Idiot wind

Alexa 2022-03-20 09:01:09

A case with seemingly conclusive evidence started from a jury’s questioning, gradually changed its direction, and finally subverted the original judgment. This 1957 film, according to the reasoning expert Spring, said that the "reversal" style was also popular at that time when the innate reasoning was prevailing. Putting aside the pleasure of reversal, in fact, the film’s depiction of human weakness is the most exciting. The 12 jurors in it are all so impulsive. No wonder the title is called 12 Angry Men! This was the case 50 years ago, and it will not be the same after 50 years. If we don’t know the truth, we tend to fall to the west when the east wind blows, and to the east when the west wind blows. In the end, there is really nothing to believe.

Just like that song by Bob Dylan:
Idiot wind, blowing through the buttons of our coats,
Blowing through the letters that we wrote.
Idiot wind, blowing through the dust upon our shelves
We're idiots, babe.
It's a wonder we can Even feed ourselves.

Human stupidity has not been improved since a hundred years ago. Looking at Akira Kurosawa’s Rashomon, our memory is distorted with our position. We like to selectively remember those that are good for us. Sometimes, even I cheated together. History is written by victors, so it is also impossible to get rid of personal inferences.

So where does this human stupidity come from? In fact, it stems from Prejudice, prejudice. Prejudice is an inherent defect in the human thinking system. Unfortunately, it cannot be changed. Because prejudice and intuition are actually the same thing, the nervous system of the human brain has established a behavioral guidance model based on probabilistic judgments through the experience of a young age. That is, when you see a dark cloud for 10 times and 9 times it rains, the first 11 times when I saw dark clouds, I would consciously go home to collect clothes. In many cases, we don't know the inner principle of things, but only from the phenomenon, we can already use the probability model to predict. This is why when you are in a certain environment, you have an ominous hunch; this is why a lover can quickly reflect whether a person is lying when speaking. These are the functions of probability judgments. Therefore, the only difference between prejudice and intuition, which is also based on probabilistic judgment, is that intuition is that the probabilistic judgment is right, and the bias is that the judgment is wrong.

So, human beings, give up resistance. The shortcoming of prejudice cannot be overcome.

Although the jury of 12 Nuhanli found the flaws in the evidence through super-rational analysis, it is a pity that such rational scenes do not happen often. In the movie, they themselves said that if these 12 people convicted the case as a pending case, and another 12 people were brought to the second instance, they would almost certainly be convicted.

Here comes another problem that is often mentioned by film critics. This film is based on the assumption that the defense lawyer is negligent. In fact, it is the lawyer’s responsibility to examine the evidence of the case, and the jury is composed of ordinary people. The composition is usually used to identify purely objective facts. So these people are not so smart or sensible. For the sake of the compact plot, all discussions and refereeing are concentrated on these 12 juries. As an ordinary training group, the performance of these people in the film is completely normal.

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Extended Reading
  • Adam 2022-03-26 09:01:01

    Although blatant, but also embarrassing

  • Nigel 2021-10-20 18:59:02

    "We will come here, not to fight. We shoulder heavy responsibilities. I have always felt that this is the advantage of a democratic society. We received a letter and were told to come here to decide whether a person who has never lived with us is guilty or not. No matter what kind of judgment we make, we won't get the benefits, and we won't lose. That's why our country can be so strong. "Brilliant! The script, the director, and the actors are all excellent ★★★★★

12 Angry Men quotes

  • Juror #3: [when Juror #11 questions whether the boy would return home to retrieve the knife] Look, you voted guilty. What side are ya on?

    Juror #11: I don't believe I have to be loyal to one side or the other. I'm simply asking questions.

  • Juror #8: I just want to talk.

    Juror #7: Well, what's there to talk about? Eleven men in here think he's guilty. No one had to think about it twice except you.

    Juror #10: I want to to ask you something: do you believe his story?

    Juror #8: I don't know whether I believe it or not - maybe I don't.

    Juror #7: So how come you vote not guilty?

    Juror #8: Well, there were eleven votes for guilty. It's not easy to raise my hand and send a boy off to die without talking about it first.

    Juror #7: Well now, who says it's easy?

    Juror #8: No one.

    Juror #7: What, just because I voted fast? I honestly think the guy's guilty. Couldn't change my mind if you talked for a hundred years.

    Juror #8: I'm not trying to change your mind. It's just that... we're talking about somebody's life here. We can't decide it in five minutes. Supposing we're wrong?

    Juror #7: Supposing we're wrong! Supposing this whole building should fall down on my head. You can suppose anything!

    Juror #8: That's right.