Hacksaw Ridge, directed by Mel Gibson, is a film that takes place during World War II.
Specifically during “The Battle of Okinawa” at the location of the infamous “Hacksaw Ridge.” The film focuses on Desmond Doss, who decided to enlist in the Army as a “conscientious objector” during wartime. This caused a lot of issues for him during his time at basic training , and right before being sent to his unit . Because he didn’t have a rifle qualification on record and refused to pick up a rifle they called it “insubordination”, and they ended up putting him in jail awaiting his trial. This brought up the ethical dilemma of Doss being a “conscientious objector” in terms of carrying a rifle. It was not ethical to treat Doss differently for his refusal to carry a rifle or his religious beliefs .
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Specifically, the 6th commandment “thou shall not kill.” This is a religious belief that is now being infringed upon by the military . Once Doss’s Commanding Officer found out he did not want to carry a rifle, they tried to “Section 8” him out of the military for mental illness. His commander not only thought it was crazy for a man to want to go into the hellfire of battle with no weapon but was also concerned for his other troops. He was concerned with how they would see it , and for their lives in the heat of battle. Yes, the commander is in his right mind to have these thoughts in the protection of his troops, but is it ethical to have him kicked out of the army and arrested? Is it ethical to treat Doss differently because of his religious views? Not only was Doss beaten by his fellow soldiers, but he was treated more harshly by the people in charge of him. They did this in an effort to get him to quit if they couldn’t get him kicked
Abrams was a case under the repressive Espionage and Sedition Acts passed during World War I, the most outrageously unconstitutional violations of our civil liberties since the 1798 Alien and Sedition Acts. The 1917-18 laws prohibited anything — including speech — that criticized the government, brought it into disrepute, and supposedly interfered with our war effort. The Supreme Court consistently upheld this legislation.
If any soldiers under him did not obey his order, being a dictator type leader that despised rebellion, it would only natural that most people think that the only solution for disobedience was dead. Although the fact sounded very convincing, it was also a false one. The soldiers from Reserved Battalion 101 and other soldiers from different battalions did not only had the choice to kill or not to kill, they did not get punish. In the book, Browning said that “ no defense attorney or defendant in any of the hundreds of postwar trials has been able to document a single case [about]...refusal to obey an order to kill unarmed civilians resulted in the allegedly inevitable dire punishment” (170). There were not any types of punishments to any soldiers in the first place.
When you work in the Army, you do not have much of a choice when you are given an order, which makes it hard to define what actions from troops in the Army are the result of just following orders and what actions are ultimately their willful decision. In the book Gentlehands by M.E. Kerr, we can judge whether we believe Frank Trenker, also known as Gentlehands, should face justice for his actions as an SS Nazi soldier or if he should be left alone in peace. Mr. Trenker, like almost all Nazi soldiers at the time, killed millions of innocent people. He also lied on a legal document upon entrance to America. What sets his case apart is that he committed acts that were beyond his orders, such as tormenting his prisoners.
Jeff McMahan probes the morally-provocative question, “is morally permissible for an individual to join the armed forces if he will thereby become an “unjust combatant?” I will present two arguments to debate this question, epistemic justification and pacifism. I will implore the use of Reserve Police Battalion 101 as a historical example to support my conclusion that epistemic justification, or the moral permissibility for a man to join the armed forces in defense of an unjust cause, as the stronger of the two arguments. Before progressing any further, it is imperative to have a foundational understanding of “just combatants” and “unjust combatants,” as McMahan understands theses terms.
The laws in the military were changed many times through the years by the military, leading people to disagree with new regulations. In a way, the government manipulated the US military and molded
He killed those people because he had authorization to kill them. For him to have authorization they had to be a military age male, (18-25) had to have a weapon and were making a movement or action to try and kill the troops he was overwatching. He had a personal thought on it too. He thought that the people he killed were truly bad. "
The three movies – Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, and The Green Berets – are all movies based on the same historical event – the Vietnam war and US’s involvement in it. Yet, they all presented us with different and narrative point of view and authority figures in order to paint their individual values. The movies’ most obvious differences lie within the choice of their narrative point of view. The Green Beret, the earliest one, was directed by John Wayne and he also starred in the leading role. Wayne’s authority and influence in the 1960s was similar to the influence of Tom Hanks in the 21st Century.
