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Ethical Dilemmas in Film  Tags: filmography ethics  

These films deal with morality themes and choices across many aspects. All are available at JCCC.
Last update: Jan 16th, 2009 URL: http://jccc.libguides.com/content.php?pid=15042  Print Guide  RSS Updates

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Documentaries

  • Ethics and the World Crisis (2004)
    Call Number: [DVD] 172.4 E843
    The Dalai Lama joins renowned journalists, economists, environmentalists and politicians in a discussion on the ethical dilemmas of the new millennium.
  • Ethics in America (1988)
    Call Number: [VHS] 170.1 E844
    The 11 one-hour PBS programs invite the viewer to struggle with real ethical dilemmas and to understand the process for the ethical decision-making.
  • Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara (2004)
    Call Number: [DVD] 973.9 F6555
    Robert McNamara was the Secretary of Defense under President Kennedy and Johnson and guided much of the military strategy during the Vietnam war. In this film he offers candid and surprising insights into the 1945 bombing of Tokyo, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the Vietnam war. Blinded by loyalty and a sense of duty, McNamara ignored his reservations and misgivings about the escalation of the war.
  • Roger and Me (2003)
    Call Number: [DVD] 338.7 R7222
    A documentary about the closure of the General Motor's plant in Flint, Michigan, which resulted in the loss of 30,000 jobs.
 

Business

  • Boiler Room (2000)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43 B6792
    A morally decent college dropout finds himself at a job in a small brokerage house. He becomes really skilled at high pressure investment sales only to find out that he has been as manipulated as his clients.
  • Erin Brockovich (2000)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43 E68
    Erin Brockovich is a newly hired legal assistant who stumbles upon a monumental case involving corporate water pollution. Film is based on a true story.
  • Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43 G5584
    When the real estate market turns cold, the boss demands a sales contest among the agents. Any agent who fails to meet his quota will lose his job. Political and personal rivalries erupt when the agents suspect the office manager of foul play.
  • Inheritance (2003)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43 I557
    A young, successful restaurateur is manipulated into rescuing the failing family steel mill after the death of his father. His decision threatens his marriage, his chosen life, his business ethics, and his sense of duty to his family.
  • The Insider (1999)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43 I593
    When former executive Jeffrey Wigand is fired by a tobacco company, he agrees to become a paid consultant for an in-depth news story. But what begins as a temporary alliance leads to a lengthy battle for two men to save their reputations and more.
  • Silkwood (1983)
    Call Number: [VHS] 791.43 S5834
    When Karen Silkwood discovers unsafe conditions and reckless protocol at the nuclear power plant where she works, she becomes a whistleblower. Her actions lead to plutonium poisoning and her mysterious death. The film is based on a true story.
  • Tin Men (1989)
    Call Number: [VHS] 791.43 T5875
    Two less-than-honest aluminum siding salesmen meet in a fender bender, but their bruised egos and quick tempers turn the minor accident into a major vendetta against each other.
  • Tucker the Man and His Dream (2000)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43 T8945
    Tucker is an engineer and showman who has a vision for the car of the future. Against formidable odds he raises the money and builds a fleet of them, only to have his factory shut down by Detroit's Big Three auto manufacturers.
  • Wall Street (1987)
    Call Number: [VHS] 791.43 W1876
    Bud Fox is an ambitious young Wall Street broker whose quest for new clients leads him to Gordon Gekko, a financial wizard with a genius for making money. Gekko lures Fox into the illegal but lucrative world of corporate espionage and insider trading.
 

Crime

  • Godfather & Godfather II & Godfather III
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43 G5833
    Godfather & Godfather II & Godfather III
    This classic trilogy shows the struggle among morality, loyalty and family.
  • A Simple Plan (1998)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43 S6127
    Three buddies stumble across a downed plane containing a corpse and millions of dollars. Greed overcomes good sense, and the three agree to hide the money for a year and keep the secret to themselves. This simple plan begins to unravel when greed takes over.
  • Strangers on a Train (1951)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43 S8975
    A tennis star s harassed on a train by a psychotic who wants to swap murders and who proceeds to carry out his part of the unconfirmed bargain.
 

Education

  • Dead Poets Society (1989)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43.D2786
    A teacher at an exclusive prep school inspires his students to challenge their lives and their thinking. The charismatic teacher's emotionally charged message is met by his students with enthusiasm and by the parents and staff with disapproval.
  • The Emperor's Club (2002)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43 E553
    A passionate and principled Classics professor bends the rules in order to encourage one student and, as a result, destroys another. The conflict between achievement and success vs. virtue and ethical conduct follows the characters long after the original incident.
 

