Paper on hotel rwanda - Essay Example

Two peoples made up the greater portion of the population, the Hutus and the Tutsis. During the European rule the Tutsis were the privilege class, the Hutu were not. However, after the European influence departed, the region erupted in civil unrest. For 30 years the issues between the Tutsis and the Hutu escalated culminating in the Tutsi Massacres in 1994; approximately 1 million Tutsi and neutral Hutus were killed in only 100 days. A counter-offensive began that same year and a fragile government organization was managed in 1996.

It might be hard to determine what is right and wrong in times like these. This horrible period of time is detailed in the film “Hotel Rwanda,” and that Paul Rosesabogina, the main character in the film, must survive. Paul works in the hotel where he is able to gain favor with influential guests and public figures. He is a Hutu, but he is not involved in the hate crimes being committed in the streets, his wife, Tatiana, is, in fact, Tutsi. As the violence gets worse he begins taking in more and more refugees into the high class hotel, in hopes of protecting them and his family from the society crumbling around him and the violence right outside their doors.

He wants the American Military to intervene, they will not. He wants the United Nations to step up; they were not quick to become involved. At one point he even attempts to blackmail the Hutu General when he cannot bribe him. In the end, Paul, his family, and the refuges find safety after crossing a Tutsi border.(Hotel Rwanda) In a time when ethics and morality may seem lost and ones internal compass might spin out of control given all of the factors present in the film, assigning a philosophical school of thought to Paul’s actions in Hotel Rwanda, given the only option between Utilitarianism and Deontology, is an interesting task.

In order to approach that question it is important to clarify these two ethical perspectives. Utilitarianism, essentially, bases decision making on whatever is best for the majority group that causes the least amount of harm, which creates the means to universal happiness and least amount of pain; while the Deontological perspective focuses on one’s individual duties one owes to others.(McGill) One focuses on the greater good of the greater majority and the other focuses more on the individual.

These ideologies could not be more different. While both have their strengths they, also, have their weaknesses. Utilitarianism worries of the potential negative consequences that could occur given any ethical decisions. Deontology bases the right and wrong upon the individual’s ability to make ethical decisions based upon a moral standard.(McGill) Strangely, some of Paul’s actions in Hotel Rwanda could be described using either school of thought, while others are completely divergent. Paul participates in “bribery” in order to gain favors.

Many would say that this is unethical. However, from a Utilitarian perspective he is not unethical, he is only participating in behaviors that are common of the majority. Participating in majority practices is in essence maintaining “majority happiness.” From a Deontological perspective his “unethical’ bribery could be perceived as his ethical decision, or duty, to involve himself in the act in order to protect his family, and later the refugees. His individual duty he owes his family.

When Paul switches from bribery to blackmail to get what he wants from the Hutu General,