Moral Development and Film Analysis

This assignment examines the concept of moral development through the lens of film analysis. Students will analyze two specific films, 'Dog Day Afternoon' and 'John Q', to understand how they portray moral dilemmas and the complexities of ethical decision-making. Drawing on relevant theories and research in moral psychology, such as Kohlberg's stages of moral judgment and the work of Narvaez, students will critically evaluate the characters' motivations, actions, and justifications within the context of the films. The analysis should consider how these films reflect different perspectives on morality and ethical conduct across various life stages.

Running head: THEMATIC ANALYSIS OF KOHLBERG DILEMMA
THEMATIC ANALYSIS OF KOHLBERG DILEMMA
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1THEMATIC ANALYSIS OF KOHLBERG DILEMMA IN JOHN Q
The Kohlberg ethical dilemma is a set of moral issues that question the ethics of an
individual blurring the boundary of good and bad or right and wrong. The essay seeks to
understand the issue of the dilemma in the modern context with the movie John Q. The movie
seeks to analyze and understand the different issues that have been a cause of the moral dilemma
among the population through the ages. The ethical dilemma is a situation where a person is
made to choose between two categorical imperatives, both of which are equally correct and
present a difficulty in choosing a correct option regarding the issue. The ethical choice and the
socially accepted choice may not be the same. The dilemma in judging a course of action
considering the different scenarios, which are both justified and dependent on subjective
opinions, is the object of understanding in this situation (Kahane, et al., 2015). The dilemma and
the major issues caused due to it in having conclusive opinions regarding situations and their
possible responses across different age is the subject of study of Kohlberg’s ethical dilemma.
The different situations that arise in due time leading to the different subjective opinions and
possible solutions towards it.
Kohlberg’s ethical moral dilemma is evident in a number of movies, where the
justification of the negative actions of the protagonist is given in the movie, which makes the
audience empathize with him (Weissbourd, Bouffard & Jones, 2013). The movie in the given
situation, John Q is one such movie where the audience cannot decide the ethics of the actions of
protagonist. John Q, is a movie describes and shows the different aspects of human emotion with
finesse and ease. The emotion of the father John Quincy Archibald, played by Denzel
Washington, is a character who is willing to go to any limits to save the life of his son
(Cassavetes, 2002). The film has a number of ethical issues in question, regarding the actions of
John in the given situation. The movie starts with an accident where a female rash driver is

2THEMATIC ANALYSIS OF KOHLBERG DILEMMA IN JOHN Q
killed. The later scenes show that the son John Archibald suffers from a major cardiac condition
which needs and immediate heart transplant. John is full time factory worker facing economic
issues (Arnold, 2000). When he discovers that the insurance provided by their employer is not
supporting the treatment and the surgery of his son, John starts to collect money to get his son
enrolled in the organ donors list. Despite all their collective efforts they could not raise more
than one third of the necessary amount needed for the surgery. In the situation feeling helpless,
John decides to take a drastic measure of holding hostages in the hospital in lieu of his son’s
treatment. The situation faced by John and his action cannot be justified by an outsider’s point of
view at this point as all he was doing was to try the best to save the life of his son (Dawson,
2002). The demand of John against the life of 11 hostages held by him is simple, to save the life
of his son by putting his name in the organ recipient waiting list. The issues faced by a poor
individual and the dramatic situation in which it is resolved shows the moral dilemma that people
face in such situations.
John is a relatively poor person who overworks to meet the need of the family. when he is
in need and all his efforts prove futile in saving the life of his son he is agitated at his
incapability and decides to take the drastic step of holding the people hostage. It is very tough to
judge his dilemma and the justification of his action unless one is in the shoes of John Quincy
(Narvaez & Lapsley, 2009). He faces a major dilemma of putting the life of a number of people
at risk just to save his son. He very well knows that his reputation would be ruined at the end of
the day because of the step he has decided to take. The changing scenarios in which the decisions
are taken and the humane approach of john in the treatment towards the hostages will help in
understanding the perspectives of John. The situation in which John is a very awkward one
where it is very tough for an individual to judge his actions on the basis of individual

3THEMATIC ANALYSIS OF KOHLBERG DILEMMA IN JOHN Q
perspectives. The different perspective and consequences of the action of John can be understood
in the point of view of John but there are other sides of the story (Edwards & Carlo, 2005). The
actions of John look justified and in the individualistic perspective of the movie but to do the
Kohlberg analysis effectively one needs to see the situation from both the perspectives and
present an overview with the situation.
When the situation is seen from the perspective of John Quincy, his actions are justified
and he has to do whatever he can to save the life of his son. In the movie, it is later shown that he
has to load the gun when he is contemplating suicide, which implies that the gun was not loaded
during the whole ordeal (Narvaez, 2012). This makes it evident that he did not intend to hurt
anyone despite of what others might have thought. It makes his position even more clear in the
eyes of the viewers and is shown as protagonist. Moreover, the asking fees of $75000 just to put
the name of the child in the organ recipients’ waiting list garnered sympathy from the audience
considering the economic situation John was in. whatever these scenarios showed reinforced the
belief of the audience in the innocence of John Quincy. The different situation in which he puts
the lives of the hostages at a risk is not one that would put things in favor of him. No matter how
humane his appeal was but what he held in custody was a hospital and hindered the safety of the
people. Moreover, the hospital is a place where people are sick and unhealthy; the situation can
push some of them into shock killing a few people.
Saving a life is a prime concern that can be understood but the movie raises a number of
other important ethical issues while the morality of John Q is judged in the movie. The solitary
viewpoint of a single person is show in the movie where the other side is not very evident as
shown in the movie Dog Day Afternoon too (Edwards, & Carlo, 2005). The dilemma the people
or audiences go through is the cinematic genius of the director of the movie who is showing the

