SUNDAY SPECIAL ARTICLE
This article is inspired by the movie 12 Angry Men (1957) and will have references towards many of incidents that took place in the movie .
"12 angry men case study"
Firstly "12 angry men" is an absolutely boiling drama that has stood the test of time, and goes to show that great cinema thrives under limitations.Made in 1957 (i am pretty sure MOST of us didn't see the light of the day by then )with actions as simple as frowns and glances, a war wages in this single room that captivates the viewer, with compelling moral, logical arguments and severe emotional consequences. Every character is challenged, so that everyone in the audience is challenged. You will question yourself, your prejudices, and your approach to justice. The screenplay almost guarantees that.
A film that is as inspiring as it is well-crafted behind the scenes.The story is a simple one: 12 jurors are asked to decide the fate of a young man who is accused of killing his father. If guilty, he will be sentenced to the electric chair. Otherwise he goes free. The evidence is overwhelmingly against him: Two eyewitnesses, a murder weapon known to be bought by the killer, and an alibi that he couldn't remember during questioning. Open and shut, but one juror stands alone against the other 11. so i presume it is clear now that we are talking about a single man standing against the rest of the 11 who seems to have a different opinion .Throughout the film this one juror, played by Henry Fonda, speaks his mind in a very non-confrontational way.
Power is described in our text as “the ability to influence, command, or apply force; a measure of a person’s potential to get other to do what he or she wants them to do, as well as to avoid being forced by others to do what he or she does not want to do”.Successful executives know that getting the results they want requires leadership skills and the ability to influence people. Leaders in almost any role, from parent to board member to CEO, can find themselves ineffective and frustrated if they become less influential .
Factors that will help the minority group to make an influence
- CONSISTENCY
Hendry Fonda, the leader of the minority opinion, always remained consistent in his opposition to the majority. In other words, he never hesitated or wavered, but always stood firm on his ground. This makes people think more deeply about the issue. Other people probably make the attribution—as Joseph Sweeney did (the old man) that if a person is willing to stand up against the entire group and face ridicule, then he must have some important points to make. So this kind of consistency against the majority can lead others to augment their faith in the minority’s beliefs.The behaviour of individuals in any large dynamic group naturally exhibits various signs of either conscious or subconscious conformity. The psychological principle of conformity which related to social influence basically refers to an exertion on the will of the affected individual to act in a manner that is not in accordance with one's actual beliefs
- SELF-CONFIDENCE
Fonda(the leader of the minority opinion) was clearly self-confident. He had complete conviction in what he was doing and saying which instilled confidence in other members of the jury who were leaning in that direction.
- NO JUDGEMENT
The leader of the minority never judged the people in the majority group but all he tried to say is "what if" or "may be if this is what could have happened" . He was politely trying to gain the interest of the group, but at the same time not offending them in any way by passing a wrong judgment .
- AVOID APPEARING RIGID
one can be persistent in what he believes but listening to the argument of the others and tactically thinking through the problem to find an optimum solution is one of those things a communicator has to keep in mind while trying to influence his audience.
- PERSUASION
“What’s tricky about persuasion—and it’s this point that 12 Angry Men clarifies so thrillingly—is discerning the difference between getting others to think as you do . So the leader of the minority is cautious from the get-go. Whenever he’s asked if he thinks the kid is guilty, he constantly answers “I don’t know. It’s possible”. This may actually be what he’s thinking at the time, but it’s more likely he knows that he can’t box people into a corner by telling them what to do . all he try to do is explain an issue by simplifying it into pieces and help the rest of them to understand the issue in the way he thinks it is right and persuade them to make a decision which he knows would be in his favor
DEFLECTIONS FROM THE MAJORITY-
If the minority can get a few people to defect to their side,it creates a situation in which more and more people will change their opinion. This helps puncture a hole in the illusion of unanimity and loosens the pressure to conform . its more likely that people will widen their scope and try to look at the bigger picture .
Perhaps the greatest merit of "12 Angry Men" is the manner in which it shows us the numerous ways in which we can fail morally: through the inability or unwillingness to think clearly, self-centeredness, failure to notice what later seems all too obvious . It also shows that influencing a group of people can be achieved by strong persistence and belief in one's self
This article is inspired by the movie 12 Angry Men (1957) and will have references towards many of incidents that took place in the movie .
