Social Psychology in the Courtroom

Social Psychology in the Courtroom

The film chosen for this social psychology analysis in a courtroom is Just Mercy, directed by Destin Daniel. The two main characters are Brayan Stevenson and Walter McMillan. The story’s setting is in the modern United States, and it is evident that African Americans are disadvantaged. Above all, they are facing prejudice from the judicial system. This prompts the main character Stevenson who has qualified as a lawyer, to represent many African Americans on death row who cannot afford attorneys (Daniel, 2019). In the process, he also intends to help those victims of the mistrial. One of his clients is Welter McMillan, who at the time was sentenced to death and is awaiting execution in 1987. McMillan is accused of the murder of an 18-year-old girl, and even though there is enough evidence showing that he is innocent, he is still sentenced to death. As things progress, Stevenson encounters racism as he represents these marginalized minority groups (Daniel, 2019). The part of the film that will be analyzed is one of the court sessions when he is describing McMillan trying to prove his innocence, and there is a clear show of racism in the court.

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In this scene, when Stephenson is trying to prove his client’s innocence, he tells the judge that many others in the courtroom were wrongfully accused. As he points at this group, the audience can see that all of them are African Americans and standing at the back while all the White people in the courtroom are seated. According to Sullivan (2020), social psychology involves studying social conditions that inform feelings, thoughts, and behaviors and how they affect social interactions. Thus social psychology is made evident in this scene in the movie by seeing how the African Americans and the White population relate. This minority group is standing. They look stressed and disturbed while the Whites enjoying the majority social status are seated. They look fine and in control of the system. The behavior between the African Americans and the Whites shows social psychology in the courtroom.

Symbolic interactionism is a social psychology concept that explains the interaction with people. It deals with social interactions regarding factors that cause racism and differences in race (Roberts et al., 2020). This concept can best describe the issue of racism, as seen in this discussion.

References

Sullivan D. (2020). Social Psychological Theory as History: Outlining the Critical-Historical       Approach to Theory. Personality and social psychology review: an official journal of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc., 24(1), 78–99.            https://doi.org/10.1177/1088868319883174

Daniel D., (2019) Just Mercy. Warner Bros. Pictures. Retrieved from         https://www.netflix.com/th-en/title/80207506 [Access date 2nd June 2022]

Roberts, S. O., Bareket-Shavit, C., Dollins, F. A., Goldie, P. D., & Mortenson, E. (2020). Racial Inequality in Psychological Research: Trends of the Past and        Recommendations for the Future. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 15(6),            1295–1309. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691620927709

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Instructions
Observation Techniques: Film Analysis
This week, you will analyze a three- to five-minute segment of a movie or a television episode depicting social psychology in the courtroom.

Social Psychology in the Courtroom

After watching the movie segment, create a three- to four-page report on your analysis. In your report:

Mention the name of the movie.
Describe the setting and overall storyline of the movie.
Describe the main characters in the observed movie section.
Describe the situation which you analyzed and interpret the action of the characters depicting social psychology in the courtroom.
Draw conclusions based on social psychological concepts and theories.