12 Angry Men Viewing Guide

Print this guide out and bring it to class!  It’ll help you think about, discuss, and write about the film when it comes time to do it!

There are a lot of issues in this movie that would be relevant to an ethics course: capital punishment and racial prejudice are the most obvious.  One could also examine the film in terms of the methods of persuasion and notions of evidence that are exhibited, in the context of a critical thinking course.  I’m showing this film, however, to provide a set of common experiences for deepening our understanding of two philosophers we have already read: Aristotle and Kant.  As you watch the film, you will likely need to take notes.  Pay attention to the following:

·        Treating people as ends in themselves – At what points do the various jurors treat each other and (more importantly) the defendant as a mere means or as an end in himself?

·        Issues of freedom and moral responsibility – What arguments are made concerning the defendant’s (or various jurors’) upbringing and environment and culpability?  What would Aristotle say about the various arguments that are made?  What about Kant?  In other words, does the fact that we’re in some way a product of our environment lessen our moral culpability?

·        How does the environment that each juror is from affect his/her character, assumptions, and reasoning?

·        What fallacies are committed by the various jurors?

·        How would you evaluate the moral characters of the various jurors?

·        Is Juror 8 (Henry Fonda) morally justified in exempting himself from the second vote?  Why or why not?  Justify your answer using a Kantian approach.

·        Keep in mind what Aristotle says about certainty on one hand and deliberation on the other as you watch this “deliberation”.

·        Keep in mind as well the role of reason, argumentation, emotional appeals, and the difficulty of knowing the truth in this situation.  In what ways is this deliberation similar to an ethical deliberation?  In what ways does it differ?  Be specific.

Cast

Actor

Character

Picture/Description

Henry Fonda

Juror #8

Headshot

Martin Basalm

Juror #1

Foreman

John Fielder

Juror #2

High voice

Lee J. Cobb

Juror #3

Angry at his son

E.G. Marshall

Juror #4

(wears glasses)

Headshot

Jack Klugman

Juror #5

Knows how to use a knife

Ed Binns

Jurror #6

Working stiff

Jack Warden

Juror #7

Has tickets for the ballgame

Joseph Sweeney

Juror #9

Elderly, notices glasses marks

Ed Begley

Juror #10

Racist

George Voskovec

Juror #11

Foreign guy

Robert Webber

Juror #12

Advertising executive