The film our group watched to complete this assignment was the 2006 crime drama The Departed, starring Leonard DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Martin Sheen and Jack Nicholson (The Departed). Beginning in the first few minutes and continuing to the end, our group found a number of ethical issues and dilemmas.
One of the most significant ethical issues that our group found was the decision by the seemingly moral and ethically strong police officer Qeenan to persuade the new police recruit Billy Costigan to infiltrate the local mob. Qeenan’s recruitment of Costigan, presents a number of interesting ethical questions such as Qeenan’s manipulation of Costigan using Costigan’s dislike of his father, who was also a mobster or the fact that Qeenan knows that Costigan will have to commit crimes while undercover. Accordingly, our group discussion started out with an analysis of Qeenan’s actions decision from two ethical viewpoints, namely utilitarianism and deontological.
Under our understanding of utilitarianism, whether a person’s actions are to be considered ethical depends on whether the results of those actions achieve a beneficial result. From a utilitarian perspective, Qeenan’s actions were absolutely moral. While the decision did involve a number of intermediary bad acts, such as the fact that Costigan had to break the law or that Qeenan pressured Costigan to stay undercover even when he knew he was risking his life; the end results nevertheless are good. In other words, the means justified the end, especially when the end result was the death of mob boss Fank Costello and the shutting down of his gang.
Alternatively, a deontological ethics theory holds that a person’s actions are considered ethical if the they are right in and of themselves regardless of whether the consequences are good. In others words, the actions that produce the good consequences must also be good. From a deontological perspective Qeenan’s actions were unethical. While it is true that they did lead to the death of an unquestionably evil man and the end of a criminal problem in the community; the fact that if was achieved through lies, fraud, killing and the mental well-being of Costigan does not justify the results. This is especially true, when considering that there are less unethical ways to achieve the same results.
Another interesting ethical issue that our group thought was interesting was the issue of the relationship between police psychologist Madeline Maddin and two men, namely Costigan and police officer Collin Sullivan. For this issue, our group thought that the social contract theory was applicable.
The social contract theory holds that whether a person’s actions are ethical depends on the agreement that they have with the society or community that they live in. When applied to the case of Maddin, and it is clear that her actions are ethically questionable. First, it would seem that a psychologist’s professional ethics and responsibilities would prohibit her from having a relationship with one of her patients. However, while she might have seemed a little uncomfortable about starting the relationship with Costigan, she nevertheless decided to go ahead with it. Second, there are few if any cultures in the world that would think it is ethically alright to have multiple, ongoing romantic relationships. Here however, Maddin was romantically involved with two men, at the same time.
Our group found the most interesting ethical issue being the strict insistence of Costigan to remain undercover in the gang despite the fact that it was adversely affecting his mental as well as physical health, and deeply violated his personal values. Values that he hated in his father and that facilitated his decision to join the police force. Our group agreed that the analysis of this issue was best conducted with the virtue ethics theory.
Virtue ethics posits that a person’s actions are considered ethical if the person taking the action is ethical or virtuous themselves. In other words, an ethical person will act ethically, and the acts of an ethical person are ethical. Applying the virtue ethics theory to Costigan’s decision to stay undercover in the gang, and it is clear that he is ethical. As mentioned, there were so many reasons for Costigan to get out but he stays in because that is what an ethical person would do, namely be professional, complete the job despite the issues, fulfill the desires of those that are relying and paying you to do so.
Works Cited
The Departed. Dir. Martin Scorsese. Perf, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, and Martin Sheen. Warner Bros. Pictures, 2006. Film.
