Examples Of Ethical Dilemmas In The Movie Platoon

Cracked Ethical Compass The movie Platoon is a film, written by a Vietnam Veteran, following an American Infantry platoon through their time in Vietnam. The movie specifically focuses in on a new recruit named Taylor. He narrates as the story focuses in on the two most senior Non-Commissioned Officers on his patrol Sergeant Elias and Sergeant Barnes. These two elements of the movie create an ethical dilemma that leads to a degradation in the platoon’s ability to operate effectively and a large number of casualties. While the platoon is on patrol, three men are killed by hidden explosives that they accidentally trigger. Shortly after, a nearby village is discovered to be hiding a large cache of weapons and ammunitions. Emotional tension is high, with the loss of men still fresh, and this spills into very violent interrogation methods. Most of the men use the violence to cope with the loss of the three men, but some, especially Taylor, find the actions appalling. The momentum builds and it apexes when Sergeant Barnes is interrogating an uncooperative and shoots his wife to get the man to admit that the village was supporting the North Vietnamese Army. This is the first ethical dilemma in the movie.

This can be seen through the basic principle of valuing human life. Taylor had difficulty expressing to his platoon that these people were still humans and should be treated as such, but it is seen that Sergeant Barnes did not see this as he shot a woman who was not threatening him in any way. It can also be interpreted through the response of Sergeant Elias who physically fought Sergeant Barnes once he had realized what had happened. Some could argue that the emotional stress and grief could be valid justification for the actions seen, but there is no ethical justification for murdering an innocent civilian who is causing no threat to the Sergeant’s