Serpico (1973) Movie Review Position Assignment Paper

Serpico Movie Review
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Serpico Movie Review
Serpico (1973) is a movie that reveals the true story of Frank Serpico who was the only honest cop in the New York police sector at his time. The film shows the realistic view of the corruption that was evidenced in the New York police and highlights the character of Frank as being honest and courageous. Although he started as an inexperienced cop, he later worked as an undercover officer and was determined to bust all the criminal activities especially the drug dealers and pushers. Unlike the other cops, Serpico refused to take any bribes from the wrongdoers. More so, he felt that the other officers were doing wrong by accepting bribes and wanted to expose the situation. The other officers were so corrupt that they collected more money through bribes than the salary they earned, a situation that did not please Serpico. His strong stand concerning corruption made his friends turn against him, placing his life in danger. The anti-corruption efforts of Serpico jeopardized his life at the hands of his colleagues. He was later transferred to the Narcotics Squad where he was shot by a drug dealer after his partners betrayed him by failing to support him. The cop was then rushed to hospital. The shooting made Frank deaf since it affected the brain, rendering him disabled.
Frank Serpico did the right thing by fighting against the corruption that was rampant in the nation mostly in the police department. However, his moral and ethical stand was a source of stress and threatened both in his personal and professional life. He had to handle the stress caused by his stand since attempts to evade the stress would make jeopardize his moral and ethical standards. In the midst of the widespread corruption, he took a firm stand and refused to accept bribes like his colleagues. The character helped Serpico to fight against the vice and expose the wrongdoers. He also tried to persuade the other cops to take his stand by being the role model though this jeopardized his life. Instead of the cops emulating him, they turned against him and refused to support his efforts (Schoell, 2016). The position of Frank Serpico was beneficial to the nation since it helped to fight corruption and expose the crimes being conducted by both the citizens and the cops.
The whole of the police department was corrupt, and this posed a danger to the nation since evil continued to spread despite the efforts of the government to fight the wrongdoers. The senior officers in the police department were also corrupt, a situation that posed a threat to the security sector of the country. Despite the rampant corruption, Serpico was able to stand out in the corrupt police department and fight for justice as evidenced by confrontations with the other officers to persuade them to stop corruption. His stand was important in alerting the government about the underlying danger in the security sector and enabling the government to put in place the necessary measures to rectify the situation (Drew, 2008).
It is unethical for officers to have a code of silence as it contradicts the law enforcement ethical code which requires the officers to maintain individual and agency integrity. Unlike the ...