12 Angry Men and the Psychology of Groupthink
Homeschooling Through Black and White Film
When I was growing up, watching the 1957 film 12 Angry Men with Henry Fonda was a staple of American social studies education. Sometimes, it seemed like social studies teachers were obsessed with it—I remember having to watch the film and read the actual screenplay. It’s understandable why: ever since its 1954 screenplay debut, 12 Angry Men has been roundly praised as a compelling study of the irrational forces that often lurk behind our criminal justice system. It is routinely listed as one of the best courtroom dramas ever. The film stars Henry Fonda as the protagonist, with strong supporting roles by Lee J. Cobb, Jack Warden, and Ed Begley, all stars of Hollywood’s golden age.
In this article, I will offer a brief synopsis of the film for those who may not be familiar with it. I’ll then highlight its value both as civics instruction and as a metahistorical tool for assessing the history of the 1950s.
Synopsis
The setting is the New York County Courthouse. It is a hot summer day, and there is no air conditioning. Jury deliberations have just begun in the trial of an impoverished 18-year-old youth charged with murdering his abusive father. The judge tells the jurors that if they have any reasonable doubt about the defendant’s guilt, they must return a “not guilty” verdict. If the defendant is found guilty, however, he will receive a mandatory death sentence by the electric chair. The verdict must be unanimous because the defendant is charged with a capital crime.
The case seems pretty straightforward. There is an eyewitness to the murder, and other witnesses testify to the circumstance and motive. The jurors are eager to return a guilty vote, but one of them—Juror 8, played by Henry Fonda—has reservations. Juror 8 suggests there should be more discussion before hastily convicting a man to his death. His reservations reveal that the case is not as open and shut as initially thought. What began as a simple case spurs a heated dispute as Fonda’s Juror 8 struggles to convince his peers that reasonable doubt exists.
Though the entire film plays out in the deliberation room amongst these twelve men, the viewer is never bored. The superb performances by Fonda and the others make you forget you are just watching twelve actors talk for 96 minutes. Additionally, the sequential revelation of the evidence in the murder trial gives the satisfaction of unraveling a mystery piece by piece.
Themes
12 Angry Men is notable for how it skillfully deals with many themes. On the surface, it is a story about the nature of justice and what constitutes “reasonable doubt.” This is an extremely important point to consider, as every guilty verdict rendered in a jury trial is predicated upon the idea that a defendant is presumed guilty “beyond a reasonable doubt.” What is reasonable doubt? How reasonable must a doubt be to return a not-guilty verdict? To what degree of scrutiny should we submit our assumptions before we can confidently render a judgment? These discussions should be part of any comprehensive civics education, as they underline the procedures integral to our criminal justice system.
Psychologically, 12 Angry Men deals with the unconscious, even irrational factors that shape our decision-making processes. As the screenplay was written, the twelve jurors were all white men, which on its face would suggest they shared a lot in common. As the discussion unfolds, however, differences begin to emerge in their thinking—by age, education, national origin, socioeconomic status, values, and even personal temperament. It becomes clear that many of what we assume are logical conclusions are deeply influenced by factors that are not strictly logical. This leads to interesting discussions about why we believe what we believe and whether our thinking is truly as objective as we presume.
The film also explores peer pressure and the lynch mob mentality. I personally find this to be a crucial element to consider, as the prevalence of narratives shaped by social media today inclines people more and more towards “group think.” 12 Angry Men presents a common-sense rebuttal to the herd mindset that often leads us to assume something is true because everyone around us agrees it is. As such, it has value as an exercise in applied logic and avoiding the bandwagon fallacy.
As Metahistory
In my previous articles on the black and white film (see here and here), I discuss the value of old films as metahistory—that is, the historical value they preserve as reflecting the technology, mores, and concerns of the age in which they were made. Coming as it did at the dawn of the civil rights era (12 Angry Men debuted in 1954, the same year as Brown v. Board of Education), the film reflects a growing consensus on the part of Americans that historical racial attitudes needed to be reevaluated.
One interesting feature of the story is that the defendant (whom we never see and is never named) is clearly a minority. However, the film does not tell us of what sort. At best, we get references to him being “one of them.” The most we can say is that he is not part of the majority demographic. He could be anyone. This clearly reflects the concern society in the 1950s had with the relation of the majority to the minority or between the “in” group and the “out” group. This is certainly applicable to the question of race and civil rights.
Still, it also reflects the Red Scare of the 1950s, when American vigilance against Communism sometimes led to false accusations. As metahistory, 12 Angry Men reflects the growing attention American society in the fifties was devoting to questions of how the social whole relates to the part and what that implies about how we view one another.
In Conclusion
Give 12 Angry Men a watch. Whether you’re looking for an opportunity to discuss civics, psychology, logic, or even just great cinema, it’s a solid choice. If your kids are too bored by black and white, the 1997 version with George C. Scott and Tony Danza is also solid. Both it and the 1957 film follow the screenplay word for word. However, I’ll always have a warm spot for the original Henry Fonda production.
What are your thoughts on this topic? Join me and other homeschooling parents at our Homeschool Connections Community or our Facebook group to continue the discussion!
