12 Angry Men is a compelling and profound film produced in 1957 directed by Sidney Lumet. This film set in a single room with just twelve cast member, these twelve play a jury called together to judge a murder case involving a young boy who is accused of murdering his father. The jury is charged with coming to a unanimous decision because the punishment is death penalty. Throughout the movie the cast is never referred to by name, rather by their jury numbers offering the viewer an air of mystery and intrigue. The film further shows its artistic talent by offering not only a story to challenge the mind but also the audience’s ethical beliefs.
The characters are varied coming from all walks of life, Nine is an old man with a tendency to watch …show more content…
The myriad of ethical dilemmas presented throughout the film is hidden layer behind the acting, the inner turmoil and strife with each character as they struggle to overcome their personal flaws and beliefs is what truly draws the audience into this masterful production. This paper will draw those turmoil’s to the surface, confronting and analyzing what makes them so tantalizing. “…stories are an excellent way to illustrate how difficult a moral problem can be” (Rosenstand, p.g. 54) 12 Angry Men is an excellent story that teaches several important ethical and moral standpoints all of them very difficult to grasp. The first of these is how to deal with moral differences, the ethics of justice and how dangerous the concept of greatest happiness or Utilitarianism can …show more content…
3). This simple ethics, values that most reasonable people can agree on and be governed through. Because we agree that justice is a basic value this it is imperative that the boy be considered innocent until proven guilty. To render judgment prematurely would be unethical yet as we see in 12 Angry Men, eleven of the twelve jury members are convinced the boy is guilty during the first vote, only eight stands against them.
This is a classic example of ethical relativism “…because it allows that moral truths exist but holds that they are relative to their time and place” (Rosenstand, p.g. 122). Eight does not argue the boy is not guilty but rather ask the other member to reevaluate the evidence with him. He is tolerant of the other member’s thoughts and views, but argues they are unfair, unjustified and
The characters are varied coming from all walks of life, Nine is an old man with a tendency to watch …show more content…
The myriad of ethical dilemmas presented throughout the film is hidden layer behind the acting, the inner turmoil and strife with each character as they struggle to overcome their personal flaws and beliefs is what truly draws the audience into this masterful production. This paper will draw those turmoil’s to the surface, confronting and analyzing what makes them so tantalizing. “…stories are an excellent way to illustrate how difficult a moral problem can be” (Rosenstand, p.g. 54) 12 Angry Men is an excellent story that teaches several important ethical and moral standpoints all of them very difficult to grasp. The first of these is how to deal with moral differences, the ethics of justice and how dangerous the concept of greatest happiness or Utilitarianism can …show more content…
3). This simple ethics, values that most reasonable people can agree on and be governed through. Because we agree that justice is a basic value this it is imperative that the boy be considered innocent until proven guilty. To render judgment prematurely would be unethical yet as we see in 12 Angry Men, eleven of the twelve jury members are convinced the boy is guilty during the first vote, only eight stands against them.
This is a classic example of ethical relativism “…because it allows that moral truths exist but holds that they are relative to their time and place” (Rosenstand, p.g. 122). Eight does not argue the boy is not guilty but rather ask the other member to reevaluate the evidence with him. He is tolerant of the other member’s thoughts and views, but argues they are unfair, unjustified and