4THEMATIC ANALYSIS OF KOHLBERG DILEMMA IN JOHN Q
viewpoint of the protagonist. Since that is the only perspective emphasized in the movie, the
people do not understand the overall consequences that the actions of the protagonist. Similarly,
in the movie the dog day afternoon the protagonist is shown as the victim of the situation. It is
generally common for the audience to empathize with the culprit in this case because most of the
people have their own grudges against the norms of the society.
The condition, which John Q puts the hospital in, may have gained support of the
audience but there are other perspectives to look at. One of the most important issue that is over
looked that his son automatically gets the heart of the accident victim who comes in but there is
another issue which was over looked. Overlooking the other recipients to give John Quincy’s son
the heart makes the scenario all the more immoral and unethical. Just because he was holding the
hospital and a number of patients as hostages does not make the situation justifiable in any sense.
Similarly, in the case of the movie Dog Day Afternoon, the family situation of Sonny and the
need of his present wife to get operated does not make his actions socially justifiable. There are
other ways to deal with situations in the society (Lumet, 1975).
There are a number of people in the society, who are facing much harsher situations in
life and they choose to fight it. The justification of the situation in movie may seem apt in a
number of ways but they do not seem to be convincing. One might not be thinking of the
consequences at the moment of taking decisions but the actions may have a lasting effect on the
people who were affected. It is taken that both Sonny and John were compassionate and
understanding of the hostage situations and the needs (Hart & Carlo, 2005). This does not
redeem them of their actions completely given that John gets a jail sentence Sonny kills his
friend and is jailed for 20 years for his actions. The sympathy is gained from the acceptance of
the fact that they faced the consequences of their actions does not make them complete.

5THEMATIC ANALYSIS OF KOHLBERG DILEMMA IN JOHN Q
In both the movies the Kohlberg’s moral and ethical dilemma is aggravated and the
protagonists are showing doing actions which in a sense redeem them of their ill deeds. One of
the situation is in which John is willing to give his own life and loads the gun with a bullet. This
shows that he indeed did not seek to hurt anyone in the vicinity as the gun was not loaded and
was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to save the life of his son (Keller & Edelstein, 1991).
On the other hand sonny’s condition in Dog Day afternoon is understood when his wife turns up.
The majority of the sympathy that they get from the society in the move is because they are
shown treating the hostages with compassion. This seems a very tough predicament for one to
decide the justification of their actions since their actions seem right but were against the law and
the social norms.
The audience empathizes with the protagonist in such situations but the dilemma had not
risen if not for their actions. There are a number of movies which show the people in really tough
situations but they choose to work hard and fight against the system without breaking it or
causing physical or psychological harm to anyone. One of the best movies fitting this example is
“The Pursuit of Happiness”, where Chris Gardener is beaten by the situations and the system a
number of times (Muccino, 2006). There are a number of scenarios where he could have gone
against the law to fulfill his own needs when all the situations were against him. Given the
scenario in the movie, the audience would have accepted his actions as justified too. The story is
based on a real story so it cannot be said that it can be only done in movie. The overall scenario
of portraying a father fighting for his son makes the situation, emotional and tilts the moral
balance in their favor, but it has to be considered that they were not the best of the alternatives
that he adhered to (Pratt, Skoe & Arnold, 2004). All’s well that ends well says the phrase but in
the case of Dog Day Afternoon, the protagonist losses a lot of thing, most importantly his friend

6THEMATIC ANALYSIS OF KOHLBERG DILEMMA IN JOHN Q
and twenty years of his life. The end of John Quincy shows the protagonist repentant and
sentenced for his actions, but the dilemma never ends of who is right.
Therefore, it is seen that the movie John Q, show the Kohlberg’s moral ethical dilemma
in every sense. The movie delves deeper in to the human emotions and the balance between the
laws governing the society and the moral reasoning is questioned. The action of John Q when
viewed in the perspective of the audience and the overall situation of John is justified. If the
situation is viewed in the eyes of the law and the overall scenario where it occurs and the actions
may not be justified in any way. It is also notable that the Kohlberg’s dilemma of moral ethics
can be attributed to all the movies in the action genre, where the protagonist does anything that
they desire as a vengeance of something that has hurt them.

7THEMATIC ANALYSIS OF KOHLBERG DILEMMA IN JOHN Q
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