Fail Safe (1964) Case study

1. Highlight a scene or a series of scenes that substantially shows an ethical dilemma you
wish to discuss.

The movie starts with the main character dreaming about the matador killing the bull. When he
woke up, he talked to his wife about his dream and telling her he wants to see who is the
matador. As the movie progress, there are a lot of ethical dilemmas that I have seen. Example of
this is when the professor of political science starts talking about willing of sacrificing a million
of Americans for their culture to survive and the other one answers him and goes like this “is it
worth living in that culture/society where a million of civilians died?”. The professor responded
and he answered yes, he can live in that society and every one stopped talking. There was also
same scenario where the President was in the same dilemma where he needed to choose whether
he should kill their own pilot or let it proceed the command. Also, in the last scene the President
was also in a very difficult decision where he would bomb New York, his own city and people to
compensate for their error of bombing Moscow or start nuclear war where the whole world will
be destroyed. These are the scenes that I would like to discuss because they all fall in the same
dilemma called Utilitarianism where a person has to decide for the greater good or choosing the
greater outcome or where the actions justify the means.

2. Make sense of it using your chosen ethical theory or principle.

As what I have said in the first question, I choose Utilitarian ethics because most of the notable
scenes in the film for me always fall in the dilemma of the said ethical principle. In the first
scene that I have highlighted where the professor is willing to sacrifice millions of Americans for
their culture, in utilitarian ethics, if the outcome is beneficial then it is the right thing to do. I
think, keeping American culture is the better outcome for the professor because he said, it is
better than having Russian culture. If we look at our history, we all know everything went down
for the USSR. For me, the professor here is correct and utilitarian ethics was also highlighted
especially on how he argues with other people during that scene. The second scene and the last
scene that I highlighted was when the President has to decide whether he should kill their pilot or
not and bomb their own city, New York or start an all-out nuclear war with Russia. These two

GAIIN, Charles Daniel R. January 12, 2023

B224 ETHNO1A
scenes for me really showcase the utilitarian ethics. Those two scenes are also best example of
utilitarianism.

The President and his military advisors must weigh the potential loss of life if they do nothing
versus the potential loss of life if they take action. Utilitarian ethics suggests that the best course
of action is the one that results in the greatest overall happiness or pleasure, and the least amount
of harm or suffering. In the film the President decided a very hard decision which is sacrificing a
small number of lives in order to prevent an all-out nuclear war that would result in even more
deaths. In the film, he decided to kill their own pilots which have failed and the last scene he
decided to bomb New York and sacrifice their own people so that the nuclear war will be
prevented which we all know if an all-out nuclear war happens, it will be the end of humanity.
The President’s decision is a great example of Utilitarianism because he is trying to minimize the
damage and overall harm; for the greater good. Fail Safe really depicts how hard it is to decide if
the harm is so great in utilitarian perspective. It raises the question whether is it ethically right to
sacrifice millions of lives for billions?

GAIIN, Charles Daniel R. January 12, 2023

B224 ETHNO1A