Ethics in Film: Wall Street and Michael Clayton Analyzed
This paper examines two films — Wall Street (1987) and Michael Clayton — through the lens of applied ethics, drawing on utilitarian and Kantian moral frameworks as outlined in Boatright's Ethics and the Conduct of Business. The analysis identifies the central ethical issues depicted in each film, including corporate greed, insider trading, legal corruption, and professional misconduct, and connects these issues to competing ethical theories. The paper argues that both films reflect real-world organizational failures rooted in the prioritization of personal gain over moral law and societal welfare.
- Introduction: Film and ethics reflect real organizational behavior
- Wall Street (1987): Plot and Ethical Issues: Greed, insider trading, and moral disregard
- Wall Street and Utilitarian Ethics: Personal gain justified through utilitarian reasoning
- Michael Clayton: Plot and Ethical Issues: Legal corruption and professional misconduct depicted
- Michael Clayton and Kantian Ethics: Defying moral law yields no genuine good
- Conclusion: Both films expose ethics failures in organizations
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper pairs each film with a distinct ethical framework — utilitarianism for Wall Street and Kantian theory for Michael Clayton — creating a clear and parallel analytical structure.
- It grounds its ethical analysis in a cited academic source (Boatright), lending scholarly credibility to what could otherwise be a purely descriptive film summary.
- The paper moves efficiently from plot summary to ethical identification to theoretical application, keeping each film's treatment concise and self-contained.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates applied ethical analysis: taking a real-world scenario (here, a fictional but realistic film narrative) and systematically evaluating it using formal ethical frameworks. This technique requires the writer to first identify morally relevant behaviors, then match those behaviors to a theoretical lens, and finally explain what the theory reveals or condemns about those behaviors — a standard method in business ethics coursework.
Structure breakdown
The paper is organized into two parallel film analyses, each containing three subsections: plot summary, ethical issues, and connection to ethical theory. An introduction frames the broader argument that film reflects real organizational ethics, and a shared reference list closes the paper. This parallel structure makes the comparative logic transparent and easy to follow at the undergraduate level.
Introduction
The daily operations of organizations across the globe are shaped and directed by the ethical decisions they make. The ethical approach an organization adopts as part of its culture will ultimately determine its performance and long-term stability. Business ethics has long been a lens through which society evaluates corporate behavior, and art has always helped imitate real life. Films, in particular, often depict the actual workings of corporations — including those hailed as pillars of the economy — and in doing so teach audiences lessons they might never otherwise encounter. This paper takes a close look at two films, Wall Street (1987) and Michael Clayton, and examines the association between these films and established ethical theories.
Reference
Boatright, J. R. (2012). Ethics and the Conduct of Business (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc.
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