12 Angry Men
Don’t you have the guts to do what you think is right? – Juror #11
The end of a matter is better than its beginning; likewise, patience is better than pride. Do not let yourself be quickly provoked, for anger resides in the lap of fools. – Ecclesiastes 7:8-9
There was an interesting sociological/psychological experiment conducted in the 1950s called the Asch Conformity Experiments. Groups of eight male college students were placed in a room and given two cards. The first card had a reference line. The second card had three lines: one that was clearly shorter, one that was clearly longer, and one exactly the same as the reference line. The catch? Only one participant was a true participant. The rest were actors. The seven actors would all give the wrong answer and the eighth, the actual participant would give his answer last. Almost 75% of the participants would give a clearly incorrect answer because the rest of their group had already done so. It’s just so easy to ignore the truth when you are going with the flow. The truth is often easy to see but just as often it’s difficult to stand for.
Many of us would like to think we would be in the 25%. (You at least have a 1 in 4 shot according to this experiment). But our lives are filled with moments and even defining characteristics of simply going with the crowd, taking the easy way out. Romans 1:21 says the world’s defining feature is that we knew God, but chose not to glorify him as God or give him thanks. Put another way, we knew the truth but chickened out when it came time to confess it. Instead, we chose to become futile in our thoughts, and our senseless hearts were darkened. Because I find myself a part of the world those statements describe me as much as anyone else.
But it doesn’t have to define me. While I have suppressed the truth, that does not mean I am doomed to continue suppressing it. 12 Angry Men is a movie about how the truth is worth standing for, even when, or especially when, it becomes difficult to do so. The truth is worth pursuing even when everyone else says it’s pointless. When the world pushes back and says such a pursuit is turning the world upside down, perhaps it’s because the world has been upside down so long that putting it right side up feels too disorientating (Acts 17:6 ESV).
We find our twelve angry men at the end of a murder trial and now they are sequestered into the jury room to render a verdict. The overwhelming sentiment in the room is that the 18-year-old is clearly guilty of murdering his father. Most are not even interested in discussing the case because it seems so obvious to them. Their minds are on other things. They all have places to go and people to see. An immediate vote is called, and everyone’s hand raises to denote a guilty verdict. Everyone except for one: juror #8.
This is when everyone’s anger boils over. Many factors convene to motivate the ire of the jurors. They are inconvenienced by the fact that they will have to stay longer to hash out the particulars of the case. The room is sweltering hot with no relief on the horizon. But ultimately, we will see that the driving force of many is being publicly challenged that they might be wrong. One juror exclaims, “Do you think you were born with a monopoly on the truth?” He asks as if the truth is something you could possess or own. But the truth is not bound by anyone’s opinions, emotions, or preconceived notions about the world. Truth is what corresponds to reality and reality itself is dependent upon its Creator (Psalm 119:160).
Our men are then faced with their task: find the truth. Juror #8 stands in the gap between the entire jury and the death sentence of an 18-year-old. At minimum such a decision should not be done hastily. Reluctantly, the rest of the jury begins to overview the evidence (which is new to the audience). Every time a piece of evidence, eyewitness testimony, or line of argument from the prosecution is recalled, it initially seems to corroborate what everyone already initially thought: The boy is guilty. But with a little investigative work each piece of the puzzle becomes less cohesive.[1] The story begins to fall apart. Could they have been wrong after all?
Some men begin to change their minds. Others obstinately dig in their heels. When two pieces of critical evidence seem to contradict each other, the jurors only get more adamant that their original explanation of the facts is the only option. They immediately get defensive when they are pressed to show how the defendant is guilty or how the new evidence does not help their case. Instead of argumentation, the room is filled with bravado and shouting.[2] The truth rarely needs to be loud to make its presence known, but deceit requires volume. It needs constant attention to stay alive and relevant (Proverbs 12:19).[3]
The contradictions in the case come swiftly and undeniably. How could the old neighbor hear the definitive words from the boy while the train was rushing past the building? How could the neighbor rush to the hallway to see the fleeing suspect when he was disabled? How could the witness across the street see clearly who the attacker was when she was in bed without her glasses? The weight of the evidence is coupled by the claustrophobic room. For the jurors still holding out their initial guilty verdict, it feels like the walls are closing in on them.
Soon the tables have turned within the jury room. Those who favor acquittal outnumber those who favor a guilty verdict. Backed into a corner, these few jurors refuse to give in. It’s no longer about whether the kid committed the crime. Prejudices and egos have now reared their ugly heads. Juror #3 exclaims that “the old man couldn’t know anything!” immediately after claiming the whole case rests on his testimony. A false story can’t help but having contradictions that get exposed eventually. Even then he shouts, “I’m sick and tired of facts! You can twist them anyway you want!” He rejects truth because its inconvenient, not because it is false. In a last-ditch effort he asks, “what about all the other evidence?” forgetting that just before he asserted that “you can throw out all the other evidence.” The case is no longer about the truth. But truth can’t be suppressed, no matter how hard we try.
In the end the unnamed group of jurors acquits the defendant of all crimes. The truth wins out because of the steadfastness of one man. I can’t help but be reminded of another trial concerning a wrongfully accused man. Jesus of Nazareth, standing before Pilate, responds to his question concerning his authority saying, “For this reason I was born, and for this reason I came into the world – to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate asked, “What is truth?” (John 18:37-38). Pilate did not stick around for an answer. If he did, he might have been made aware of both an inescapable and incredible fact. Truth was standing right in front him.
Jesus claimed in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” One of the most misused verses in the Bible is John 8:32 which states, “and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” This is not simply a statement that telling the truth will make you feel better or your meaningless opinions will be vindicated. Jesus would go on to say that “everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin” (John 8:35). The truth is that we all find ourselves in a dire situation, greater than any murder charge. Our sin dooms us to a godless eternity, the just punishment for our rebellion.
But Jesus Christ, Truth incarnate, chose to make a way for us to be set free. Because he took the penalty of my sin, I can place my trust in him who paid the debt I could not. At the end of this discourse Jesus claims, “I tell you the solemn truth, if anyone obeys my teaching, he will never see death” (John 8:51) The truth is God wants an eternity with you, and he was willing to pay the ultimate price to make it happen. Will we accept that truth and act accordingly? Or will we suppress it in unrighteousness? I suggest you take the example of Juror #8. Stand in the gap, take the leap, search the evidence and find out. Could Jesus really be the Truth? As he once prompted a skeptic, “Come and see” (John 1:39).
Should I Watch This Movie? – Watch this movie with no regrets except knowing that you will never be as cool as Henry Fonda.
Should This Movie Be in the Top 250? – It is way too high on the list, but it definitely should appear somewhere in the middle of the bottom half.
[1] You probably can’t take the murder weapon and stick it into the table, but it sure looks cool. Maybe the 50s were just a more trusting time. A time where you can wield murder weapons in a crowded room.
[2] This is too often how arguments operate in the public sphere. The loudest often win. When they are pressed to give an argument or reasons for their position many claim that they do not need to give evidence. Theirs is the default position. (This is sadly the position of philosophically misinformed atheists). But one cannot simply claim that they do not have the burden of proof. Anyone who makes a claim has the burden of proof to defend it. The jurors in our movie are no different. If the kid is guilty, then prove it.
[3] This is especially true within social media. Relevancy is prized over truth.