Topic > Relationship Ethics in 12 Angry Men - 963

The film “12 Angry Men,” produced in 1957, was filmed in a New York City courthouse, with most of the filming taking place in the jury room . As the film's title suggests, all twelve main characters are men. These twelve men must unanimously determine the guilt or innocence of a teenage defendant accused of murdering his father. This is not a trivial decision; all jurors understand that a guilty verdict is an automatic death sentence for the defendant. During the initial verbal vote for guilt or innocence, eleven jurors vote guilty and only one votes not guilty. The rest of the film is about building consensus among the twelve jurors, who ultimately come to a unanimous verdict of innocence, consequently saving the teenager's life. During the initial voting, Juror No. 8 was the only one to vote not guilty, not because he thought the defendant was innocent, but because he felt they should discuss the case before sentencing a young man to death. Throughout the story Juror 8 showed no cultural or social interest. He had a weaker relationship ethic, did not contribute to most discussions, was easily distracted, and often talked about irrelevant topics. Juror 12 was undecided, changing his vote several times until finally deciding on “not guilty.” The third juror to change his vote was Juror 5. Similar to the defendant, Juror 5 grew up in the slums. However, he showed no empathy towards the accused until the facts led him to question the testimony of the two witnesses. For these reasons, Juror 5 changed his vote to not guilty. Immediately after Juror 5 changes his vote, Juror 11 follows with a vote of not guilty. Juror 11 was an immigrant and brought to light the cultural and social biases of some of the other jurors. Employed effective communication skills and contributed to the group