12 Angry Men

12 ANGRY MEN

Twelve Angry Men was created in 1957 and directed by Sidney Lumet. The is basically about a dissenting juror in a murder trial who slowly manages to convince the others that the case they're examining is not as obviously clear as it seemed in court. The defense and the prosecution have rested and the jury is filing into the jury room to decide if a young Spanish American is guilty or innocent of murdering his father. It begins as an open and shut case of murder, but soon becomes a mini drama of each of the jurors' prejudices and preconceptions about the trial, the accused, and each other. A critical aspect of Justice is revealed in this film. This very intense film illustrates how the American court system protects individual rights through objective law, but at the same time glorifies heroic individualism through Juror # 8, Henry Fonda. Typecast as another liberal, he is a truth-seeking hero, who doubts the obvious. Throughout the movie, he stresses the idea of "reasonable doubt", and slowly chips away at the jury, who represent an all white male society, exposing the prejudices and preconceptions that directly influence the other jurors' snap judgments. So Henry wants to talk the case out. He's not 100% sure that the guy is guilty. He isn't ready to exert the group coercive power against this boy. He needs full proof, as to why they should consider him guilty. So, after the jury files back into the room, the film shows the only shot of the defendant in the murder trial, an 18-year-old Hispanic boy who is accused of stabbing his father to death late one night.