12 Angry Men Movie: Movie Review (Movie Review Sample)

12 Angry Men Movie
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12 Angry Men Movie
The film “12 Angry Men” depicts various sociological concepts mirroring the state of the society at the time it was produced. The movie features a dozen jurors who are tasked to come up with a verdict concerning a young man accused of murder. The jurors vote in the first round with an overwhelming majority of eleven votes against one. However, the vote is later overturned after an argument ensues. Consequently, the young man is exonerated of the murder charge. This paper pursues to examine the role of social concepts in influencing the juror proceedings. .
The first social theory portrayed is prejudice and stereotyping. Prejudice defines a predetermined opinion that is not factual or based on logic. On the other hand stereotyping is the overgeneralization of a particular group based on biased opinions. In one of the scenes, a juror argues that the young man must be lying that he lost the knife. Additionally, he also alleges that the claims of the young man attending a movie are wrong. Moreover, he further goes on to portray the young man and the group he belongs to “these people” as ignorant of the law and heavy drunkards (Fonda, Rose, and Lumet, 1957). Also, he claims that the particular group of individuals are liars and violent by nature. The assumption that all people in the young lad’s group are violent and natural cheats is unfounded and biased. Moreover, his perception of the particular society is not based on any facts.
Another social concept depicted in the film is conformity. Conformity is the change of belief or stands due to influence to fit in a particular group. This is portrayed in the movie by the inability of the jurors to come up with a vote and stand by it. To begin with, the first vote against the alleged culprit was done in the open in front of the public. Consequently, the decision arrived at was clouded by the presence of the public. Hence, a majority of the jurors voted for what they thought would please the public. However, when successive voting was done indoors after an argument, the lad was finally acquitted of the charges. Subsequently, the change of decision can be attributed to the influence of the case. The jurors changed their minds about the innocence of the accused to conform to the pressure of the majority (Fonda, Rose, and Lumet, 1957).
Classism is also evident in the film. The jury stalled in the process due to a single dissenting vote. The juror who voted against the indictment of the boy is an architect representing the middle-income social class. On the other hand, the garage owner in support of the prosecution launches an abusive word against the architect. The occasion indicates a social divide regarding classism, where the decisions made are affected by the jurors’ social cl