Last year, the film adaptation of Watchmen opened in theaters and left audiences with a confusing ending. While none of the characters were presented as inherently evil, some were clearly more unlikable than others. Ozymandias, for example, has a constant smirk by the end with high contrast lighting compared to the other heroes, who have to fight hard for their cause (which is typically a sign of a protagonist). In addition, Ozymandias stands in the way of the more likable heroes' cause, and is much richer than them, which suggest antagonism.
But Ozymandias wins. And not only does he win, but a likable hero (Dr. Manhattan) backs him up. As a result, a very likable character (Rorschach) dies, and at the falling action, other likable characters are shown content, albeit wary and on-edge.
It seems at first that the writers were not sure themselves what they wanted the ending to be. But a deeper analysis of the film may point out a more general message: ethics are harder than they seem.
Since the film does not clearly support either of the options it presents over the other, it calls for discussion among the audience on what the "right" thing to do was, or what they would have done in that situation.
Deontological Approach
Roschach makes it clear that he is not compromising. The rules he operates by are that killing is never ethically correct, even to save the lives of others, lying to the public is wrong, and possibly that humans are capable of not getting into a nuclear war. Because his ethical rules are unbending and constant, Rorschach can be described as deontological.
Utilitarian Approach
Ozymandias, on the other hand, follows the belief that the greatest amount of good done to the greatest amount of people is the right way to go, even if it involves killing and/or lying (this belief is called utilitarianism). He also believes that humans are not capable of not getting into a nuclear war. In his eyes, World War III will happen, and billions will be killed as a result.
Their conflict can be summed up in the climactic argument between Rorschach and Ozymandias, where Ozymandias reveals, "In order to save the world, I had to trick it, with the greatest practical joke in human history." "Killing millions," interrupts Rorschach, to which Ozymandias replies, "to save billions."
Both characters (including Dr. Manhattan, on Ozymandias' side) are so committed to what they believe is right for humanity that they will fight even their friends, even in the face of death (Rorschach) or brutal killing (Dr. Manhattan and Ozymandias).
Watchmen did a great service to the philosophy of ethics by putting it in an enticing context that did justice to the strengths and difficulties of two major theories. As a result, many audience members who were not looking for such philosophical challenges were confused and annoyed, but fans of ethics loved it.
Elisabeth Sharber - Elisabeth Sharber is a Messiah College graduate with a BA in English, and minors in politics and psychology. She is currently job ...
