24 - the moral implications of the best show on TV
CAUTION: This post contains a few spoilers from seasons 1 and 3. Consider yourself warned.
I am obsessed with the TV show 24. It's absolutely amazing. I got my parent's hooked on it, I got my sister and her friends hooked on it, I got Doug Congdon hooked on it, and I got my roommate hooked on it so bad that he bought all 3 seasons after only having seen the last five episodes of season two.
But 24 is more than just a TV show; it makes you think. After my parents and I finished Season 3, we talked about what the show is and what it does on a deeper level than entertainment. 24 looks at impossible moral situations and shows the effects of operating under a mindset of "the ends justify the means." At first we thought that it advocated that view only, but now I realize that the show portrays both when that mindset is right/acceptable/justifiable and when it's not. Jack Bauer and CTU represent the justifiable, Sherry Palmer the latter. Both Jack and Sherry make rationalizations and justifications for their actions. Jack's are consistently spun positively, while Sherry's are consistently spun negatively. Jack is heroic and courageous; Sherry is a snake.
What's the difference between them? motive? moral character? the overall big picture? law enforcement vs personal politics? Or was this dichotomy even in the writers' minds, and just happened to show up through good story-telling techniques?
Intentional or not, consciously written-in or not, morality obviously plays a central role in 24. Yet it seems to be a purely utilitarian view of morality, divorced from any mention of God. The only time I remember a (positive) invocation of God's name in the show is when Jack Bauer says, "May God forgive me," right before he kills [edited out to avoid an explicit spoiler] a significant character. The entire show is built around impossible situations where somehow, miraculously, somebody pulls through or makes a mistake or a crucial discovery and the inevitable, looming disaster that's the main threat of the show is put off for yet another nail-biting hour. In real life, God's intervention would be written all over situations like these. The only place you find more exciting stories than 24 is in the Bible. (Jack Bauer still hasn't driven a tent stake through anyone's head yet...)
Of course, the show pays some lip service to the anti- "do what you have to do for the greater good" mindset: Tony Almeda is arrested for putting his wife's life over national security interests, Jack Bauer is fired for his consistency in rule-breaking and erratic behavior--despite his results (although he is brought back for season 4). Still, the overwhelming message is pro-Jack Bauerism** technique.
[**new phrase coined by me: "(Jack) Bauerism"]
So what to do with all this? Obviously, the show makes a very strong argument for this moral utilitarianism. But I would counter-argue that without God there's no reason to hold innocent life in such high regard (the millions of potential casualties from a nuke or a virus). Why go to virtually any lengths to stop the slaughter of a city unless you acknowledge the fundamental value of life? Sure, there's a place for utilitarian arguments, but the very concept itself presupposes a hierarchy or importance and inherent value in things, which can only lead back to God.
24 is a well-done, albeit incomplete, discussion of one facet of moral decision-making. Obviously, we don't face the same kind of decisions as Jack Bauer/CTU/David Palmer, but we still make daily moral decisions. I already know how emotionally charging the moral philosophy and vigilanteism of 24 is--when my house got pranked with firecrackers at 2 am last week, my dad and I jumped into the car and cruised around with hearts pumping until we found--and proceeded to tail--the unknown culprits around the neighborhood. We were in 24 mode, ready to confront our attackers. What could/would we have done? I had no idea; "but who cares? We'll figure out something!!!" Such was my mindset. How easily I was pulled into it.
There is so much more to morality than utilitarianism! Aren't we called to love people regardless of the cost? Is utilitarian thought sometimes a justification to do what we want? "I'm choosing not to stop and buy this homeless man a meal because I'm going to use my 5 dollar bill to tithe on Sunday, which will help an entire body of people instead of just one man." That's now how it's supposed to work...
So, let's take the morality of 24 with a grain of salt, recognizing that there's a lot more out there. In the meantime, enjoy a ridiculously amazing show...
