Robert Sconyers
HUMN 330
Module 5: Moral Issues in Film
“Saving Private Ryan”
Embry Riddle Aeronautical University
February 08, 2017
Instructor: Dr. Sara Rogers
Saving Private Ryan is a film staged within World War II, during which an incredible mission to locate and bring home Private Ryan is launched in behind enemy lines within Europe. The return of Private Ryan is hoped to increase moral in the homeland and benefit combat efforts. Captain Miller is in charge of the reluctant team tasked with the rescue mission of Private Ryan, not knowing where he is at or if he is even alive. The company finally finds Private Ryan even after several enemy encounters and finding another soldier named “Private Ryan”. Once Private Ryan is located they give him the news that his three brothers were killed while fighting in the war. Private Ryan chooses not to go home and continues to fight in the war.
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His fear overcame him and he froze up resulting in failing to accomplish his duty as a soldier. Once again, using deontological ethics, if the presence of a good will is what makes an action morally good, regardless of its consequence (Rosenstand 2013, page 284). So, even though the Corporal was not able to engage the enemy due to his fear overcoming him, he is still admirable for attempting to do the right thing. Although the film “Saving Private Ryan” can be viewed through several moral views, overall the film can be best viewed through the deontological ethics. The majority of the film is based off of someone intending to do the right thing even when the consequences were high. The company had duties to uphold as soldiers and they did what they had to in order to fulfill them. According to Kant, humans usually know what they ought to do, and that is almost always the opposite of what they want to do (Rosenstand 2013, page 285).
For this ethics project, our group was well organized and could manage to split the work equally, while easily guiding through discussion to come to terms with our final decision. On our original Nolan Ryan ethical worksheets, four members of our group chose not to have Brian return the card; however there were three group members who thought it was ethical to give the card back. Elle Fillafer, Olivia Forster, Faisal Almadi, and Khalid AlShehry were group members who, after analyzing the case and weighing ethical theories, decided that Brian should be able to keep the card due to a fair purchase. However, Saralyn Jewell, Claire Mclntyre, and LaDiah Davis were members of our group that believed that the ethical decision was to have Brian return
Ethics Theory for the Military Professional by Chaplin (COL) Samuel D. Maloney illustrates the complex ethical decision making process. Army Leaders are responsible for professionally, and ethically develop subordinates. Developing unethical subordinates in a zero defect Army is a leadership challenge. Goal-Oriented Aspirations, Rule-Oriented Obligations, and Situation-Oriented Decisions provide leaders an understanding of the ethical decision making process. The first step to Professionally developing subordinates is identifying, and providing input on all subordinate goals. Leaders are obligated to enforce rules and regulations. Understanding subordinate character provides leaders with the information to evaluate a soldier’s integrity. However,
The United States Air Force is comprised of 313,722 personnel. These personnel all have varying backgrounds and both positive and negative values and motivations for being in the world's greatest Air Force. With such diversity, there will be situations that challenge the first Air Force Core Value, "Integrity First." All Airmen will either find themselves in or be pressured into a situation that will challenge their ethics. Knowing how to decipher your way out of any ethical traps is the crux of Dr. James Toner's six tests and is the concept I value most from module 6. Being able to navigate ethical dilemmas is an important facet of a Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO). Without this skill NCOs risks being taken advantage of and failing to
Saving Private Ryan is a 1998 film directed by Steven Spielberg dealing with the World War II Battle of Normandy. During its intense first twenty minutes, the film depicts the brutal, gruesome realities of what happened on June 6, 1944 on Omaha Beach. The historically accurate portrayal of the D-Day invasion by Allied Forces is the background for the fictional plot of a rescue mission for a single soldier, Private Ryan. The story of Ryan, his family, and his rescue is not true but it is symbolic of the heroism and terrible losses suffered in this crucial military campaign. Historian Steven Ambrose was a consultant on the film and views this kind of fiction as “the kind that illuminates truth rather than diminishing it.”
