I have chosen to write my paper on the movie "High Noon " starring Gary Cooper. This movie is timeless in its moral messages and can be relative to many different times in our country. Even though the content of my paper does not specifically address complacency per-se, I believe that a large part of the message brought to light by this movie is how insidious and dangerous this action or non-action can be on even everyday life.
Will Kane is a town marshal. It is his wedding day and his last day as a sheriff. He was about to leave town with his new bride to start a new life when some men come to town who tell him that a man he sent to prison some years ago has just been released and is arriving on the noon train. Kane and any of the townsfolk, who remember him, know that he is coming to town for one thing; to get Will. Will's friends tell him to leave town which he does but Will feeling that running away is not a solution returns and intends to face him. Will tries to find support from his friends but all of them do not want to help him or are too afraid and all that they tell him is to leave, even his wife feels the same way. Moreover, as the train comes closer, all the townsfolk and left to face the gunman alone have forsaken Will. However, in my opinion the movie is really about the staggering power of complacency.
In simplicity, Kant's theory of universal law asserts principally that when a man makes a decision he should think about his decision being applied to every situation and circumstance, such as a poor man stealing for food-what if all poor men stole for food. In contrast, Utilitarianism is the right action is one, which supplies the greatest amount of good over the greatest number of people.
The movie "High Noon" has interesting comparisons to the philosophies and views of Immanuel Kant and John Stuart Mill. It would be easy to analyze the lead character Kane as mirroring the philosophical views of Kant.