Movie Review: Awakenings

Movie Review: Awakenings
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Movie Review: Awakenings
What is good or bad has been a central question in the study of morality. There has been no simple answer regarding what is ethical. Nonetheless, the discussion about morality has grown over the years, with movies being used to express such opinions. Awakenings (1990) is one of the films that explore the subject of morality extensively. This review examines ethical issues exhibited by the character of Dr. Sayer and Leonard’s mother while trying to find the cure for the catatonic state of the patients.
Illness can cause clinicians to become desperate to see an improvement in their patients. The desire to improve health can cause clinicians to engage in risky experimental therapies. On the other hand, family members can be blinded to the dangers exposed to their loved ones due to these experiments. This makes the family members more vulnerable to accepting risky experimental trials for their loved ones. Dr. Sayer finds himself in a dilemma where he has to expose his subjects to risk in an attempt to cure them. By administering beyond the recommended dosage of L-Dopa, Dr. Sayer exposes Leonard to a risk. Nonetheless, Dr. Sayer is convinced that the move is the only alternative for Leonard and other patients. Hence, he goes ahead and tries an overdose of the drug without concrete evidence on what may happen to the patients.
Clinicians have an ethical obligation to ensure that patients and/or family members are aware of any intervention. Dr. Sayer is aware of this duty and hence he s...