Other Jack Bauer/24-related posts:
The Moral Implications of "24" revisited
Republican Conspiracy Theories on "24"--almost
I am obsessed with the TV show 24. It's absolutely amazing. I got my parent's hooked on it, I got my sister and her friends hooked on it, I got Doug Congdon hooked on it, and I got my roommate hooked on it so bad that he bought all 3 seasons after only having seen the last five episodes of season two.
But 24 is more than just a TV show; it makes you think. After my parents and I finished Season 3, we talked about what the show is and what it does on a deeper level than entertainment. 24 looks at impossible moral situations and shows the effects of operating under a mindset of "the ends justify the means." At first we thought that it advocated that view only, but now I realize that the show portrays both when that mindset is right/acceptable/justifiable and when it's not. Jack Bauer and CTU represent the justifiable, Sherry Palmer the latter. Both Jack and Sherry make rationalizations and justifications for their actions. Jack's are consistently spun positively, while Sherry's are consistently spun negatively. Jack is heroic and courageous; Sherry is a snake.
What's the difference between them? motive? moral character? the overall big picture? law enforcement vs personal politics? Or was this dichotomy even in the writers' minds, and just happened to show up through good story-telling techniques?
Intentional or not, consciously written-in or not, morality obviously plays a central role in 24. Yet it seems to be a purely utilitarian view of morality, divorced from any mention of God. The only time I remember a (positive) invocation of God's name in the show is when Jack Bauer says, "May God forgive me," right before he kills [edited out to avoid an explicit spoiler] a significant character. The entire show is built around impossible situations where somehow, miraculously, somebody pulls through or makes a mistake or a crucial discovery and the inevitable, looming disaster that's the main threat of the show is put off for yet another nail-biting hour. In real life, God's intervention would be written all over situations like these. The only place you find more exciting stories than 24 is in the Bible. (Jack Bauer still hasn't driven a tent stake through anyone's head yet...)
Of course, the show pays some lip service to the anti- "do what you have to do for the greater good" mindset: Tony Almeda is arrested for putting his wife's life over national security interests, Jack Bauer is fired for his consistency in rule-breaking and erratic behavior--despite his results (although he is brought back for season 4). Still, the overwhelming message is pro-Jack Bauerism** technique.
[**new phrase coined by me: "(Jack) Bauerism"]
So what to do with all this? Obviously, the show makes a very strong argument for this moral utilitarianism. But I would counter-argue that without God there's no reason to hold innocent life in such high regard (the millions of potential casualties from a nuke or a virus). Why go to virtually any lengths to stop the slaughter of a city unless you acknowledge the fundamental value of life? Sure, there's a place for utilitarian arguments, but the very concept itself presupposes a hierarchy or importance and inherent value in things, which can only lead back to God.
24 is a well-done, albeit incomplete, discussion of one facet of moral decision-making. Obviously, we don't face the same kind of decisions as Jack Bauer/CTU/David Palmer, but we still make daily moral decisions. I already know how emotionally charging the moral philosophy and vigilanteism of 24 is--when my house got pranked with firecrackers at 2 am last week, my dad and I jumped into the car and cruised around with hearts pumping until we found--and proceeded to tail--the unknown culprits around the neighborhood. We were in 24 mode, ready to confront our attackers. What could/would we have done? I had no idea; "but who cares? We'll figure out something!!!" Such was my mindset. How easily I was pulled into it.
There is so much more to morality than utilitarianism! Aren't we called to love people regardless of the cost? Is utilitarian thought sometimes a justification to do what we want? "I'm choosing not to stop and buy this homeless man a meal because I'm going to use my 5 dollar bill to tithe on Sunday, which will help an entire body of people instead of just one man." That's now how it's supposed to work...
So, let's take the morality of 24 with a grain of salt, recognizing that there's a lot more out there. In the meantime, enjoy a ridiculously amazing show...
Other Jack Bauer/24-related posts:
The Moral Implications of "24" revisited
Republican Conspiracy Theories on "24"--almost
posted by Seth at 4:16 PM
1 Comments:
i'm madly inlove with Keifer Sutherland!!! and 24 has a lot to do about it...
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