12 Angry Men Sociology

“We are talking about someone's life here. We cannot decide in five minutes.” (Rose et al., 1957) Twelve Angry Men is a 1957 American Crime Drama that focuses on the Jurors deciding on the fate of an eighteen-year-old boy charged with the murder of his father. All the men (minus Juror 8) had immediately declared the boy guilty and were willing to send him to death. However, throughout this movie, the researchers experience them changing their minds when exposed to various aspects of the case. Many characteristics influence their earlier guilty verdict and their eventual not-guilty plea. It includes Peer pressure, aggression, classism, labels, need for conformity, biases and logical thinking. The researchers saw how these characteristics integrate

Labeling theory is an approach in the sociology of deviance that focuses on how the agents of social control attach stigmatizing stereotypes to particular groups and how the stigmatized change their behavior once labeled (Siegel, 2015). The basis of this theory is stigma and discrimination against a group of individuals. In the case of the film 12 Angry Men, this would be the prejudice within the movie regarding his social class. The researchers saw this in the statement made by Juror #4, "Slums are breeding grounds for criminals. I know it, and you know it." (Rose et al, 1957). Therefore, it is evident that in his mind, once an individual comes from the slums, they are automatic criminals. Since crime is more associated and labeled within the lower classes, it was evident that his entire class has the label of 'criminals from the slums'. He would never be someone innocent in his eyes. The theory posits that this would lead to the internalization of the label within the boy, eventually making him believe that he was a criminal, indicated by how guilty he looked at the beginning of the movie. However, this notation is juxtaposed with the presence of Juror #5. He stated that he lived in the slums with no issues, showing that he rejected the