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The Metaphor of 12 Angry Men
Gosh, how I still love this movie that came out when I was a kid. It defined for me wisdom, strength, courage and the American idea. There were a bunch of these around that time: Failsafe, Advise and Consent, The Best Man, Seven Days in May…
In brief, it is a story of a jury deliberating a murder trial. It starts with all but one convinced the kid did kill his father. But as they discuss the evidence, and have their prejudices revealed, they all come around to having reasonable doubt.
Each juror had a different threshold of information before changing their mind. Those who were most prejudiced against the accused took the longest to see their bias. But for the realization to come out it required the tenacity of those with the strongest dedication to truth to persuade the others who were dissociated from the consequences of their verdict.
We all have the potential to be that kind of hero.
Which movies most influenced your point of view?
17 Responses to “The Metaphor of 12 Angry Men”
Which movies most influenced your point of view?
Definitely “To Kill a Mockingbird” with Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch,to this day the fictional character with the most integrity and courage that I've ever encountered. Also, “Missing” with Jack Lemmon and Sissy Spacek.
LOL. Easy,
Fist of Legend
I just love '12 Angry Men' and got to see the last half-hour of it again yesterday.
There are so many great movies that have either influenced or powerfully confirmed my point of view. A few: 'It's a Wonderful Life,' 'A Man for All Seasons,' 'Citizen Kane,' 'Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,' 'Mr. Deeds Goes to Town,' 'Field of Dreams,'… (As you can see, I'm a huge Frank Capra fan, too!)
Mark Daniels
“To Kill a Mockingbird” and . . . “12 Angry Men,” which I also saw again this week. Whew!
12 Angry Men is a great movie, as are the others mentioned in comments, like To Kill a Monckingbird. I note that none of them involves car chases or shootouts, btw.
My all time favorite, and life altering. movie is Fellini's La Strada, however.
It celebrates the capacity to love and hope, in spite of every cruel provocation imaginable to give in to hate and despair. instead.
The heroine is not afforded the happy or satisfying ending of the other movies mentioned. The spirit of love and hope is exremely fragile, which is why we must treat it with tenderness and care when we see it.
Domajot,
La Strada is the first adult movie I remember seeing and it touched me in the same way it did you.
Other movies that made a big impact “The Diary of Anne Frank”- I watched it and cried every year as a child and still cry after the end as an adult-, “Schindler's List” and “The Pianist”. Yes they are depressing but uplifting at the same time. They also humanized the Holocaust.
It seems that many of us want to be inspired by courage, hope, and passion. Our greatest leaders know how to balance this with the “slow boring of holes” that describes the tedium of moving a society forward.
I wonder what movies the Candidates treasure?
Paul- I would love to know the answer to that question.
Also, wonder if the “Big 3″ would have a political consultant research which answer would show leadership to the voting electorate, and give that one!
If Obama has a consultant for this they know how to win my heart.
The book Obama chose to take to the White House, other than the bible, is “Team of Rivals” by Doris Goodwin, about how Lincoln surrounded himself with the most capable people even if , and sometimes because, they didn't agree with him.
Paul- Didn't FDR do something similar? I read that he actually picked people that he knew had opposing viewpoints on an issue, and then forced them to work together. He'd listen to both sides, and then do what he wanted.
But, after the present debacle, it WOULD be nice to see someone in office who was capable of listening with an open mind. Just picking someone based on competence and not loyalty or political connections would be a huge improvement.
http://www.cosmoetica.com/B363-DES302.htm
Serpico and 2001: A Space Odyssey.
I can understand Serpico's courage but how did 2001 influence your point of view?
Well Serpico was a fairly good take on how I grew up, but that's an emotional connection. 2001 shows that the intellect itself can inspire. Transcendence has never been better represented on film, perhaps in any of the arts. So many people are filled w the mundane and themselves that they fail to see the possibilities that are beyond not only their little lives, but the little blue dustball we inhabit.
In short, it's not all about the self.
Excellent insight.
My earliest influences were books more than movies. I cannot remember a time when I couldn't read. Heinlein's juveniles have stuck with me from then. I can still read them with enjoyment though some of what they had in them is outdated now. Citizen of the Galaxy is a wonderful condemnation of slavery and all that goes with it. Podkayne of Mars should teach any boy to think about what some fools say about girls and their “place” in the world.
The movies that stayed with me for reasons that I really couldn't formulate would be How Green Was My Valley, A Thousand Clowns and The Lion in Winter. Those make me thankful for seeing films in junior high and high school. Others have noted how To Kill A Mockingbird affected them and I would have to second that. But then there was A Man for All Seasons. Talk about standing up for your beliefs. That's one of those rare films that I feel will never lose its relevance or its ability to affect. I agree with Schindler's List. It's one of the most moving films of recent history, IMO. But there have been some outstanding gems besides that one recently. I did consider Saving Private Ryan to be an outstanding movie. But my favorite and one that I think is also destined for classic status is The Shawshank Redemption. Amazing. Just amazing.
Jim S- I was also really affected by Lion in Winter and A Man for All Seasons, but mostly because they were terrific, well-acted movies. I loved Thomas Moore's wit and humility before God.