The medium of film can treat organizational,
societal, and global ethical problems either from one standpoint, which is
appropriate if the assignment of blame for immoral conduct is clear (e.g., the
Nazis), or by presenting both sides of an argument so to prompt the viewers to
think about the ethically complex problem. This second approach is useful if it
is not clear whether a character or a given conduct is unethical. When it is
obvious which characters or actions are unethical, a film can still stimulate ethical
reasoning and judgment by drawing attention to unethical systems as distinct
from individuals and their respective conduct in the film. The film, Spotlight (2015),
which is a true story, takes the position that Roman Catholic priests who
molested and raped children in the Boston Archdiocese in Massachusetts behaved
ethically. The dramatic tension in the film is set up when the chief editor of
the Boston Globe, Liev Schreiber, tells the paper’s investigative “spotlight” managers
that the story will not go to press until the system that enabled Cardinal Law
and others to cover up many child-rapist priests by transferring them to other
parishes is investigated. “We’re going after the system,” Liev says in keeping
the story under wraps until the entire informal system that has enabled the
rapists to continue to lead parishes.
The full essay is at "Spotlight."
