Stereotypes In 12 Angry Men

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LEADERSHIP WITHIN 12 ANGRY MEN Andy Townsend Regent University THE LEADERSHIP WITHIN 12 ANGRY MEN The 1957 Film, 12 Angry Men, is about a jury on a murder case, with the verdict resulting in a matter of life or death for the accused. They must come up with a verdict for whether the boy is guilty or not for killing his father. The background of the boy on trail shows that he had been brought up in a slum and had a history of violence in the past. The jury is convinced that the boy is guilty, except for one member that sends the group into deliberation to make the ultimate decision of the boys’ fate. Juror number eight, played by Henry Fonda, is the member who stands…show more content…
Fonda is constantly in a conflict between jurors three and ten. Both of these jurors had stereotypes and were close-minded to the possibly of the defendant not being guilty. Juror number three was the hardest to convince, he was very aggressive and argumentative to his case, but was also stereotyping the boy because it reminded him of his son. Jurors, three and ten, had a controlling style of conflict, they use bullying when other members gave input against their opinion. However, members like the old man, juror nine, were more open minded and interested in what Fonda had to say. Juror number two, nine and eleven, had a collaborator approach to the conflict. “The collaborator operates from a cooperative, win-win perspective, bringing everyone’s interests and points of view into perspective and trying to ensure that each person’s goals are achieved.”(Lumsden, Lumsden, and Wiethoff, 2000) Jurors seven and twelve, had an accommodator’s approach, which they would rather give in, than to argue about…show more content…
In the film the more open-minded jurors began to actively listen to Fonda as he explains why he believes the boy is innocent. As an example, juror eleven brings up the key points that were discussed from the beginning to end, because he was taking notes. Also, the other jurors question themselves as they analyze the information and the examples that Fonda displays. Fonda’s success to convince other members comes from the interactive questioning thought-out the deliberation. Fonda analyzes all the key evidence that was given during the trial. He successfully showed how the women across the street might not have accurately seen the killing because of the train. He also, went through the analysis of how the old man who was a witness could not have made it to the door in time to see the boy, because of this limp and the time it took. By questioning the evidence presented the other members saw other issues in question. As an example, the juror nine spoke up about the women wearing glasses and proved that if she had just woken up when she looked out the window and saw the killing, she most likely did not have her glasses on, therefore would not be able to accurately identify the boy as the killer. Empathic listening comes into play towards the end of the movie when most of the members are convinced that the boy is not guilty, except for juror three and ten. As the team listens to them they

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