12 Angry Men story
12 Angry Men is a 1957 American courtroom drama film directed by Sidney Lumet, adapted from a teleplay of the same name by Reginald Rose. This courtroom drama tells the story of a jury of 12 men as they deliberate the conviction or acquittal of an 18-year old defendant on the basis of reasonable doubt, forcing the jurors to question their morals and values.
14 total · 2 choice · 7 major · 5 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| guilt and evidence | choice | the story centred on whether certain evidence was enough to support a verdict of guilty beyond reasonable doubt |
| sacrifice for one's beliefs | choice | especilly juror 9 stood up alone against immense peer pressure, for his belief in justice |
| capital punishment | major | The story kept coming back to the fact that the boy would be sent to the electric chair. |
| domestic violence | major | the story centred around a case of domestic abuse (the father had hit the boy) which allegedly culminated in murder |
| patricide | major | A boy was alleged to have killed his father. |
| the desire for justice | major | many people wanted passionately to convict a man they thought was a killer |
| the inclination to believe what one wants to believe | major | the jury concluded that the two witnesses had in fact false convinced themelves that they saw and heard things that they most likely never did |
| the presumption of innocence | major | The argument frequently came back to the point that it was the accuser's burden to prove guilt. |
| working together in spite of disagreement | major | the 12 men were disagreeing angrily and often ended up insulting each other and havong to swallow insults in order to progress |
| manners | minor | some of the men were rude to others and occasionally got called out about it |