12 Angry Men and The Lottery - Research Paper Example

12 Angry Men and The Lottery “12 Angry Men”, produced in 1957, is one of a kind movie through its thematic display of how stereotyping, prejudice, racism including other behaviours could hinder communication resulting to catastrophic results (Lumet). The movie emphasizes the importance of critical thinking by an individual instead of making decisions based on groups. On comparing it to The lottery, these two movies are somehow similar when it came to thinking of some characters (Jackson). In both 12 Angry Men and The Lottery, mob mentality results to injustice in the society.

Mob mentality refers to certain unique behavioral characteristics which often become displayed by a number of people when they are in large groups. In 12 Angry Men, mob mentality becomes expressed when all jurors expect 1 voted for guilty (Lumet). From the story, it is evident that the critical thinking capacity of a group of people is often diminished when compared to a single person (Lumet). When compared to The lottery, the whole society usually participated in the lottery events as if it were a tradition without objecting.

It is just one character, Tessie, that broke lose from such practices and tried questioning its role (Jackson). Tessie, unlike other villagers knew the lottery was fake and therefore objected it. She had decided to side from the mob way of thinking. The rest of the community participated in the lottery and kept to its traditions. When Tessie tried to convince others about it, she was stoned (Jackson). It is evident that mob mentality often is detrimental in the society and often can lead to inappropriate thinking and judgment.

Were it not for the juror that believed that the boy was not guilty and went forth to produce evidence that led to the boy’s life being saved (Lumet). Other jurors had formed prejudice regarding the decision and voted as one, guilty, without looking at the evidences properly (Lumet). Therefore, it is important always to have individual thinking in matters that involve crowds rather than just following its mentality. In relation to the Lottery, a lot of irregularities often occurred. Mr. Summers often stacked slips of papers before the day of the Lottery at his coal company. Mr. Summers depended on (Jackson).

In looking at a group’s way of thinking, one could not fail to provide an example of a mass suicide due to following the teachings of someone. In March 26th, 1997, 39 bodies of church members of Heaven’s Gate, committed suicide after seeing a comet that they thought was an alien craft (Applewhite). These people just believed in whatever other members in the group did and thus followed whatever their leader told them without critical thinking. This situation clearly demonstrated the effect of mob mentality (Applewhite).

Individuals who take their time to critically think about a subject instead of accepting it the way it is, often get an insight into some of the questions they try inquiring, thereby learning the truth. In the Lottery, Tessie was sure about the irregularities surrounding the lottery and never approved of it occurring (Jackson). Even on the every date it was set, she was surprised to find herself left behind by the whole community. In conclusion, mob mentality is a detrimental way of thinking in the society.

Individuals should always be encouraged to think critically about certain tradition and practices before accepting them. People should always think critically instead of following decisions made by groups. . Works Cited 12 Angry Men. Dir. Sidney Lumet. 1957. The Lottery. Dir. Peter Jackson. 2010. Applewhite, Marshall. "One year later, Heavens Gate suicide leaves only faint trail." 25 March 1998. CNN US. 25 November 2012 .