Law Enforcement

  • Cop Land (1997)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43 C7815
    A New Jersey suburb has been turned into a criminal empire by a group of corrupt NYPD cops. The local sheriff who had dreams of becoming a big city cop is caught up in the investigation of his idolized neighbors.
  • High Noon (1952)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43 H6384
    A retired marshal's wedding is interrupted when he learns a killer he had sent to jail will return to seek revenge. The townspeople refuse to help him, so he is forced to take up his badge and guns again, alienating his new bride, a Quaker who is opposed to violence.
  • Minority Report (2002)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43 M6665
    Washington, D.C. has been murder-free thanks to astounding technology which identifies killers before they commit their crimes. But when the chief of the Pre-crime unit is himself accused of a future murder, he has just 36 hours to discover who set him up.
  • Serpico (1973)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43 S4865
    This documentary style film is the story of a NYPD detective that uncovers corruption in multiple boroughs of the police department. His whistle blowing and later testimony threatened his life and cost him his career. The film is based on a true story.
  • Training Day (2001)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43 T7685
    A veteran detective tries to teach his rookie partner that normal rules of conduct and police procedure don�t apply to LAPD narcotic investigations. The rookie watches as the veteran use his badge to justify police corruption, false arrest, and civil right violations.
 

Legal

  • Changing Lanes (2002)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43 C4564
    A high-powered attorney flees the scene of an accident involving a struggling insurance salesman forgetting some important legal documents in his haste. The insurance salesman holds the papers in hopes of financial settlement. Each man ups the ante in the cycle of revenge that follows.
  • A Civil Action (1998)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43.C5823
    A high-priced personal injury attorney takes on a case that becomes an epic legal battle; one that may cost him his career, reputation and all that he owns.
  • The Firm (1993)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43 F5241
    The film follows a young, idealistic lawyer whose life is turned upside down when he takes a job at a Southern law firm owned by the mob.
  • Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43 J925
    It has been three years since the most important Nazi leaders were tried. This trial is about lower level officers who conducted the Nazi sterilization program. How far down the chain of command do ethical questions go?
  • Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43 K893
    Questions about career, family, relationships, and gender roles are explored in this film about a bitter child custody battle. Can family roles and responsibilities be neatly divided?
  • Music Box (1989)
    Call Number: [VHS] 791.43 M9872
    A young attorney agrees to defend her Hungarian immigrant father against accusations of heinous war crimes committed 50 years earlier. As the trial unfolds, she searches for evidence that will not only establish his innocence, but also lay to rest her own doubts about his past.
  • The Pelican Brief (1993)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43 P3843
    A law student life is endangered when she discovers evidence of a conspiracy behind the killings of two Supreme Court justices. She enlists the help of an investigative reporter and the two become fugitives as they struggle to unravel the case.
  • Runaway Jury (2003)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43 R9393
    A cynical and unscrupulous lawyer uses any means necessary to hand pick a jury that will return a favorable verdict in trial against gun manufactures.
  • The Star Chamber (1983)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43 S7952
    A judge who is forced to release a guilty criminal on a legal technicality is approached by a committee of fellow jurists to join their secret group. The group arranges for vigilante justice in just such cases.
  • Twelve Angry Men (1957)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43.T9715
    The emotionally charged film depicts a jury of men who must decide the fate of a teenage boy who has murdered his abusive father. The jurors are from all walks of life, and bring with them their own opinions, prejudices, fears, and personal demons.
 

Media

  • Absence of Malice (1981)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43.A1643
    A businessman becomes the subject of a criminal investigation when a story about him is purposely "leaked" to an investigative reporter
  • All the President's Men (1976)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43.A4168
    The film follows the story of how Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein uncovered the White House involvement in the Watergate break in.
  • Meet John Doe (1941)
    Call Number: [VHS] 791.43 M4953
    A young journalist is fired and prints a phony letter in her final column about a man who is going to commit suicide. The letter creates a sensation and she is forced to find an acceptable 'John Doe'. A corrupt politician recognizes John Doe�s mass appeal and attempts to further his political ambitions by exploiting John�s popularity.
  • Network (1976)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43.N4768
    A satirical look at the politics and power struggles of television executives as a network news anchorman turns the tables on the "ratings" and models the news department after the entertainment department.
  • People vs. Larry Flynt (1996)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43 P4194
    An American story of how Hustler publisher Larry Flynt appealed a libel case brought about by televangelist Jerry Farwell all the way to the Supreme Court. This is an excellent film for discussing first amendment rights.
  • Quiz Show (1994)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43.Q88
    Fame and fortune become a hotbed of scandal when a Washington investigator uncovers corruption beneath the TV's hottest quiz show's glittering facade.
  • Shattered Glass (2003)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43 S5334
    The film depicts the true story of disgraced reported for the New Republic, Stephen Glass. Glass�s seemingly gifted meteoric career consisted of falsified stories and sources.
  • Street Smart (1987)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43 S9152
    Searching for a story, a young reported makes up a story involving prostitution. Now the editor wants more and the city�s prostitution ring and the city attorney believe he knows more than he is telling.
 