The movie Training Day presents various scenarios of ethical issues and dilemmas. Denzel Washington plays the role of crooked undercover narcotics detective Alonzo Harris, while Ethan Hawke plays new recruit officer Jake Hoyt, who is fighting to do the right thing. Detective Harris believes in street justice while Hoyt disapproves. He exposes officer Hoyt to many situations where he has to decide if he wants to be a part of the team or stand up for justice. Officer Hoyt will have to use his morals and ethical judgment to help him battle through training day.
The following are the key ethical decision points shown in Platoon. In each of them soldiers make decisions with large ethical ramifications. For each example, where the
Ethics matter in any kind of business or organization, but they are especially significant when it comes to the US Army (Blackburn, 2001). The reason behind this involves the chain of command and the risk to life and limb that are such large parts of military life. When a soldier in the Army has no ethics, he or she can cause trust and respect problems with other members of his or her unit. The US military is a stressful organization for most people involved with it, and people's lives are on the line frequently. Issues like PTSD and other medical problems are commonplace for those who leave the military and must adjust to civilian life, so it is very important that those who are in the Army work with their colleagues and higher-ups to get the help and support they need during and after their service. There is more to ethics in the Army than the problems that military individuals can face, though.
Based on their sense of duty to follow the order, Captain Miller and his men used a deontological ethical framework to guide their decision-making process. The University of Texas Business school states that deontology ethics, “requires that people follow the rules and do their duty” (McCombs School of Business, n.d.). The duties of a soldier are to follow the orders of the officers and individuals appointed over them. In this case, Captain Miller and his men fell underneath the command of General Marshall.
You have to consider for a moment the serious nature of this action. When we deploy, we rely on the person to our left and right. The profession of arms is one that requires all to do their part. Combat, by nature, is a physical, difficult, and demanding task. A person’s very life may depend on the actions of those around him or her. Ask any Soldier pulled from the vehicle hit by an improvised explosive device if that is true or not. You must have personnel on whom you can rely. The actions and directions from the brigade forced us to accept people who may be
As a NCO, you will have all types of challenges in your career. Part of your leadership responsi-bility is to ensure soldiers understand how ethics apply in everyday military operations. Knowing the right and wrong tied to your feelings always motivates enlisted in their everyday adventures. Being the norm of society is something we all strive to do, morally leaders have the duty to teach ethical situations to soldiers. The motivating factor is teaching the standards of behavior. In the past ten years, we have seen to many ethical behavior issues with senior officers and enlisted. Recruiters have slept with recruits prior to them joining the military, drill sergeants having sexual relations with recruits in basic training, senior
The stereotype of American soldiers at the time was that of not wanting to let their fellow members down or abandoning their “brothers”, which in turn would make them seem cowardly. This is depicted in the scene where Captain John Miller delivers the news of the passing of Private Ryan’s brothers. Private Ryan suggested that it wouldn’t be fair for him to go home after those who sacrificed their lives just find him. His willingness to stay behind and help defend the bridge with his remaining “brothers”. This signifies the ongoing message throughout the film, which was to complete the orders that were
During my time in the military there were many accounts of ethical and unethical decision making. When in uniform we are often forced to make quick decisions to get the job done. Like many organizations we also have our own code of ethics, morals and principles that we follow. The problem with this is that in times of need we often can make decisions that were unethical but got the task completed. We also must factor in the many differing opinions on what is ethical and what is not.
The Film ‘Saving private ryan’ directed by ‘Steven Spielberg’ is about American soldiers going into World War 1. It shows how the soldiers went through the war which ruined lives of the American soldiers for the worst. The film focuses on many aspects of how the film demonstrates how it ruins lives for the worst. Spielberg shows us that the battle was not worth it and ruins lives for the worst.
It is clear that above all else, Private Ryan is intended to create an awareness of the sacrifice of the soldiers that gave their lives during World War II. In doing that, Steven Spielberg very successfully in brings out intense
In the movie, “Saving Private Ryan”, by Steven Spielberg, there are a lot of moments in the video that would raise an ethical dilemma issue. The one that stands out the most is when a squad of Army Rangers that was involved in the Omaha Beach invasion, is ordered to cross through Nazi occupied France to search and bring home the last surviving brother of the Ryan family, Private First Class Ryan.