Philosophy in Polanski's "Chinatown"

Paper Summary:

This paper examines "Chinatown", a film that combines elements of environmentalism into the story that it tells. It looks at how the films beginning may be classified as a classic film noir, but as the film progresses the film speaks to humanity's responsibility to the environment, as well as different moral and ethical philosophies and how they relate to the environmental movement. It discusses such themes as personal ethics and environmental justice as well as the two moral theories at play in the story, that of Mill's and Bentham's Utilitarianism and that of Immanuel Kant's Categorical Imperative.

From the Paper:

"There are several features about Utilitarianism that are important, for the sake of the movie, and otherwise. One of these is that actions, in and of themselves, have no moral value. The problem is then, that the actions of Noah Cross and his cohort are not in and of themselves moral or immoral. At the same time, the actions of Gittes are, in and of themselves, neither immoral or moral either. In each case, what is important is the end-result. According to Utilitarian principles, the only aspect of the state of the world that has any moral significance is the happiness or misery of people. All people are, ethically speaking, always equal, in other words, one person's happiness is worth as much anyone else's happiness."

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