Medical

  • Charly (1968)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43 C4783
    Charly is a 30-year-old mentally handicapped janitor in a medical lab. The scientists surgically alter Charly�s brain to make him a genius. The effects of the surgery are not permanent and Charly returns to his previous mentally challenged status.
  • Dirty Pretty Things (2002)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43 D5997
    An immigrant physician who now works as a taxi driver in London is called when they find body parts in the hotel bathroom. He soon discovers a criminal syndicate trafficking in black market body parts.
  • Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43 E833
    A guy decides to have the memories of his ex-girlfriend erased after she's had him erased from her own memory--but midway through the procedure, he changes his mind and struggles to hang on to their experiences together.
  • Extreme Measures (1996)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43 E967
    An emergency room surgeon discovers that a renowned neurologist has been conducting secret experiments in the hope of finding a cure for paralysis. The investigation leads to an underground community of healthy homeless people who have been the test subject in the experiments.
  • One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43.O582
    The story of a man whose rebelliousness pits him against the head nurse of a mental ward and the full spectrum of institutional repression.
  • The Twilight of the Golds (1997)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43 T9725
    A scientific discovery finds that homosexuality is genetic--and that the gene can be detected in prenatal testing. When a woman has the test and discovers that her fetus will be gay, she triggers a family debate.
 

Military/War

  • A Few Good Men (1992)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43 F4324
    A soldier is found murdered in his barracks and the military is holding an inquiry. When the chain of responsibility points to a decorated career officer the trial focus becomes questions about military command and 'loyalty to the corps'.
  • Breaker Morant (1980)
    Call Number: [VHS] 791.43 B8283
    The film is based on a true story of three Australian soldiers in the Boer War that are railroaded for the killing of a German missionary. It soon becomes evident that their court martial is not about justice, but political expediency.
  • Caine Mutiny (1954)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43.C1352
    A combat-weary, paranoid Captain Queeg, loses his nerve during a typhoon and is relieved of command by his first officer.
  • Crimson Tide (1995)
    Call Number: [VHS] 791.43 C9298
    In the midst of a global crisis, the USS Alabama receives an unconfirmed order to launch its nuclear missiles. The tension quickly rises as the sub's respected commander and his brilliant executive officer clash over the validity of their orders, battling each other for control of the sub.
  • Hart's War (2002)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43 H3356
    The film takes place in a Nazi POW camp. When the newly arrived black Tuskeegee airman is falsely accused of murdering a fellow prisoner, his white upper-class defender soon discovers the motivation behind the kangaroo court.
  • Mutiny on the Bounty (1985 & 2004)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43.M9923
    In 1789, the HMS Bounty sets sail under Captain William Bligh, a cruel and uncompromising taskmaster. After Bligh causes the death of the ship's doctor, the crew mutinies and Bligh is set adrift in an open boat with a handful of his loyal officers and limited supplies.
  • Paths of Glory (1957)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43.P2978
    During World War I on the French front, a regiment of soldiers is set up for suicide missions and are generally manipulated in ways that show no regard for their lives.
  • Saving Private Ryan (1998)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43.S2675
    Captain John Miller must take his men behind enemy lines to find Private Ryan, whose three brothers have been killed in combat. Faced with impossible odds, the men question their orders. Why are eight men risking their lives to save just one?
  • Schindler's List (1993)
    Call Number: DVD] 791.43.S3365
    The film is the story of a Catholic war profiteer, Oskar Schindler, who risked his life and went bankrupt in order to save more than 1,000 Jews from certain death in concentration camps.
  • Sophie's Choice (1982)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43.S7125
    A film is set in post-World War II Brooklyn and revolves around Sophie, a Polish Catholic who is the guilt-ridden survivor of a Nazi concentration camp. The choice that Sophie was forced to make haunts her life forever.
 

