Account for Twelve Angry Men's continuing popularity

Essay by ocmanJunior High, 8th grade September 2007

download word file, 3 pages 3.0

Downloaded 31 times

Twelve Angry Men is a play written for television by Reginald Rose. It tells the story of twelve men trapped in a single room with a murder case to decide upon. The play has limited action but a lot of drama is involved in it. Although the play was originally written decades ago, its popularity continues. This is mainly because of the drama within the play, the characters, and many of the themes created by Rose such as justice.

Drama is the play's most important aspect. The drama was developed from mainly the conflict of Twelve Angry Men. Conflict is explored throughout the film and it raises many important themes about the possible outcomes of conflict, such as anger which is demonstrated clearly by Jurors 3 and 10. These jurors both follow their emotions instead of doing what they think is right. They greatly contribute to the conflict of the play and they force their opinions on others, such as Juror 12, who was greatly pressured by Juror 3.

"I'm changing my vote. I think he's 'guilty'. (He looks down, ashamed)" - Juror 12 after being partially forced by Juror 3. This shows Juror 12's inner conflict of whether to do what he thinks is right, or to agree with the angry Juror 3 in order to avoid trouble from him. Conflict is the main contributor to the play's drama.

The characters in the play also help build up the drama in the film. Each character is different, with different personalities and opinions. There are some opposite personalities such as Juror 3 and 8. Film techniques such as close-ups allow the audience to see the different emotions of every Juror. While Juror 3 is an angry, forceful person who wants revenge, Juror 8 is a calm, cool person who...