Source Code

I was really excited to see this movie for the first time! I must admit, I was confused for the majority of the movie (ie: Were they in Chicago? Or Afghanistan? Or somewhere else?). I did really love the movie’s new take on dealing with terrorism via time travel and identity switches. It was also a great follow-up to watching the Adjustment Bureau. In a nutshell, Jake Gyllenhaal plays that character of Officer Colter Stevens. In the beginning of the film, he wakes up in the body of an unknown man, and later discovers he's part of a mission to find the bomber of a train headed to Chicago. In an assignment unlike any he's ever known, he learns he's a part of the “Source Code”, which enables him to cross over into another man's body in the last 8 minutes of this man’s life. Naturally, as any good movie would have, Colter falls in love with a woman on the train and wishes to further pursue a life with her after these simulated 8 minutes have passed. 

This movie perfectly encapsulates all of the ideas of ethics we have previously discussed: virtue-based, duty-based, and consequentialist. Because of his job, Colter is facing duty-based ethics from the beginning of the film. However, he has desires beyond what his leaders are instructing him to do. By virtue, and consequence, he makes decisions to ultimately reach his goal. If Colter stuck directly to his orders, he would have not found the happiness he was seeking. Likewise, if he had only pursued the woman, the bomber would have never been discovered. Just as in life, we usually do not always stick to one method of decision making. There are several pulls from our ethics that enable us to finalize our decisions.

Katie