Personal

  • Bicycle Thief (1998)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43.B5838
    Story of an unemployed man and his son in war devastated Rome. The father finds a job pasting up posters, work requiring a bicycle to get around. The bicycle is stolen; panic stricken at being unable to recover his bicycle and at the prospect of losing his job, the father is compelled to steal a bicycle, only to be caught and humiliated in front of his son.
  • Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43.C9295
    Weaving together several different stories about people's lives, loves, perceptions, and ideals, this film examines some of the toughest questions surrounding human nature.
  • The Deep End (2001)
    Call Number: [VHS] 791.43 D3113
    Margaret Hall is the mother of three willing to do whatever it takes to keep her family safe, including trying to cover up the accidental death of her son's homosexual friend.
  • Hidden in America (1996)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43 H6324
    A young widower is struggling to make ends meet while caring for his two children. He has never been poor before, has never been unemployed before and is too proud to accept charity. The pain, despair and self-reliance required to get through each day is portrayed without sentimentality or manipulative drama.
  • House of Sand and Fog (2003)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43.H8422
    A young woman gets evicted from her house for failing to pay a tax she never should have been charged in the first place. The house is quickly purchased by an unsuspecting buyer. When legal efforts fail, a sympathetic cop goes outside the law to help.
  • Life is Beautiful (1997)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43.L7223
    A charming but bumbling waiter who's gifted with a colorful imagination and an irresistible sense of humor has won the heart of the woman he loves and has created a beautiful life for his young family. Then that life is threatened by World War II.
  • Lord of the Flies (1990)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43.L8673
    Thirty English schoolboys are stranded on an uncharted island at the start of the "next" war. With no adults present, they quickly turn into savages
  • Raise the Red Lantern (1991)
    Call Number: [VHS] 791.43 R1591
    After her father�s death, a 19-year-old educated woman become Fourth Wife to a elderly, wealthy man, Each wife must wait until dusk for the arrival of a red lantern, which signifies with whom the master will sleep tonight. Their master�s attention carries power, status and privilege. When she discovers that the other wives cheat to win the red lantern, she decides to join the fight for his attention.
  • Saved (2004)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43 S2667
    A young devoutly Christian girl suspects that her boyfriend is gay. She offers her virginity to help 'convert' him to a heterosexual lifestyle.
  • Strangers in Good Company (1990)
    Call Number: [VHS] 791.43 S8974
    When their bus breaks down in the Quebec wilderness, eight elderly women and their bus driver are stranded. As they draw closer, the women began to share their life stories and intimate thoughts. The film features non-professional actors and spontaneous dialogue.
  • The Sweet Hereafter (1997)
    Call Number: [VHS] 791.43 S97464
    Following a tragic school bus accident, high-profile lawyer descends upon a small town. With promises of retribution and a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of the grieving community, he begins his investigation into the details of the crash and uncovers a tangled web of lies, secrets, deceit and desire.
  • The Truman Show (1998)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43.T8672
    Truman�s life is a TV show. He lives in the studio and is surrounded by hidden cameras and actors. He has no idea that his life is exploited for entertainment purposes.
 

Politics

  • All the King's Men (1986 & 2001)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43 A4167
    A political demagogue governor of a southern state believes that every man has his price and that the end justifies the means. The film is based on the life of Huey Pierce Long, former governor of Louisiana and U. S. Senator.
  • Amen (2002)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43 A5111
    The film is about a real-life chemist and SS officer who supplied the death camps with gas while he worked behind the scenes to alert the Allies, the Pope, and the German people.
  • Bob Roberts (1992)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43 B6635
    A corrupt rightwing folksinger runs a crooked election campaign while only one independent muck-raking reporter is trying to stop him.
  • The Candidate (1972)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43 C2173
    A charismatic, handsome liberal lawyer is persuaded to run for the Senate against an apparently unassailable conservative incumbent. He agrees to enter the hopeless campaign as a platform for political discussion. But once he's in the race and his prospects begin to improve, the deal starts to change.
  • Enemy of the People (1978)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43.E56
    In Riverton, Maine, circa 1893, Dr. Thomas Stockman wants to disclose that the town's moneymaking health spa "Clearwater Springs" has been fouled by pollution from a tannery. But his proposal to go public is opposed by his brother Peter, the town mayor, who prompts a wave of public outrage against Dr. Stockman and his family.
  • The Manchurian Candidate (1998)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43.M2687
    A U.S. Army platoon, captured in the Korean conflict, is whisked to Manchuria for three nightmarish days of experimental drug-and-hypnosis- induced conditioning that transforms the men into human time bombs.
  • Path to War (2002)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43 P2976
    The film focuses on President Johnson and his foreign-policy team as they debate the decision to withdraw from or escalate the war in Vietnam. Torn between those who recommend increased bombing and those who advise a path be found to peace, Johnson watches as his presidency and his nation are torn apart by the deaths of young Americans overseas and the protests of those who remain.
  • Wag the Dog (1997)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43 W1295
    Can a Presidential scandal two week before an election be covered up by a larger political story? With the help of modern technology and media packaging, anything is possible.
  • Z (1989 & 2002)
    Call Number: [DVD] 791.43 Z111
    A Greek pacifist leader is murdered at a rally. Despite the official police report of accidental death, a journalist's persistent questioning leads to a full-scale investigation, revealing corruption in high places.
 

Subject Guide

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