Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Development in Thank You for Smoking (2005) Essay

Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Development in Thank You for Smoking (2005) - Essay Example Some of the characters in the film swing across these moral stages, depending on their changing goals and target audiences. Characters in â€Å"Stage 1: Obedience and Punishment† display morality that comes from following authority (Crain, 1985). Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart) shows Stage 1 morality because he is initially focused on what his boss and company think is right. Instead of following the government or traditional social norms, Naylor follows the goals and norms of his company and boss. Naylor’s boss BR (J.K. Simmons) seeks for ideas on making smoking a more lucrative business. He tells Naylor: â€Å"We don't sell Tic Tacs, we sell cigarettes. And they’re cool, available, and addictive† (Sacks & Reitman, 2005). Naylor responds with a recommendation of product placement in the movies. He is responding to the pressure of doing what is right, based on what his company demands from him. Furthermore, Naylor displays loyalty to his boss, even when the latter does something wrong. BR steals Naylor’s idea of product placement in the movies and presents it to Captain (Rob ert Duvall) as his own. Naylor does not correct Captain anymore for fear of reprisal. Morality, in this stage, is â€Å"external† to the people, and not something they feel they must be personally responsible for, so they follow their bosses as the basis of their morality (Crain, 1985). Aside from Stage 1, characters in Thank You for Smoking exhibit morality in â€Å"Stage 2: Individualism and Exchange,† when they focus on the relativity of morals and the importance of making compromises to gain something. Naylor shifts to Stage 2, when he explains to his son that being right heavily relies on one’s argumentation skills. He tells his son: â€Å"That’s the beauty of argument, if you argue correctly, you're never wrong.† Morality is relative to the person doing the argumentation and his/her persuasiveness. Furthermore, flexible morality is another indicator of an individualistic approach to morality. Naylor admits to his son that to be in his job, he must have â€Å"flexible morals† (Sacks & Reitman, 2005). Flexible morals allow him to stay unaffected of the negative views on tobacco smoking. Jeff Megall (Rob Lowe) is another example of someone who manifests Stage 2 because he is not concerned of maintaining the social order or universal principles. Megall emphasizes that individuals have different opinions, so he calls himself a â€Å"facilitator† because â€Å"people decide for themselves† (Sacks & Reitman, 2005). He believes in the individual differences of morality and does not judge them. Heather Holloway (Katie Holmes) illustrates Stage 1 morality too because she exchanges something to gain another. She enters into a sexual affair with Naylor, so that she can access and expose his secrets as a reporter (Sacks & Reitman, 2005). These are examples of people, who believe in individualistic views of morality, as well as the flexibility needed to undergo social transactions for the purposes of personal gai n. The next stage is â€Å"Stage 3: Good Interpersonal Relationships,† and characters show this level of morality, when they do what is good based on what their family and community value as good behaviors (Crain, 1985). Naylor wants to be a better father to his son. In order to do this, he thinks that it is right to spend more time with him. Joey’s mother and stepfather are alarmed of what he is learning and inhaling from his father, but Naylor does not care, because he simply wants to have more quality time with Joey (Sacks