The central case in "Twelve Angry Men" is the son's murder of his father, and the trial time is similar to Camus' novel "The Outsider", which is a hot summer. This 1957 film , undoubtedly makes people aware of its potential affinity with Camus' novel "The Outsider" written in 1942.
Of course, the difference is also obvious. Camus let the protagonist ムルソー be sentenced to death in judicial silence, In "Ten", the young man who killed his father (although the judicial process in the United States does not seem to be better than that in France, and does not give the defendant a chance to appeal) was fortunate enough to meet the 8th jury's argument, and finally persuaded Eleven other members of the jury were acquitted.
"The Outsider" permeates the pessimistic atmosphere of Camus' existentialism (じつぞんしゅぎ, English: Existentialism), which is also followed by "The Myth of シーシュポスのMyth" Le Mythe de Sisyphe set the tone for the discussion of "argumentation", "human world", and "creation". It is a criticism of reason (りせい、reasion) Trust is also the reflection and questioning of rationality and science by Western thinkers who have experienced World War II, as well as the Western civilization dominated by them.
On the contrary, the sense of justice of Juror No. 8 in "Twelve Angry Men", the serious attitude towards people's life and death, and the logical analysis of Chengtang's testimony are Kant (カント, Immanuel Kant) style. In Camus's view, it is such Kantian reason as metaphysics (metaphysics (けいじじょうがく, English: Metaphysics, mono: Metaphysik)) that lays the foundation for the absurdity (incoherence) of Western modernity. Conversely, the villain in the film is either accused of being cynic or implied to be irrational. At the end of the film, people are persuaded by a series of arguments, and even the last person agrees to acquit the young man because he gave up his personal irrational attachment, which seems to be a victory of rationality over irrationality.
In contrast, the French thinkers represented by Europe did not hold much hope for rationality through reflection on the 2 World Wars, but more of the alienation and absurdity caused by the deviation of rationality to Western society. sex, and the catastrophes it brings (world wars, exploitation, colonialism, etc.). This is also the atmosphere that Camus' "The Outsider" hopes to express.
After World War II, the United States was immersed in the joy of victory, the economy grew rapidly, and the hegemony of the Western world was established. In this context, Reginald Rose, the author of the script for "Twelve Angry Men", seemed more inclined to expect a The return of the Kantian critique of reason to solve the problems caused by modernity, to correct absurdity and alienation. The subtext is that he sees this absurdity and alienation as irrational, not as a deviation from rationality. But in any case, the image of Juror No. 8 is too idealized in the real society, like the image of a Messiah who saves the darkness of modernity. Therefore, the final happy ending of this film, the final redemption, is very utopian.
"Ten" seems to begin with a continuation of existential philosophical issues, using the usual rational analysis of detective novels, emphasizing justice and human nature, but in the end it can only expect an unrealistic salvation.
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