Ethical Situation In The Movie John Q.

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The movie I chose to write my review about is John Q. This film was released in 2002 and written by James Kearns and directed by Nick Cassavetes. My paper will discuss the plot of the movie, the ethical dilemma involved in the film and my thoughts on the actions of the protagonist in the film John Q. The film stars Denzel Washington who portrays John Q Archibald, a man who is forced to make a life or death decision involving his ten-year old son. While watching their son Michael play baseball one afternoon, John and Denise Archibald observe Michael collapse on the field from heart failure. Shortly after arriving at the hospital the Archibald’s are approached by Dr. Raymond Turner. Dr. Turner informs John and his wife Denise that their son’s only hope of survival is with a heart transplant. Unfortunately, John Q and his wife Denise find out that their insurance will not cover their son’s heart transplant. When the director and owner of the hospital Rebecca Payne informs the Archibald’s that their son would be released due to unpaid medical bills and inadequate insurance, John becomes so emotional and decides to lock himself in the hospital’s emergency room until his son’s name is placed on the donor recipient list. The illness of a child can truly be an emotionally draining situation for a parent. At one point, John is so distraught over his son’s condition he considers committing suicide so Michael could live. I believe that John Q truly felt he was presented with a situation in which he had to make sacrifices for the sake of a greater good. In this case the group of people being held hostage including himself were the sacrifices, and the greater good was doing what was necessary to save his son’s life. I feel that emotions took over John and he made a radical decision without thinking about the consequences of his actions. I do not feel that John
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