this style, Henry demonstrates low task focus and high relationship focus. As mentioned previously, at the beginning of the deliberation process Henry is the only one who votes not guilty, everybody else voted guilty without really thinking about their decision. Henry wanted to talk about it before making a serious decision concerning a young man's life. Compared to other jurors, Henry was trying to create a discussion rather than an argument. He expressed no adherence to either position but wanted to discuss the case in an open-minded manner. Although other jurors got mad and started yelling, Henry stayed calmed throughout the situation and was a good listener. He was trying to find out why the other jurors voted guilty and trying to get their cooperation (this was seen when Henry was elaborating on the juror's explanations of their choice for voting guilty). As well, he was trying to motivate individuals within the group and keep them focused; however several jurors were not cooperating and there was a lack of commitment (although the jurors possess the competence to come to an agreement). They were constantly interrupting him, shouting, and at one point two jurors were playing
References: umet, S. (Director). (1957). Twelve Angry Men. United States: United Artists. Rothwell, D. J. (2007). In Mixed Company: Communicating in Small Groups and Team (6th edition). Belmont, CA: Thomson Higher Education.