“Once a man has seen society's black underbelly, he can never turn his back on it. Never pretend, like you do, that it doesn't exist.” This quote, by the character Rorschach from the movie Watchmen, serves to highlight what the character’s ethical values are. Movies are a useful tool in teaching and personifying ethical ideals in a way that reaches a wide variety of people. The 2009 movie Watchmen is a near perfect example of this as the main characters are personifications of several ethical ideals. Within this movie we see examples of Deontologists, Utilitarians, and Ethical Egoists. We begin with a summary of the movie to set up how the main characters embody the ethical ideals mentioned above. The movie Watchmen, directed by Alan Moore in 2009, is based off a comic book series written by the director and another writer, . The film follows the comic book storyline fairly
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Ethical egoism is the ethical belief that people should make choices based off of what will benefit them the most (). It is the theory that people should be self-interested in decision making. The Comedian is portrayed as a hard man that goes through life killing, drinking, fighting, and generally engages in any vice he sees fits. We are shown a scene in Vietnam where he is approached by a local impregnated by him. The Comedian decides to kill her and her unborn child because she assaulted him after he rejected her. The Comedian is also shown gleefully beating up protestors before commenting that society as whole is a joke. There is no moral compass that guides The Comedian as he chooses to act in any way that benefits him. Rorschach says of The Comedian, “he saw the true face of the twentieth century and chose to become a reflection of it, a parody of it.” He chooses whatever path gives him the most fulfillment and pleasure, in total disregard to how it affects
Ethical egoism is the ethical belief that people should make choices based off of what will benefit them the most (). It is the theory that people should be self-interested in decision making. The Comedian is portrayed as a hard man that goes through life killing, drinking, fighting, and generally engages in any vice he sees fits. We are shown a scene in Vietnam where he is approached by a local impregnated by him. The Comedian decides to kill her and her unborn child because she assaulted him after he rejected her. The Comedian is also shown gleefully beating up protestors before commenting that society as whole is a joke. There is no moral compass that guides The Comedian as he chooses to act in any way that benefits him. Rorschach says of The Comedian, “he saw the true face of the twentieth century and chose to become a reflection of it, a parody of it.” He chooses whatever path gives him the most fulfillment and pleasure, in total disregard to how it affects