John Q Ethical Analysis
A growing trend has developed throughout the film industry, in which directors heavily voice their opinions regarding a certain social issue. A majority of these movies develop a message that protests against these issues, which range from civil rights to abortion. Nick Cassavetes voices a strong criticism of the policies of health care companies and explores the hidden truth about them in his movie John Q. John Q explains the struggle of John Archibald, whose son has a serious heart condition that requires surgery, but due to the lack of a strong health insurance policy, the hospital chooses not to proceed with the operation. Now John’s faced with a moral dilemma, in which he can choose to gather up all the money, which could take too much time and kill John’ son, or he can choose to take the hospital hostage. Several moral and ethical dilemmas like this occur throughout the movie. A long time ago, three philosophers, Aristotle, Kant, and Mill, developed their respective ethical opinions and philosophies. By examining specific events throughout the movie, we can compare them as to how they would be viewed under these different philosophies, and determine whether they were morally right or wrong in the philosophers’ eyes.
While John Q is holding several people hostage in the emergency room, he discovers that he has a pregnant woman and a woman who can’t speak English inside the room. Lieutenant Frank Grimes looks to negotiate a reasonable compromise with John, and soon requests that John release some hostages. John’s dilemma tears him between leaving the women in the room where the help that they need won’t arrive and giving in to the police and releasing the women. One decision emphasizes his desire to find a heart for his son while the other saves the lives of hostages but exposes a weakness in him. In the end, he decides to release the hostages, much to the approval of the crowd and police department. According to Aristotle, whose...