Questions About The Film Return To Paradise
Would you return to face six years in prison to spare a friend’s life in a similar situation? What is your ethical rationale?
Relevant facts in this matter are that I am starting a family, and I have personal hopes and ambitions to pursue. Going to Malaysia to save a friend would mean betraying those commitments. Fear of death or fear of the unknown is also present, and my knowledge of what happens in prisons is reason enough for me to bend my decision considerably towards not going to save my friend. However, the experience also offers adventure in the sense that after going through the prison experience in a foreign country, for a few years, I will be a changed person, tougher and more prepared to explore the depths of the world further. It can mean placing one’s life on a whole another pedestal. Who knows writing about the experience would give an unexpected and unimaginable turn to my life.
The precise question here is, where is my life right now and how do I do justice with both my life and my conscience. Here comes the question of loyalty. If I weren’t loyal to a friend when life throws a challenge like this, I might get scared to stand up at any and all matters concerning my personal relations. The damage to the conscience and instinct might work as a termite against the moral authority I have over my own life. The questions of feeling victimized and hatred of an unjust legal system become unimportant at this juncture. I would go to save my friend despite all troubles and dangers imminent.
After making the decision of going back, one feels right in the spirit. If one is scared of the physical/mental hardships in life then he/she does not deserve to know much about life, does not deserve to live much life, and I for one am not that person. As for the ones dependent on me, I have worked hard to make them independent within themselves and the bonds that connect us are of love and not of dependency. Love will survive separation and time and separation will only strengthen the connection.
What are the ethical considerations of the journalist in deciding whether or not to publish the story, and what should her conclusion be?
As a journalist, I am responsible towards my profession. I am also responsible towards the firm that employs me. The thoughts of the responsibility of journalism as a profession towards the world they live in are in conflict with the commitment towards the profession, here. The reason for letting go of a story, particularly a hot story, must be very strong. In the case of this prisoner in Malaysia, it is not. Research about the attitude of the Malaysian government regarding issues of international convictions and drug policy can indicate how the publication of the news article can affect the hearing and sentencing of the character Lewis.
Investigation will reveal that this case is particularly sensitive to media publications. The question now is that someone will publish the news, and there is no guarantee if that will happen before the hearing or after it. One can delay, but it is stupid to give up on the story completely. If I start relinquishing hard work in this manner, the profession of journalism will slip away from my hands. One story will slip through my hands and in a few weeks I will be mulling over the ethical ramifications of my works while others will publish the same stories. The repercussions of a published article can be infinitely meaningful, as in the case of the movie, or be thoroughly meaningless as is not infrequent. Published articles in media, once in a blue moon, do achieve a tangible, practical result, but introspective reservation is not journalism. It is not art or literature. The value and vitality of a news reside in its freshness.
What happens with the character Lewis is unfortunate. But journalistic practices cannot be based on the whims of a judge in a third world legal system. With some delay, I will publish the news and will make sure that I print the news the first. The purpose of the profession of journalism is to let people know what happens in the world and not hide it.
References:
Ruben, Joseph. (Director). Return to Paradise. DVD. Polygram Filmed Entertainment, 1998.
