Extreme Measures: Ethical and Moral Analysis of the Film

This assignment analyzes the movie 'Extreme Measures,' focusing on the ethical and moral dilemmas presented within the film. The report explores the protagonist, Dr. Guy Luthan's, adherence to deontological ethics in contrast to the utilitarian approach of Dr. Myrick. It examines the conflict between these two ethical frameworks and how Dr. Luthan navigates complex decisions regarding medical research and patient care. The analysis delves into the protagonist's choices, the implications of his actions, and the philosophical arguments that underpin the narrative. The assignment also reflects on the student's personal perspective regarding the ethical choices made in the movie, and how they would have approached the situation. The report concludes by speculating on the protagonist's final decision regarding the continuation of Dr. Myrick's work, based on the character's established moral stance.

Running head: EXTREME MEASURES MOVIE ANALYSIS
EXTREME MEASURES MOVIE ANALYSIS
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

1EXTREME MEASURES MOVIE ANALYSIS
Human beings have corporeal as well as non- corporeal aspects present within their
psyche. It is said that human beings are embodied spirits with inspirited bodies; or to put in
simple terms human have minded bodies and embodied minds. There are many arguments
regarding this alleged duality; this duality is relatively easy to assert on the humans but is very
hard to understand. Hence there is no such evidence that would prove or declare that any one of
either the mind or the body is our “real” identity. As per the identity of a person, it is about both
positive and the negative traits within an individual. There is a difference between “me” and “I”
when it is put in context of consciousness (Mandal et al. 2016). The word ‘me’ reflects the self
as an object of experience, whereas, the word ‘I’ corresponds to the self as the subject of the
experience.
The movie Extreme Measures is all about presenting complete conundrum of ethics and
morality between the dilemmas of what is best for an individual and what is best for masses. The
character Dr. Guy Luthan, who is also the protagonist, faces this same dilemma with serious
choices and these choices dictate the moral belief of the protagonist. If any other person in place
of Dr. Luthan, he/she might have done the same thing as the protagonist, since the character of
Dr. Luthan has been set as an example of a person with deontological reasoning because of the
way he opposes the act of Dr. Myrick. However, if I was in place of the character of Dr. Luthan
and asked to do “anything” to regain mobility I would have hesitated to attempt anything that
would seriously question my moral beliefs. I think I would choose to live with the disability
rather than doing something that would taint my psyche and make me question my decision for
the rest of the days of my life. It is partly because of the obsession of Dr. Luthan that he could do
what he did for regaining his mobility.

2EXTREME MEASURES MOVIE ANALYSIS
At the end of the movie, Dr. Luthan receives a package with all the medical researches of
Dr, Myrick with a decision at his hands whether or not carry on the act that Dr. Myrick started. It
is left as a mystery in the movie; however, I think that Dr, Myrick is a person, who believes in
Utilitarianism and according to this belief; Dr. Myrick had a belief that any act is appropriate if it
ends up benefitting majority of people. But Dr. Luthan combats this point of view throughout the
movie; hence I believe he decided not to carry on following the steps of the antagonist. As per
my opinion he should not follow the ideology of utilitarianism blindly and attempt anything
immoral for the greater good (Paquette et al. 2015). As a matter of fact, Dr. Luthan himself
showed that he does not believe in the fact that humans should be treated simply as the medium
to an end. His deontological ideology would not make him attempt such an act.

3EXTREME MEASURES MOVIE ANALYSIS
References:
Mandal, Jharna, Dinoop Korol Ponnambath, and Subhash Chandra Parija. "Utilitarian and
deontological ethics in medicine." Tropical parasitology 6.1 (2016): 5.
Paquette, Michael, Erich J. Sommerfeldt, and Michael L. Kent. "Do the ends justify the means?
Dialogue, development communication, and deontological ethics." Public Relations
Review 41.1 (2015): 30-39.