The Significance of the Films Title, Catfish - Essay Example

Do you think they acted ethically in the latter part of the film when they decided to travel to Michigan and “see the story through?” Why or why not?
It was not unethical for Yaniv and company et al to travel to Michigan just to see the story through. What was unethical was the fact that they gave Angela aka Meg a ride by first posing themselves as if they still did not know that they know already that Angela was a fake. So Angela was forced to continue with her lies when they arrived until confronted by Yaniv that he knew already through the music she claimed to have written that was posted on Youtube. If Yaniv wanted to see the story through ethically, he would have dealt with her with “full disclosure” right from the start that he already know and that Meg was Angela. He has to make full disclosure of his intention because his intention was to see the story through and Angela’s role transformed from being a prospective girlfriend to a subject of research, albeit in a journalistic sense. Instead, they put Angela in a situation where she has to lie about Meg and in a way, mock her for all her lies (Joost and Schulman).

Ethical investigators or researchers do not do that. They treat their subject with respect and does not hide facts that could demean the person of their subjects even if the subject initially lied.

The best ethical or philosophical standard that can be applied in the situation is the ethical standard that researchers have to follow in conducting research that involves human beings. This ethical standard or philosophy of ethical research involving human beings are enunciated in National Institute of Health (NIH) guidelines for investigators involving human subjects that state they should follow the following philosophical principles;

a. Respect for persons – meant that the subject of research which is persons should be treated as autonomous agents and persons with diminished autonomy are entitled to additional protections. In the case of Angela, they already know that she has psychological issues and they could have prevented from aggravating it by being truthful.

b. Beneficence – persons are treated in an ethical manner not only by respecting their decisions and protecting them from harm, but also by making efforts to secure their well-being. Such treatment falls under the principle of beneficence. To cover acts of kindness or charity that go beyond strict obligation.

c. Justice – requires that individuals and groups are treated fairly and equitably in terms of bearing the burdens and receiving the benefits of research and this includes being truthful to the subject of research (NIH).

With how Yaniv conducted his investigation to see the story through, the research became “stigmatizing” to the subject because letting Angela continue with her lie and later confronting it is in a way belittling or insulting her and such, considered unethical by investigators who follows the prescribed ethical standard in conducting research.

What is the significance of the film’s title, Catfish? Who is the “catfish” in the movie? Support your response with evidence from the film
Catfish tend to have mushy flesh when they are inactive but when they are placed together with other codes, they become active and do not emit the undesirable mushy flesh. Her life to a certain degree was inactive or dull and it only became exciting through the supposed relationship with Yanev where she was able to project her idea of her “ideal self”.

He was of course caught when Yaniv and Vince found out that the music that Meg or Angela composed was found on Youtube that was composed by someone else. It did not take long for them to figure out that Angela is making her person up on Facebook that Vince likened her to a catfish which became the title of the film.