Refusing or not or not doing an order precisely as given indicates an unwillingness to compromise for the general good of the unit shows self centered decisions and selfishly motivated that a successful military member should not have. Every order in any circumstance is important, so long as it’s not unlawful, and has
In comparison, Lt. William Calley maintained his actions within My Lai were entirely in response to superior orders and did not endure any remorse by carrying out directed orders (Kelman& Hamilton 136-137). As to why Dawson and Downey instinctively followed an unethical command to inflict pain on Pfc. Santiago, Kelman and Hamilton convey that the structure that authority contributes to the situation effects the reactions to the explicit or implicit orders (Kelman& Hamilton 140).The Uniform Code of Military Justice, UCMJ, might refute Kelman and Hamilton by providing that military personnel must follow the lawful orders of his superior officer; in addition, it includes they have the obligation to disobey unlawful orders when in direct violation of the UCMJ ("A Duty to Disobey..."). If Dawson and Downey had the right to follow code and disobey the unlawful order of authorizing Santiago with a Code Red, then why would they follow through with the command? Ian Parker provides when there is a slight channel for disobedience, individuals tend to be more vulnerable to fascism and react in a destructive manner.
In the movie, Hacksaw Ridge, the medic, Desmond Doss, is shown to be very confident. In one scene he is talking about a girl and is very confident saying he would get her, and had no doubts at all. Being confident is important, because it helps you stand up for what you believe in and you won 't back down as easily. I admired how much the medic stands up for himself and didn 't let anybody get to his head, and how confident he was and didn 't let anybody ever stomp all over him. The medic, was the only one to not pick up a rifle in the beginning of the movie, he didn 't let that stop him from standing up for what he believed in, even if others didn 't agree.
In the eyes of the law, this man is guilty and should be punished. However, is it right for that man to forget about his own conscience and fight in a war he does not see as a just one? Is it right to make him choose between forsaking his wows to the country and his moral responsibility to his conscience? It is my strong belief that even nowadays there are still some unjust laws.
Certainly, this statement is notorious for demonstrating the immoral nature of the human conventions of war. Not only does this questionable military law degrade humanity in a way such that it erases the higher quality of behavior that humans are assumed to possess, it also disregards human compassion as it implies that the objective of the war is far more important than human lives. In addition to degrading humanity, the conventions of war also destroy human civilization. Asides from the rules of warfare, war itself is a human construct which opposes the civilization
Movie Report: Hacksaw Ridge The movie Hacksaw Ridge takes place during World War II on the island of Okinawa against the Japanese. The bombing of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in 1941 while under Franklin Roosevelt 's presidency by the Japanese triggered America’s involvement in World War II. Hacksaw Ridge is a historically accurate movie pertaining to the real life events of what went on between the characters, the settings and events during World War II at Hacksaw Ridge in Okinawa. Desmond Doss, who is the main character, lived with his family in Virginia: Tom Doss, his father, Bertha Doss his mother, and Harnold Doss, his brother.
In the movie Crimson Tide, we look to the question ethical decisions, and what someone would do when thrown into a situation that made them question themselves, and who they serve for. In this example, when serving in the United States Military, once a solider is given orders, that solider must follow the orders out and not to question them. The trust between the solider and the higher command giving orders is almost based on blind faith. The solider relies on the higher commands decision of protecting democracy, even if someone, or a lot of people are killed. Is it an ethical decision to follow a commander’s order even if it means killing mass numbers of innocent civilians?
“Hacksaw Ridge”: the Film Review Hacksaw Ridge is a war drama based on documentary materials; it was directed by Mel Gibson and first demonstrated in 2016. The film tells story of Desmond Doss, a man with difficult fate. The character does not want to interact with weapons because of his faith and negative previous family experience, like an assault on his brother with a brick or an attempted assassination of own father, which hit his wife, Desmond’s mother. But Doss decided to join the army despite of his believes; the main part of plot happened in Japan in 1945. His refusal of weapons’ usage created contentious relationship with officers and fellow soldier; Doss even fell for tribunal, but was saved by his father, who participated in the Great War.