12 ANGRY MEN - 15/09/2024

 

It takes a great deal of courage to stand alone even if you believe in something very strongly. - Juror 9

Last Sunday, Aftersunettes were treated to another fine night of film and community at our lastest screening. Not only did we start the evening with Eric Kissack's masterfully made and hilarious short The Gunfighter, we continued in style with an all time classic: 12 Angry Men. The 1957 gem directed by Sidney Lumet, which isn’t just about a jury deciding a man’s fate—it's a masterclass in tension and human psychology. The stakes? Just a young man’s life hanging in the balance, no biggie.

These films fitted perfectly under our latest theme Time Well Spent. This time, we explored the effect of impulsive decision making and-- of course, time.

As the movie wrapped and we rolled into our post-movie chat (the best part), we unpacked the theme of the night where we looked at the role bias and peer pressure play in how we navigate the world. How our opinions and decisions can easily be shaped by popular discourse. 

This sparked a hilarious yet head-nodding conversation about how this rush-to-judge mindset is a lot similar to how we deal with social media. Think about it: how often do we double-tap, swipe, or drop a comment without really pausing to digest what we’re engaging with? How many ideas and discourse have promoted without giving it a second thought, questioning our own understanding and standpoint?

We chewed over how easy it is to form snap judgments online, based on very little info, and how that can lead us down the rabbit hole of misunderstandings. Just like those jurors nearly convicted a kid based on a shaky testimony, we're out here forming opinions on a person’s entire existence from a single tweet, Tik Tok video or our parents "forwarded many times" chain messages. 

What do we choose to do with our time in the face of opinions and decisions? The Aftersunettes agreed that we have a responsibility, firstly towards ourselves, then towards the communities we live in to take the time to listen, to be open to dialogue or like Juror 8 puts it "There were 11 votes for ‘guilty.’ It’s not easy for me to raise my hand and send a boy off to die without talking about it first." 

So, what did we learn from our night with 12 Angry Men? Well, other than not to be Juror #3 (seriously, that guy needs to chill), it's that maybe we should all take a hot second to think before we click. After all, nobody wants to be the juror that jumps to conclusions—especially when you're just scrolling through cat videos. That, although this movie is 66 years old, although the judgement happens in a stuffy room in New York or a tiny 6 inch screen while on the toilet in Kampala, it's important to question our intentions and weigh our actions accordingly.

As always, hydrate and hug somebody!