Twelve Angry Men

Twelve Angry Men is a classic movie depicting how one determined leader can alter an entire crowd. Through dedication, curiosity, and the pursuit for the truth he is able to persuade a group of twelve to second guess even themselves. Within this heterogynous group are a dozen different personalities - some of which were leaders and most of which were not. The strongest leader in this movie by far is the Architect in the White Suit. Right off from the beginning at the original vote the Architect stated clearly his position in the matter. Against the rest of the group he strongly held his ground and fought for what he believed. Most people in his position would have changed their opinion immediately after realizing that he was completely outnumbered.
He acted as the leader for the people who believed the defendant was guilty. He, like the Architect, is a natural born leader. He loudly argued his opinions about the case and refused to back down from his stance. Even in the end when he was completely out numbered he fought for his belief despite the persuasion of others. He couldn't care less what they thought of him. He was there to do his job and wouldn't be easily influenced by others. He perhaps was influenced by the pulling tactics. He used the tactics of legitimating. He tried to convince the group that they were there to protect democracy. A man had committed murder and needed to be punished for it. He was so overshadowed by the rules that he missed the humanity in the situation. He was in effect referencing the higher authority and the rules that needed to be followed. The government says that a murderer must be punished and he was going to see to it. He also uses pushing tactics with pressure. He threateningly reminds the other that a murder has occurred and that the accused must be punished. He makes them feel guilty when they even consider for a moment that the accused may be not at fault. When the jurors slowly change their minds he becomes very defensive and tries to make the others feel like they're screwing up by feeling the way they
In the first vote, the Old Man raises his hand last only after seeing what the other members all voted. Clearly he was a follower of the crowd. Yet sometime between that vote and the next he led a personal fight within himself to overcome his lack of leadership skills and make a brief but powerful leadership stance. Standing up to the crowd he made an argument that theres more to this case than what they've looked at and that he wants to consider the details more. Really his argument was nothing more than that and he made little contribution to the group after. But for the two minutes in the movie that he made his change of vote he completely altered the fate of the case. However he was not driven to do this because of his natural ability to lead. Instead he had an insurgence of ethics and voiced his priceless opposition. Had he remained silent the group would have been swayed the other direction and left right then. This decision is by far the most valuable one made in the movie and it completely altered the fate of the trial and the boys