Ethical Analysis Essay: The Jacket (2005)

by | May 20, 2024 | ethics

Ethical Analysis Essay:
Analyze a film’s ethical dimensions that include its characters and the story.
First, select a film of available works.
Films for Ethical Analysis Essay:

The Jacket (2005) (R) - A Gulf war veteran is wrongly sent to a mental institution for insane criminals, where he becomes the object of a doctor’s experiments, and his life is completely affected by them. The film centers on a wounded Gulf war veteran who returns to his native Vermont suffering from bouts of amnesia.

Next, view the film and then write a planning document using the following subheadings:
1) Introduction
2) Ethical Analysis.
The planning document should be a minimum of 250 words in length (excluding title and references pages).

Introduction (Film Synopsis) – Recommended one paragraph

Brief film synopsis in your own words that includes the medical ethical dilemma present in the film and what happens in the film, including the ending.

Ethical Analysis – Recommended one to two paragraphs

Identify the ethical theory you have chosen to apply to the film. Briefly explain how the theory you selected applies to the film. Select one:
Virtue Ethics – Core Principles – telos, virtue, eudaimonism
Kantian Ethics – Core Principles – duty, universality, impartiality, reciprocity
Utilitarian Ethics – Core Principles – welfare, impartiality, sum-ranking, consequences
Identify the core principles of the ethical theory that apply to a medical ethical issue present in the film. Briefly explain how at least one of these core principles applies to the medical ethical issue. (You will expand upon this in the final essay and incorporate all of the core principles for your selected theory.)

APA Formatting – Your planning document must be written using APA format (including APA-approved fonts – e.g., Calibri or Times New Roman 12-point fonts). It should be double-spaced and include a title page and references page. Include in-text citations and references as needed for sources that support your work.
Required Citations and References – You will need to provide in-text citation(s) and reference for the film you select as well as course materials (media or readings) you use to inform your planning document. (USLO 7.4)

Sample solution

Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell. 

In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.


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God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.

Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.

To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.

 

References

Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.

Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies, 4(8), 487.

Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.

Sample Answer

Sample Answer

Ethical Analysis Essay: The Jacket (2005)

Introduction

“The Jacket” (2005) follows the story of a Gulf War veteran who is wrongly placed in a mental institution for insane criminals. The protagonist becomes a subject of questionable medical experiments conducted by a doctor, leading to significant impacts on his life. The film delves into themes of memory loss, trauma, and the ethical implications of medical interventions in vulnerable populations.

Ethical Analysis

For the ethical analysis of “The Jacket,” I will be applying Virtue Ethics as the chosen ethical theory. Virtue Ethics focuses on the character of the individual and emphasizes traits like courage, honesty, and compassion. In the film, the core principles of Virtue Ethics—telos (purpose), virtue (excellence of character), and eudaimonism (human flourishing)—are particularly relevant.

The medical ethical issue present in the film revolves around the doctor’s decision to subject the protagonist to experimental treatments without his consent, raising questions about autonomy, beneficence, and non-maleficence. By applying Virtue Ethics to this scenario, we can examine how the doctor’s actions align with virtues such as respect for autonomy, beneficence in seeking the patient’s well-being, and the pursuit of human flourishing through ethical medical practices.

Moreover, exploring how telos plays a role in this narrative can shed light on whether the doctor’s actions were aimed at the patient’s ultimate well-being or if they were driven by other motives. Virtue Ethics challenges us to consider not just the outcomes of actions but also the character and intentions behind them, providing a comprehensive framework for evaluating ethical dilemmas portrayed in “The Jacket.”

In the final essay, I will delve deeper into these core principles of Virtue Ethics, analyzing how they interact with each other to inform ethical decision-making in the context of the film’s medical ethical issues.

Note: The above planning document provides a structured approach to analyzing the ethical dimensions of “The Jacket” using Virtue Ethics. In the final essay, each subheading will be expanded upon to provide a comprehensive ethical analysis of the film.

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