{"id":2688,"date":"2024-07-09T19:46:31","date_gmt":"2024-07-10T01:46:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/sublimecinema\/?p=2688"},"modified":"2024-07-09T19:48:05","modified_gmt":"2024-07-10T01:48:05","slug":"12-angry-men-and-valiance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/sublimecinema\/2024\/07\/12-angry-men-and-valiance\/","title":{"rendered":"12 Angry Men and Valiance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

MGM via \u201cIMDb\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

I\u2019ll confess I haven\u2019t yet been assigned jury duty, but there is one movie that actually kind of has me hoping I\u2019ll get the chance.<\/p>\n

Based on the 1954 teleplay by Reginald Rose, 12 Angry Men<\/em> is a 1957 drama directed by Sidney Lumet following a jury charged with delivering a verdict on whether an impoverished young boy killed his father. A boy\u2019s life is at stake, yet at the start, a lot of these jurors only view this whole affair with an eye of mild interest. One of these guys can only think about the ball game he doesn\u2019t want to be late for. By the time they file into the overheated closet at the back of the courthouse, all are agreed that the evidence tells a clear story.<\/p>\n

Except one.<\/p>\n

No matter, it\u2019s just one guy. A single dissenting vote. It shouldn\u2019t take long to help him get with the program, and then they can all go home. Indeed, the remaining jurors all see it as their obligation to prove that this guy is wrong. Even for those that aren\u2019t totally antagonistic toward him, it is Juror 8 versus everyone else. Yet slowly but steadily, he starts to sway more of the jury to his side as he goes over holes in the prosecution\u2019s case\u2013contradictions in the witnesses\u2019 testimonies, circumstantial evidence, etc. Juror 8 goes from a one-man army into the voice of reason, and the last line of defense for this kid who might be sent off to the electric chair.<\/p>\n

The facts of the case don\u2019t necessarily change upon further reflection, but some glaring gaps start to grow more apparent, gaps that might not have been so obvious without that second consideration. It is from this that the holes in the narrative begin to be poked through, like the notion that this kid must be guilty because \u201csome of them are just born<\/em> that way!\u201d<\/p>\n

What also becomes apparent is that though many of these men claimed to have been starting from cold, hard, objective truth, many of them are in fact drawing upon personal biases\u2013such as a malice for the rising generation or distrust of cultural differences\u2013for their conviction. They only see their own preconceptions reflected back at them, and it becomes clear that they resent Juror 8 for tearing down the curtains and robbing them of that sense of equilibrium. Juror 8 ends up rocking some boats, but is that such a price to pay for the truth?<\/p>\n

This is a situation that believers may find themselves in, probably more than once or twice. As believers in a non-believing world, we are tasked with changing the hearts and minds of a great many juries, and so there\u2019s a lot of lessons to be learned here from Juror 8.<\/p>\n

Chief among them is to not be deterred even when it seems you are the only one arguing for the right. Again, Juror 8 starts the story as the sole dissenting vote on a board of 11 other voters. The math is not on his side, yet he manages to turn the tide of everyone else in the room through sheer diligence.<\/p>\n

A second bit of wisdom is to have some faith in the goodness of your fellowman. Juror 8 doesn\u2019t begin thread from any binding counter-evidence suggesting the defendant\u2019s innocence. Nor is he just being defiant or contrarian. The basis for his divergence is general human dignity. He just thinks \u201cwe owe him a few words, that\u2019s all.\u201d He doesn\u2019t think anyone should be sent off to die without consideration, and he is quick to recognize that the deck has been stacked against this kid, tallying all the disadvantages he\u2019s faced. That bead of faith ends up yielding greater revelations about this kid who was so quickly labeled a lost cause or a dead end.<\/p>\n

And this leads us into the third lesson, a natural progression of the second.\u00a0An aspect of this story that is often overlooked is the spirit in which 8 fights this fight. He is resolved, absolutely, but he is not smug. He does not gloat. He does not antagonize the other jurors for their dogma or obstinance. There is a brief moment where things become heated between him and Juror 3, the kid\u2019s biggest opponent, but even here 8\u2019s ire is rooted less in punishing his adversary and more in defending the innocent\u2013he remembers what he is fighting for.<\/p>\n

Discerning truth from a world so clouded can be a trial in and of itself, but there is a way forward for those who wish to walk that path with some dignity. As this film proves, it is possible to be open-minded while also standing your ground.<\/p>\n

MGM via \u201cMSN\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ll confess I haven\u2019t yet been assigned jury duty, but there is one movie that actually kind of has me hoping I\u2019ll get the chance. Based on the 1954 teleplay by Reginald Rose, 12 Angry Men is a 1957 drama directed by Sidney Lumet following a jury charged with delivering a verdict on whether an […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4544,"featured_media":2691,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,50,36,63],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2688","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-classical-film","category-judging","category-truth","category-valiance"],"yoast_head":"\n12 Angry Men and Valiance<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I'll confess I haven't yet been assigned jury duty, but there is one movie that actually kind of has me hoping I'll get the chance. 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