"12 angry men case study"
Firstly "12 angry men" is an absolutely boiling drama that has stood the test of time, and goes to show that great cinema thrives under limitations.Made in 1957 (i am pretty sure MOST of us didn't see the light of the day by then )with actions as simple as frowns and glances, a war wages in this single room that captivates the viewer, with compelling moral, logical arguments and severe emotional consequences. Every character is challenged, so that everyone in the audience is challenged. You will question yourself, your prejudices, and your approach to justice. The screenplay almost guarantees that.
A film that is as inspiring as it is well-crafted behind the scenes.The story is a simple one: 12 jurors are asked to decide the fate of a young man who is accused of killing his father. If guilty, he will be sentenced to the electric chair. Otherwise he goes free. The evidence is overwhelmingly against him: Two eyewitnesses, a murder weapon known to be bought by the killer, and an alibi that he couldn't remember during questioning. Open and shut, but one juror stands alone against the other 11. so i presume it is clear now that we are talking about a single man standing against the rest of the 11 who seems to have a different opinion .Throughout the film this one juror, played by Henry Fonda, speaks his mind in a very non-confrontational way.
Power is described in our text as “the ability to influence, command, or apply force; a measure of a person’s potential to get other to do what he or she wants them to do, as well as to avoid being forced by others to do what he or she does not want to do”.Successful executives know that getting the results they want requires leadership skills and the ability to influence people. Leaders in almost any role, from parent to board member to CEO, can find themselves ineffective and frustrated if they become less influential .
Factors that will help the minority group to make an influence
- CONSISTENCY
Hendry Fonda, the leader of the minority opinion, always remained consistent in his opposition to the majority. In other words, he never hesitated or wavered, but always stood firm on his ground. This makes people think more deeply about the issue. Other people probably make the attribution—as Joseph Sweeney did (the old man) that if a person is willing to stand up against the entire group and face ridicule, then he must have some important points to make. So this kind of consistency against the majority can lead others to augment their faith in the minority’s beliefs.The behaviour of individuals in any large dynamic group naturally exhibits various signs of either conscious or subconscious conformity. The psychological principle of conformity which related to social influence basically refers to an exertion on the will of the affected individual to act in a manner that is not in accordance with one's actual beliefs- SELF-CONFIDENCE
Fonda(the leader of the minority opinion) was clearly self-confident. He had complete conviction in what he was doing and saying which instilled confidence in other members of the jury who were leaning in that direction.- NO JUDGEMENT
The leader of the minority never judged the people in the majority group but all he tried to say is "what if" or "may be if this is what could have happened" . He was politely trying to gain the interest of the group, but at the same time not offending them in any way by passing a wrong judgment .
- AVOID APPEARING RIGID
one can be persistent in what he believes but listening to the argument of the others and tactically thinking through the problem to find an optimum solution is one of those things a communicator has to keep in mind while trying to influence his audience.
- PERSUASION
“What’s tricky about persuasion—and it’s this point that 12 Angry Men clarifies so thrillingly—is discerning the difference between getting others to think as you do . So the leader of the minority is cautious from the get-go. Whenever he’s asked if he thinks the kid is guilty, he constantly answers “I don’t know. It’s possible”. This may actually be what he’s thinking at the time, but it’s more likely he knows that he can’t box people into a corner by telling them what to do . all he try to do is explain an issue by simplifying it into pieces and help the rest of them to understand the issue in the way he thinks it is right and persuade them to make a decision which he knows would be in his favor
DEFLECTIONS FROM THE MAJORITY-
If the minority can get a few people to defect to their side,it creates a situation in which more and more people will change their opinion. This helps puncture a hole in the illusion of unanimity and loosens the pressure to conform . its more likely that people will widen their scope and try to look at the bigger picture .
Perhaps the greatest merit of "12 Angry Men" is the manner in which it shows us the numerous ways in which we can fail morally: through the inability or unwillingness to think clearly, self-centeredness, failure to notice what later seems all too obvious . It also shows that influencing a group of people can be achieved by strong persistence and belief in one's self
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