Introduction
12 Angry Men (1957) is one of the most acclaimed feature films of all time. It was produced at a time when the United States was just twelve years out of World War II and “Leave It To Beaver” and “Father Knows Best” broadcast across television airwaves the perfection, conformity and affluence of American life that had been generated by the Great War. Additionally, this film was listed on the university syllabus as one of three films to see in regard to this course, Management 610 – Contexts of Contemporary Management here at the University of Redlands. (1957, http://www.normandyhigh.com/1957/timeline_1957.html)
ed Spawn from the 1954 play by the same name and the screenplay also written by Reginald Rose, its original writer, 12 Angry Men (1957) was inducted for preservation into the Library of Congress in 2007 as being “culturally, historically and aesthetically significant.” (12 Angry Men, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/12_Angry_Men) expressive verbs in next paragraph (The following section contains many expressive verbs.)
12 Angry Men (1957) is a management style and social psychological case-study of what happens when a collection of twelve jurors with diverse backgrounds after hearing testimony regarding a murder case where a teen boy of “minority” ethnicity are sequestered to a deliberation room to decide whether the teen is “guilty” or “not guilty” in the stabbing death of his father. At the heart of the deliberations is to prove that the teen is “guilty beyond a reasonable doubt” and the twelve men spar in this film for one and one-half hours in a New York City court deliberation room on a very hot, summer day. (Lumet, S. (Director). (1957). 12 Angry Men (Motion Picture). United States: MGM Studios – Video DVD)
Some of the jurors are ...