12 Angry Men

As part of the course I’m taking, we watched 12 Angry Men. I don’t watch many movies in general, and I’ve barely seen any black-and-white ones so it was weird. The whole movie was set in one room, and they showed the heat by having the men sweat copiously (like, wet faces, one guys shirt with big sweat patches, yuk).

But I got more into it and quite enjoyed it, although depressing to think that as recent as that it was the norm to have a jury made up entirely of white men. It’s an interesting film, and it makes some good points about influence. Some that spring to mind are:

1. Peer pressure; people may be more open if they are anonymous.
2. Don’t get angry; anger didn’t carry any points.
3. You don’t have to be definite for it to be worth having a dialogue.
4. Ask questions.
5. Listen to why people think what they think, then address that point.

And maybe these are obvious, but the last time you disagreed with someone I bet you forgot at least some – I know I did.