Reflections on “ The Boondock Saints” Directions: In three paragraphs write your reflections of the Movie “ The Boondock Saints”, answering the following: 1) What are the ethical issues you see in the movie? List several and describe their ethical or moral concern. 2) How does the plot relate to “ Utilitarian Ethics”? “ Pluralism/Pragmatism”? “ Social Contract Ethics”? Use examples from the movie and show a connection each (e. g. , Act vs Rule Utilitarianism and the value of consequences, Addressing multiple & conflicting values, Type(s)/theme(s) of Social Contracts evidencing, a la Hobbes, Rousseau, Locke, Gauthier). ) Utilitarian ethics, because people on the movie judge the rightness or wrongness of an act, so it produces consequences to the greatest balance of pleasure over suffering for everyone involved. Social contract, at the end of the movie people of the state agreed that boondock saints kill trash people, so their prime motive being the desire for protection, which entails the surrender of some or all perosonal liberties. 2) The plot is related to utilitarian ethics, because we saw how the Boondock Saints judged people by making what they consider divine justice “ kill people”.
Pragmatism, because the Boondock Saints were putting their truths or beliefs in the term of action or parctical application by killing people. Social contract, because the society agreeded the Boondock Saint’s actions to get protection, to they the Boondock Saints were cleaning the society in the state. Act utilitarianism Vs. rule: the boondock saints did acts and rules judging rightness and wrongness that maximized pleasure and minimized suffering.
An example of act utilitarianism is that when Connor and Morphy killed people from the mafia they were feeling pleasure judging wongness. An example of rule u. , they trusted that their own rules were right to God. Finally, this movie is an example of social contract and utilitarianism, during the movie we saw the boondock saints having conflicts values in the society when they killed the minister inside the church in front of many people. It created doubts for people about which is true righteousness from God or from the men.