In the movie 12 Angry Men there are several people who could be considered a hero. Some would say that the true hero was Juror Number 6, who first doubted the guiltiness of the young man; some would say it was the Foreman who kept relative order in the room; however, Juror Number 7 should definitely not be overlooked. Number 7, along with contributing an important piece of knowledge, was the one who stopped the delivery of the guilty verdict, he was the first to vocally agree with Juror Number 6. Juror Number 6 was without a doubt one of the most important men in the room, but without the help of Juror Number 7 the guilty verdict would have been given to the judge. Number 7 was the first true believer; he went out on a limb, in wanting to find the truth, when he could have very easily anonymously voted guilty and they could have been done with the situation.
In fact, throughout the entire film, it is probably Davis’s amicable nature as well as cool reasoning that most persuades the jury members. He approaches the case in a naive style. He uses the phrase, “what if...” and “it might be possible” when he presents his ideas. He does not try to force his opinions on the other jurors; instead he just wants to understanding the reasoning behind their guilty verdict. Another example of a power tactic used by Davis is bargaining.
The first Juror to vote not-guilty in the case, is Juror eight, a self-actualized man with an Engineer-type personality, who suggests the jury first discuss the facts of the case before condemning the accused eighteen year old to death. As a natural thinker, expert in rhetoric, and individual with a high social and emotional IQ, which allows him to relate and understand people well, Juror eight manages to put doubt into the minds of the other juror’s about the accuracy of the evidence provided in the courtroom. For instance, he uses a combination of ethos, logos and pathos when explaining how the court story of the club legged old man, who heard the murder and saw the boy running down the stairs, flawed. In the story the club legged old man tells in court, he heard someone cry-out and a body hit the floor above him before he hurried from his bed to the door at the end of the hall, about sixty-five feet away, in ten seconds and opened the door just in time to see the eighteen year old running down the stairs. In the jury room, Juror eight first used pathos, to appease to the emotion and sympathy of the
This movie was all about non-ethical and lazy like sayings, such as: “lets get it over quick” and “who really cares”. One guy, the 8th juror, did not agree with these saying’s and believed that a tough decision like this could not be decided in 5 minutes. He played a smart game, which we call ’playing devils advocate’. While the 11 men thought the person charged was guilty, this one juror thought differently. The 12 angry men were your average men, but each one had a different side.
In fact, it is this dynamic on which the trial-by-jury system relies. At its best, a jury – like any team working together to produce a specified result – will draw on the different personalities, approaches and strengths of each individual team member to achieve a creative abrasion which, in turn, will allow them to produce the “right” (and fair) verdict. When the jury first convenes, eleven of the 12 jurors are convinced of the boy’s guilt (e.g. juror 3 – “this is an open and shut case”): • A minority of the jurors actually seem convinced of the boy’s guilt by virtue of the testimony given in court. • Others are basing their decision on their own deeply rooted prejudices – again others on personal experiences.
Juror #2 was a very frantic and nervous type of guy. In the beginning he voted the boy guilty, but by the end of the film his reasonable doubt had him opposed to that previous notion. Juror #3 was the assumed “antagonist” which fits his character very well. He was all for the young boy’s execution the whole time until he glanced at a picture that held some type of symbolism to him when he finally broke down and voted innocent. Juror #4 the Wall Street guy was very analytical about his vote.
Juror 8, played by Henry Fonda, was an architect named Davis and the only one to vote towards not guilty. When questioned as to if he really believes that the boy is innocent he simply responded “I don’t know.” Davis felt that if they have the boy’s life in their hands then the least they could do is talk about it for an hour. Davis’s claim was that he had reasonable doubt about whether or not the boy actually killed his father. There were many little things that they overlooked in the cross-examination and Davis said “if I were him I would have asked for a new lawyer.” By voting not guilty, and presenting his reasoning, Davis was able to get the jury to take a look at the evidence once again with a fine-toothed comb. In order to provide a valid argument, Davis needed to show the jury the grounds under which he believed the evidence presented was not credible enough to send him to the chair.
After that #5 juror who had a problem to express his opinion, he changed his mind and vote for not guilty. Davis started to make argument about the old man witness. After Davis argument # 2 and #11 jurors changed them mind and they convinced the Davis beliefs. Juror # 2 was a timid one in the jury members. After that juror #5 expressed his opinion about how the people in slum area used the knife according to his opinion the guy couldn’t stab his father.
According to Peter G. Northouse in his book, Leadership: Theory and Practice”, leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal. It also states that “Influence is the sine qua non of leadership; without influence, leadership does not exist” (3). Leadership is influence and Juror #8 is a perfect example. He was able to influence his fellow jurors to see as he saw and change the vote to not guilty even though it was a long and arduous process. In the movie, Juror #8 portrays a character that gains respect by others for emerging as a leader.
The only stated role was that of the foreman, who could be said to be a nominal leader in that he suggested how the group would sit and that there should be a vote from time to time. However, he did little to lead the group explore whether the boy was guilty beyond reasonable doubt. The foreman also became a note taker and sometimes a mediator. At one point he became uncomfortable with this role and tried to pass the responsibility elsewhere but the group rejected it. Jury members moved between roles of information givers and information seekers.