The Big Short is a 2015 American comedy-drama film directed and co-written by Adam McKay.

The Big Short is a 2015 American comedy-drama film directed and co-written by Adam McKay.

Short Writing Assignment #1

OBJECTIVES:

1. This writing assignment gives you the opportunity to:
   1. practice thinking about ethical issues, and how our ethical methodologies (in this case Utilitarianism) help us sort-through these issues (or fail us in addressing these issues).
   2. practice spotting issues of ethical importance in a descriptive way (in order to avoid opaqueness).
   3. practice using Utilitarianism to as a means of deciding whether a practice(s) is ethical.
   4. create solutions to ethical problems/concerns.
   5. better understand how ethical issues exist in the “real world.”
2. Review and utilize concepts learned in Chapters 1 & 2 from our textbook to review these concepts. Textbook used is “Ethics and Technology” by Herman T. Tavani

METHOD:

1. Pick and view one movie from the below-included list.
2. Become a “descriptive ethicist.” From your movie/documentary, make a list of each of the following: parties directly involved/affected; parties indirectly involved/affected; big issues; small issues; legal issues; personal issues; cultural norms; etc. (not every movie will have all or the same categories, so use this list as a guide. Remember this is not a movie synopsis.
3. Identify any conceptual muddles and/or policy vacuums.
4. Pick one of the ethical issues that you find in #2 and/or #3 (it’s probably easiest to try and pick the main theme from your movie, and even if more than one issue exists or is related to your issue, focus on only one issue).
5. Now become a normative ethicist. Using the ethical theory of Utilitarianism, decide whether the issue/behavior you have decided to discuss is “ethical” according to Utilitarianism. Explain your reasoning.
6. Conclude your paper with one solution to the ethical problem that you chose to discuss.

Questions to generate thoughts: Who/what is benefitting? Who is affected? How are they affected? How will this impact society? What are the biggest motivators here (e.g. law, architecture, social response, market pressures)? How will this impact the majority? Minority? Is this okay (why/why not)? What are the costs here? What are the benefits here? Is it okay to have “ethic free” activity (why/why not)? What tools/resources are in place to “fix this” right now? What tools/resources could be created to “fix this” in the future? Is this issue worth our time? Can cyberethics be used to make an impact here (with current technology and/or future technology)?

Requirements:

1. Lay-out the descriptive aspects of the issue that you selected;
2. Normatively evaluate your issue through the lens of Utilitarianism;
3. Use our discussions about: enlightened self-interests; characteristics of a “good moral system;” the best/most productive way/setting for creating important policies; etc;
4. Be two pages in length (no longer, no shorter)
5. Upload one copy of your paper to Canvas and bring one copy to class.

Note:

This is not a paper in which citations are needed/wanted. This is an opinion paper.

You may use whatever online research tools you wish to help you identify the ethical issues presented in your movie, however the paper/opinion(s) you write about must be your own work.

Use this format to organize the analysis part of your paper:

1. Identify a particular controversial practice as an ethical problem;
2. Describe and analyze the problem by clarifying concepts and examining the factual data associated with that problem; and
3. Apply moral theories and principles to reach a position about the particular moral issue. (Brey 2004)

Contact me with any questions! I know you will all do a great job!

Movies:

• The Big Short is a 2015 American comedy-drama film directed and co-written by Adam McKay. It is based on the non-fiction 2010 book of the same name by Michael Lewis about the financial crisis of 2007–2008, which was triggered by the United States housing bubble. The film stars Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling and Brad Pitt.
• Thank You for Smoking is a 2006 comedy-drama film written and directed by Jason Reitman and starring Aaron Eckhart, based on the 1994 satirical novel of the same name by Christopher Buckley. It follows the efforts of Big Tobacco’s chief spokesman, Nick Naylor, who lobbies on behalf of cigarettes using heavy spin tactics while also trying to remain a role model for his 12-year-old son. Maria Bello, Adam Brody, Sam Elliott, Katie Holmes, Rob Lowe, William H. Macy, J. K. Simmons and Robert Duvall appear in supporting roles.
• Concussion (2015) In Pittsburgh, accomplished pathologist Dr. Bennet Ormolu uncovers the truth about brain damage in football players who suffer repeated concussions in the course of normal play.
• Eye in The Sky (2015) Katherine Powell, a military officer in command of an operation to capture terrorists in Kenya, sees her mission escalate when a girl enters the kill zone triggering an international dispute over the implications of modern warfare.
• Batman v. Superman(2016) – Fearing that the actions of Superman are left unchecked, Batman takes on the Man of Steel, while the world wrestles with what kind of a hero it really needs.
• The Whistleblower (2010) – A drama based on the experiences of Kathryn Bolkovac, a Nebraska cop who served as a peacekeeper in post-war Bosnia and outed the U.N. for covering up a sex scandal.
• Breach – This 2007 thriller, based on a true story, chronicles how FBI agent Robert Hanssen(Chris Cooper) is exposed as a spy for the Soviet Union by Eric O’Neill (Ryan Phillippe), a young man whom he had mentored at the agency.
• Fair Game – Ripped from the headlines of the day, this Doug Limanfilm tells the true story of Valerie Plame (Naomi Watts), an undercover CIA agent who was “outed” by her own government after her husband, U.S. diplomat Joe Wilson (Sean Penn), publicly accused a presidential Administration of citing information that he had personally discredited as justification for the war in Iraq.
• The China Syndrome (1979) – In James Bridges haunting film, a nuclear power plant almost melts down during a visit by a television reporter (Jane Fonda) and cameraman (Michael Douglas), whose resulting footage was snuck out of the facility to be shown to experts. When the company that owns the billion-dollar facility and hopes to keep the incident quiet finds out about the breach, it begins to threaten and intimidate the reporter and cameraman.