Justice in movie Crash Essay -- Philosophy Analysis Crash Film Movie

Justice in movie Crash In the movie Crash, directed by Paul Haggis, John Stuart Mill's theories on Social Justice and Utility are depicted within the context of the 20th century. Haggis' representation of a multicultural society is one built on racism and inequality, which limits the social justice people can acquire. In this film prejudice and stereotyping are prevalent when discussing legal rights and moral rights. The social situation has profound impacts on the choices people make. This society's foundation is based on injustice, although in the end, justice is served through the concept of `justice of desert'. Social Justice prevails in society where legal laws are practiced and respected. It is considered unjust to: "deprive anyone of his [or her] personal liberty, his [or her] property, or any other thing which belongs to him [or her] by law" (Social Justice and Utility, pg. 168). In this movie there is an inconsistent application of legal laws, which is especially applicable to those individuals considered `foreign' or `immigrant'. The storeowner (no character name; played by Howard Fong) who immigrated to America has had experiences of racism, which made him distrust others; this shows through his interactions with people. The storeowner's legal laws were violated when he wanted to purchase a gun for his family store, in order to have protection against future robbers. Yet, he was prohibited from doing so, based his race and heavy accent. The owner of the gun store made degrading comments about his citizenship and his ability to speak English, and questioned his legal right to buy a gun. The storeowner obviously had been subjected to this type of hostility before, began quarrelling with the man in a d... ...just world. Now he could be charged with attempted murder and he has to deal with the fact that he almost shot a little girl. The charges would be laid by Daniel strengthening Mills theory, "evil from those to whom he has does or has done evil" (Social Justice and Utility, pg169). Justice has been achieved through justice of desert. This demonstrates to us that no matter how much your legal or moral laws are violated, what matters is how you as an individual react to the situation, justly or unjustly. This movie is centered around the notion that if you are a person of ethnic background, that alone is reason for others to forsake your rights, although in the long run justice will prevail Bibliography John Stuart Mill, "Social Justice and Utility" as cited in Solomon and Murphy, What is Justice?, pages 166- 169. Crash (2005) directed by Paul Haggis