Question 1 Dead Poets Society Dead Poets Society is a 1989 American drama film directed by Peter Weir
Question 1
Dead Poets Society
Dead Poets Society is a 1989 American drama film directed by Peter Weir, written by Tom Schulman and set in the year of 1959 at the fictional elite conservative Vermont boarding school Welton Academy (Canby, 1989). It reveals the story of an English teacher, John Keating, played by Robin Williams, inspires his students via his teaching of poetry. Neil Perry, played by Robert Sean Leonard, is a hard-working honors student who has a dream of following his heart to become an actor despites his father insists firmly that he go to Harvard to study medicine for his future while Todd Anderson, played by Ethan Hawke is an extremely shy person that he will freeze with his fear when he is required to speak in front of the class and Charlie Dalton, played by Gale Hansen, has the makings of a true rebel and poet (Canby, 1989).
The Dead Poets Society represents a variety of moral and philosophical issues by the term ‘Carpe Diem’ which comes from Latin for ‘seize the day’ and has the meaning of taking chances that may come our way. It is shown through the bravery of the students for standing up in favor of something and doing their own things. In this movie, it is the ability to become a free thinker and enjoy poetry in life. This can be linked to an ethical issue that was raised in the film, including justice, law and punishment. The students don’t go as far as to break the law, but they are certainly going against the rules of the school, and so is their English teacher, who is pursuing this forward-thinking set of mind.
According to consequentialist theories, the moral rightness of an action is determined solely by its results (William H. Shaw ; Vincent Barry, 2010). If its consequences are good, then the act is right; if they are bad, the act is wrong.
The consequentialist theory is shown through the action of Charlie when he publishes an article in the name of Dead Poets Society in the school newspaper demanding that girls be admitted to Welton. Mr. Gale Nolan, played by Norman Lloyd, the headmaster of Welton, uses physical punishment to force Charlie into revealing the members of the Dead Poets Society, but even so Charlie is unwilling to corporate. Mr. Nolan then speaks to Mr. Keating, warning him that he should discourage his students from questioning the authority. Hence, in his own manners, Mr. Keating earnestly advises his students, that one must assess all consequences.
Non-consequentialist (or deontological) theories contend that right and wrong are determined by more than the likely consequences of an action. Non-consequentialist theories do not necessarily deny that consequences are morally significant, but they believe that other factors are also relevant to the moral assessment of an action (William H. Shaw ; Vincent Barry, 2010).
This can be shown via the following incidences. Neil’s father discovers Neil play a main role in the play through other people and forcefully urges him to quit on the eve of the opening performance. Neil is devastated and goes to Mr. Keating, who then advises him to talk to his father of his love towards acting and that he takes acting seriously. Neil’s father unexpectedly shows up at the performance. After the performance, he takes Neil home and informs Neil that he has been withdrawn from Welton and enrolled in a military academy to prepare him for Harvard. Neil is unable to stand up to his father and no help comes from his mother, he becomes shattered and ends his own life with a gun.
Mr. Nolan investigates Neil’s death at the request of his parents. Richard Cameron, played by Dylan Kussman, blames Neil’s death on Mr. Keating to avoid punishment for his participation in the Dead Poets Society, and he also provides the name of other members. Cameron urges the rest of the members to let Mr. Keating take the fall when he is confronted by Charlie. Charlie punches Cameron and is expelled as a result of that action. Each of the boys is called to Mr. Nolan’s office to sign a letter to declare Cameron’s allegations, even though they know this isn’t right. When it is Todd’s turn, he is disinclined to sign, but did sign eventually under his parents’ pressure and seeing others’ signatures on the paper.
In the end of the movie, Mr. Keating is fired and Mr. Nolan takes over teaching the class. Mr. Keating interrupts the class to collect his personal things; before he departs, Todd shouts that all of them were forced to sign the letter that resulted in his dismissal and that Neil’s death was not his fault. Todd stands on his desk and salutes Keating with the words “O Captain! My Captain” and over half of the class do the same, ignoring Mr. Nolan’s orders to sit down. Mr. Keating is deeply touched by their gestures. He thanks the boys and leaves.
Good Will Hunting
Good Will Hunting is a 1997 American drama film, directed by Gus Van Sant and written by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, the movie is talking about Will Hunting, played by Matt Damon, has a genius-level IQ but he chooses to work as a janitor at MIT. His talents are discovered by Professor Gerald Lambeau, played by Stellan Skarsgard, after he solves a difficult graduate-level mathematic problem. Professor Lambeau then decides to help the misguided youth to reach his potential. One day, Will hangs out with his tough crowd in Southie, including Ben Affleck played as Chuckie, and he is arrested after attacking a police officer, but Professor Lambeau makes a deal to get clemency for Will only if he agrees to use his ability in the mathematics field under Lambeau’s supervision and participate in the therapy sessions. Sean Maguire, played by Robin Williams, gains some credibility with Will when he admits that he had also being abused as a child. Will’s realization makes possible a much more positive self-image and a whole new vision of life. He decides to stop denying his talents and to recognize that he might be good enough after all for brilliant, charming and independently wealthy Harvard student, Skylar, played by Minnie Driver, who said she loves him, and whom he finally leaves Southie to follow her as she heads west for graduate school.
Question 2
Utilitarianism focuses on the consequences of business actions and corporate decisions rather than on notions of intrinsic rightness, it encourages us to evaluate the amount of good and harm that those actions and decisions bring about. Hence, utilitarianism offers an alternative way of thinking about business ethics to rights theory and other non-consequentialist theories. Moreover, although identifying precisely what is ‘good’ and ‘bad’ for people is no simple matter, it seems to make intuitive sense to think about business ethics in terms of maximizing the good (Fryer, 2014).
