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12 Angry Men Analysis

Decent Essays

The movie, 12 Angry Men, encourages the audience to fully develop their own ideas and find a logical reason behind something before jumping to conclusions. The 12 jurors participate in a group discussion over the trial of a young man charged with murdering his father. At many points, this discussion becomes hostile and provokes feelings of disdain and frustration among the jurors. Mr. Davis, Juror Eight, displays his core beliefs of open- mindedness, work ethic, and ability to think logically to create reasonable doubt in the minds of the other jurors.
Mr. Davis, in the movie, maintains an open mind and pulls on the other jurors to have an open mind as well because the “boy may die” (Rose, 12 Angry Men). Having an open mind is important in the movie because the facts and evidence can be interpreted in many ways and it is always good to see something from a different angle. While Davis remains open to the ideas of other, Juror Three and Four, throughout the movie, argue that the boy is guilty only on two pieces of evidence without looking at the rest of the evidence or from a different angle. This idea of looking at the evidence they believe is “likely support those beliefs” (University Of Pennsylvania, Authentic Happiness) is named selective exposure and for good reason. Juror Three and Four provoke distain among the rest of the jurors through this selective exposure. Open mindedness “has been touted by philosophers of education as a vital characteristic of the educated mind” (Taylor, Openmindedness) and is crucial to being able to fully conclude whether or not the boy is guilty in the trial. A required skill for living a full life and properly understanding certain topics is being open minded. Mr. Davis exemplifies an understanding for this concept and applies it to the trial that could result in the boy being executed.
Work ethic is required to get something done and Mr. Davis exemplifies a strong work ethic in order to convince the rest of the jurors that there is “reasonable doubt”(Rose, 12 Angry Men). There are multiple times throughout the movie that Mr. Davis and Juror Nine discuss how it is “only one night”( Rose, 12 Angry Men) and that they will “do whatever it takes”( Rose, 12 Angry Men) to make the

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