ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author utilizes the film, Twelve Angry Men to illustrate some of Wilfred Bion's ideas regarding the factors that allow thoughts to develop, and what are the obstacles to that development. The theme presented by the film: over six days, twelve men who make up a jury have heard the testimonies and evidence concerning a murder. The film shows that the task of the jury will require "thinking in an uncommon way". It will require conjectures based on suppositions that lead to a different perspective, one that might place the "facts" in a dimension in which a reasonable doubt is possible, which is the opposite of the certainty of those who avoid thinking. The author provides an analysis of the characters throughout the film. The characters include: the Thinker, Old Man, and Young Man from the Slums. He illustrates Bion's concept of catastrophic change with some aspects of the film.
