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12 Angry Men

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12 Angry Men
12 Angry Men

12 Angry Men 12 Angry Men, by the American playwright Reginald Rose, was originally written for television, and it was broadcast live on CBS 's in 1954 (12 Angry Men, n.d.). In 1957, Rose wrote the screenplay, which he co-produced with the actor Henry Fonda (12 Angry Men, n.d.). The play was originally inspired by Rose’s own experience on a jury for a murder case in New York, New York. Rose did not want to serve as a juror for the case, however he said “the moment I walked into the courtroom … and found myself facing a strange man whose fate was suddenly more or less in my hands, my entire attitude changed" (12 Angry Men, n.d.). Rose wrote the drama based on his own experience and what was produced was an exciting and interesting play that investigates human nature and the relationships of group dynamics. The movie sets up a conflict by giving the group of 12 men a task, which was to determine the fate of a young man, who had supposedly killed his father. The task is important and the life of a person is dependent on their decision. The members of the group had two opposing views; guilty or not guilty. Eleven members of the group initially voted “guilty,” while juror 8 voted “not-guilty.” There is immediate response and pressure from some of the other jury members for Juror 8 to change his mind, due to him being the only one to vote differently. Juror 10 immediately shouted, "Boy-oh-boy! There 's always one"(Lumet, 1957). At this point in the movie the members start to develop their own roles in group dynamics; by being open to seeking information, giving opinions, criticizing the other members, attempting to mediate, dominating the group by using aggression or by refusing to participate until pressured by the other group members. The preconceived notions and irrational ideas of the group members become apparent, showing that it is impossible to bring your own issues to a group and how that can affect the group dynamic. The most apparent being



References: 12 Angry Men (n.d.) Retrieved on April 11, 2013, from http://www.enotes.com/twelve-angry-men Beebe, S. &. (2012). Communicating in Small Groups. Boston: Pearson. Forsyth, D. R. (1990, 1998) Group Dynamics, Pacific Grove CA.: Brooks/Cole Publishing. Jury Duty (n.d.) [photo]. Retrieved on April 13, 2013, from http://www.criterion.com/current/posts/2082-jury-duty Lumet, S. (Director). (1957). 12 Angry Men [Motion Picture].

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