Ethics Goes To The Movies

Movies hold a mirror up to us, portraying the complexities of human reality through their characters and stories. And they vividly illustrate moral theories that address questions about how we are to live and what sort of people we ought to be. In this book, Christopher Falzon uses movies to provide a rich survey of moral positions as they have emerged through history. These include the ethics of the ancient world, medieval ethics, Enlightenment and Kantian ethics, existentialist ethics and the ethics of the other. Each theory is explained in detail, using a number of examples from the book’s wide selection of movies. The discussion draws on a range of recent and not-so-recent films, from Hollywood blockbusters to art-house cinema. Key Features: In addition to covering thinkers one would expect in an introduction to ethics (e.g., Plato, Aristotle, Kant), the book discusses less canonical figures in detail as well (e.g., Marcuse, Foucault, Habermas). Similarly, the book examines both major ethical theories (e.g., Kantianism, utilitarianism, virtue ethics) and theories too often glossed over in introductory texts (e.g. Stoicism, Epicureanism, Habermas's discourse ethics and Nietzschean ethics). A wide range of movies are discussed, from Hollywood blockbusters and classics like The Dark Knight, Casablanca and Dirty Harry to lesser known films, like Force Majeure and Under the Skin. Atthe end of each chapter a focus on two feature films is included, with a plot summary and interpretations of several key scenes with a time marker indicating when in the film the scenes occur. A Filmography includes all movies discussed in the book and a Glossary covers key philosophical terms and figures; both with corresponding page numbers.

How far should a reporter go for a story? What's the role of the press at the scene of an emergency, or a murder? Why has journalism suddenly become so susceptible to plagiarism? Here's a book that poses these and other urgent questions--and offers candid answers. At a time when professionals and the public alike worry that journalism has lost its way, Journalism Ethics Goes to the Movies is available to provide much-needed, accessible guidance. Its twelve chapters, written by some of the nation's leading journalism scholars, explore issues that should concern anyone who aspires to a career in journalism, who works in the field, or who relies on news for daily information. Best of all, as the title suggests the contributors conduct their dynamic and engaging investigations at the movies, where sportswriters, war correspondents, investigative reporters, crime reporters, spin doctors, TV anchors, and harried city editors tackle these pressing issues. Journalism Ethics Goes to the Movies isn't your typical textbook. Using popular movies from Wag the Dog to Good Night, and Good Luck to illustrate the kind of ethical dilemmas journalists encounter on the job, this student-friendly book is sure to spark interest and stimulate thinking.

Certain films seem to encapsulate perfectly the often abstract ethical situations that confront the media, from truth-telling and sensationalism to corporate control and social responsibility. Using these movies—including Ace in the Hole, All the President's Men, Network, and Twelve Angry Men—as texts, authors Howard Good and Michael Dillon demonstrate that, when properly framed and contextualized, movies can be a powerful lens through which to examine media practices. Moreover, cinema can present human moral conduct for evaluation and analysis more effectively than a traditional case study can. By presenting ethical dilemmas and theories within a dramatic framework, Media Ethics Goes to the Movies offers a unique perspective on what it means for media professionals to be both technically competent and morally informed.

Moral Theory at the Movies provides students with a wonderfully approachable introduction to ethics. The book incorporates film summaries and study questions to draw students into ethical theory and then pairs them with classical philosophical texts. The students see how moral theories, dilemmas, and questions are represented in the given films and learn to apply these theories to the world they live in. There are 36 films and a dozen readings including: Thank you for Smoking, Plato's Gorgias, John Start Mill's Utilitarianism, Hotel Rwanda, Plato's Republic, and Horton Hears a Who. Topics cover a wide variety of ethical theories including, ethical subjectivism, moral relativism, ethical theory, and virtue ethics. Moral Theory at the Movies will appeal to students and help them think about how philosophy is relevant today.

An introduction to ethical theories and contemporary moral issues through film.

This is a new kind of introduction to philosophy that uses the movies to explore philosophical ideas. Ideal for the beginner, this book guides the student through philosophy using lively cinematic examples including Total Recall.

Seeing the Light: Exploring Ethics Through Movies is an engaging and innovative approach to the study of philosophy and the development of moral reasoning skills. Features broad coverage of topics in ethics and moral reasoning Offers an innovative and imaginative approach to showing relevance of movies for ethical reflection Draws on a diverse selection of popular movies, foreign films, and documentaries to illustrate ethical dilemmas and character development on the big screen that has application to our lives Presents coverage of major ethical theories ranging from Ethical Egoism and Cultural Relativism to Utilitarianism, Kantian Ethics, Rawls' Justice Theory, Aristotle's Virtue Ethics, and Feminist Ethics Demonstrates how film is a powerful vehicle for sharpening skills in analysis and moral reasoning Includes accompanying website

From a look at classics like Psycho and Double Indemnity to recent films like Traffic and Thelma & Louise, Nicole Rafter and Michelle Brown show that criminological theory is produced not only in the academy, through scholarly research, but also in popular culture, through film. Criminology Goes to the Movies connects with ways in which students are already thinking criminologically through engagements with popular culture, encouraging them to use the everyday world as a vehicle for theorizing and understanding both crime and perceptions of criminality. The first work to bring a systematic and sophisticated criminological perspective to bear on crime films, Rafter and Brown's book provides a fresh way of looking at cinema, using the concepts and analytical tools of criminology to uncover previously unnoticed meanings in film, ultimately making the study of criminological theory more engaging and effective for students while simultaneously demonstrating how theories of crime circulate in our mass-mediated worlds. The result is an illuminating new way of seeing movies and a delightful way of learning about criminology.