1. Overview
- View the film “Twelve Angry Men” (1957 version) and write a paper analyzing the group discussion dramatized in the film.
- While watching the film, take notes that include specific examples to illustrate concepts related to group communication.
- You may want to rent the film from a local video store and view it again as you develop ideas for your paper.
2. The paper should contain the following:
1) Cover page (including title of the paper, course title & no., and your name).
Cover page information should NOT appear in the body of your paper. Or this
will result in serious penalty.
2) Introduction (1 page)
- Briefly discuss the content of the movie
- Have a clear thesis statement and a preview statement.
3) Issues for Analysis (at least 3 pages)
Your analysis of the jury should address following five issues. Provide specific
examples from the film to support your claim.
- Leadership:
-Choose a theory or theories relevant to leadership. Define (or describe) your chosen theory (theories) with textbook citation.
-Describe how your chosen theory (theories) best explain (s) the different leadership behaviors played by several different jury members in the movie.
Participation:
- Define the task, maintenance, and self-centered roles. Cite textbook
-Describe the task, maintenance, and self-centered roles represented in the
film.
-What were some of the participation problems confronted by the group?
-How did the group deal with these problems?
- Climate (Gibb’s supportive vs. defensive climate):
– Define supportive and defensive climate with textbook citations.
– Define specific behaviors (e.g., certainty, provisionalism, superiority,
indifference, etc.) that applied the most under these two climates
(supportive vs defensive) in the movie.
-Describe how these specific behaviors are displayed throughout most of
the jury’s deliberations.
-What specific verbal and nonverbal behaviors contributed to these
specific behaviors?
- Conflict:
–Briefly define task, procedural, and personal conflict. Cite textbook.
-Provide examples of task, procedural, and personal conflict represented in the film.
-Define the conflict styles (e.g., avoiding, competing, compromising, etc.) that applied most in group members. Cite textbook.
-Provide examples of the conflict styles represented in the film.
-How successfully were conflicts resolved in the group?
- Argumentation:
–Evaluate the jury members’ arguments. How well did the characters evaluate information?
4) Conclusion (at least 1 page):
- Briefly summarize what you have discussed (i.e., main points in your paper) in this paper.
- Discuss what you have learned from this movie
- Discuss how this analysis could be applicable in your current/future work.
