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An essay on the movie daddy...

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The Green Mile Socrates states that death is either a state of nothingness or a migration of the soul and that both are good outcomes. Socrates conclusion is that we have a great reason to hope that death is good. But during the film ‘The Green Mile’ it is quite the opposite. Every inmate’s death is terrifying, not just because of the method of execution but because they are terrified of death, of the unknown. Every single inmate breaks. Toot-Toot cracks a lot of jokes before the execution, but the humor rapidly fades away when he grasps reality and has to face death. Or Arlen Bitterbuck who for most of the film shows no emotion and is usually a serious character, bursts into desperation and panic when it is his turn to sit on the chair. Contrast is shown by how death is conceptualized between Socrates ideas and ‘The Green Mile’. Consequentialism refers to the ideas of how right and wrong is based on consequences and or outcome and not on the intention or motives. Paul Edgecomb did everything morally correct, yet he ends up seemingly cursed at the end of the film. He performed the executions as he was entrusted to, he treated the inmates with dignity and respect, and as far as we know he also treated his wife well. He also sought to heal the Warden’s wife and returned John Coffey (which was Paul’s duty) back to his cell after he had performed the miracle. But at the end of the movie, Paul feels cursed as he sees everyone pass away around him while he continues to live. Paul feels guilty for going through with the execution of John Coffey. What Paul did was wrong, and that is evidenced by his curse, at least in relation to consequentialism. Deontological Theory refers to not using people as a mere means to an end. In the film ‘The Green Mile’, Paul Edgecomb and his crew decide to help break out John Coffey so he can heal the Warden’s wife, Melinda Moores, just to return John Coffey back to his awaiting doom. Paul Edgecomb used John Coffey for his mysterious healing powers and didn’t really consider the wellbeing of John. Every time John Coffey would use his powers, he would be inflicted with pain and become sick. Paul vaguely knew about the drawbacks and pain that John would feel whenever he would use his powers. Paul decided to go though with it anyways because the Warden’s wife had tried everything before, but she kept getting weaker and weaker. Even the Warden had pretty much given up on the idea of his wife getting better. Paul had seen John’s miracles and believed that John could heal the wife. Does the end justify the mean of using John for his powers, just to bring him back to the slaughterhouse? Utilitarianism focuses on consequences like pleasure and pain and how to juggle the two so that you can maximize happiness with the societal majority. utilitarianism is present when Paul Edgecomb maximizes his own 1

happiness by helping to heal the Warden’s wife Melinda Moores, while at the same time risking the life, security, and well-being of John Coffey just because he prioritized the Warden’s wife more than John Coffey’s. And it wasn’t just Paul that thought this, it was the other guards as well, they worked towards the common goal of helping the Warden’s wife, even though they knew it was wrong to break John Coffey out. The guard’s actions were in line with utilitarianism as the majority of them sought the greater good through healing the Warden’s wife. Situationist Psychology is the theory that changes in human behavior are factors of the situation rather than internal factors. In the Stanford Prison Experiment, conducted by Philip Zimbardo, volunteer college students were randomly assigned to be either “guards” or “prisoners” in a mock prison. The students quickly adapted into their roles, guards and prisoners. The experiment showed that actions were a product of environment. Similarly, when Percy Wetmore gains the power, he abuses it immediately. He constantly disrespects both his fellow guards and harasses the inmates. This all culminates into him committing the act of inhuman execution of not soaking the sponge for Eduard Delacroix. In which we can see his abuse of power relating back to the situationist psychology.

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