After reading an especially scarring expose on the current state of cartoons in today's media (read: "The 6 Creepiest Things Ever Slipped Into Children's Cartoons"), I decided to look back at cartoons to remind myself how they influenced my morals in less terrifying ways. I saw the perfect example supporting cartoons as a legitimate (and not horrifying) forum for mature debate of ethical dilemmas in the show Justice League, which later evolved into Justice League: Unlimited. If you are unfamiliar with either, the Justice League is a (sadly) fictional organization made up of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Green Lantern, the Martian Manhunter, and Hawkgirl. The Unlimited variation became a way for DC comics to use characters from comics that were less popular than the big name characters, pairing the two to create the illusion of exciting characters that children might think are cool. But that's beside the point. In these examples, I will bring to light five of the most thought provoking debates the writers introduced to their audience in an appropriate, respectful manner befitting one of the most revered arenas of moral debate.
“A Better World.”
The Episode:
In this episode, the Justice League is aided in stopping a devastating menace by alternate universe versions of themselves. The alternate League go by the name Justice Lords and have virtually eliminated crime on their earth, so they volunteer to help prevent crime in this world, which they see as being somewhat irresponsible for allowing all this crime to continue. They do what they need to in order to prevent as much crime as possible, the only way they know how.
The Issue:
Ramifications of enforcing the death penalty.
Wait, really?
As it turns out, the Justice Lords picked their name for a reason. In their alternate reality, the Flash was killed by a supervillain, and the superhero team just cracked. Superman killed the man responsible, the then-president Lex Luthor, via lasers to the forehead, and took control over the government. The remaining League got behind the idea, and it resulted in a dictatorship that doled out punishment at the slightest infraction, resulting in a world free of crime, but also tragically devoid of morals.
In the faaaaaaaaaace!
How they approach the debate:
While this episode feels somewhat one-sided, they do present the double edged-sword of the death penalty in an accurate light. The lack of crime in the alternate world is the best case scenario of a widespread implementation of the death penalty. It is an effective deterrent, so their society is completely lacking in crime, but make up for it by having a wealth of crippling fear of being lobotomized for the slightest offense of one of the Lords. On the other hand, the Justice League's world lives nearly without fear of infraction of their human rights, as criminals are always placed in jail with no death penalty. However, on a regular basis citizens face dangerous situations created by the plethora of criminals that choose to fight the Justice League and break the law, because the Justice League does not believe in lethal force. (See number five from 6 Horrifying Implications of Awesome Fantasy Movie Universes)
“The Terror Beyond.”
The Episode:
In this episode, the Justice League finds itself faced with the epitome of pop-culture horror, Cthulhu himself. They begin the episode by showing Aquaman Mow through a group of soldiers stopping Solomon Grundy from completing his latest rampage. The Justice League is asked to investigate their former member, the king of Atlantis, and they enter the tower of Dr. Fate who is performing what appears to be a painful ritual on the zombie Grundy. The team sent to investigate including Superman, Wonder Woman and Hawk Girl decides to interfere in the ritual until it is explained to them.
Pictured: "Whoops."
The Issue:
Atheism vs. Religion is debated through conflict between Hawk Girl and Wonder Woman.
Wait, really?
Wonder Woman in this show is given her powers by magical armor given to her from the gods and goddesses her Amazon people worship. Hawk Girl is a Thanagarian, aliens that wear wings allowing flight, and the show alludes to influencing the creation of the Egyptian gods by wearing animal-head masks, and using advanced technology that would have appeared to be magic at the time. The plot develops as Grundy's past is explored, and he seeks to regain his lost soul. Wonder Woman prays for strength from her deities in battle, leaving Hawk Girl to exclaim “Do you have to do that now?” Leading you to see how the two ideals can be antagonistic to each other.
How they approach the debate:
The show remains surprisingly delicate in how they navigate the minefield of religion and athiesm. They display both Hawk Girl and Wonder Woman as strong moral people, and the episode refrains from picking one side over the other. As Grundy works to complete his quest of getting back his soul, he is forced to sacrifice himself to complete the mission. Touched by Grundy's singular purpose and devotion to the cause, Hawk Girl and Wonder Woman help finish the job, resulting in each gaining newfound respect for the ideas of the other side. The key to the moral of the episode lies in the cooperation of the two heroines, as it confirms for viewers that morality and religion are separate, and that atheists and religious people can learn to coexist in peace. Marc Hauser and Peter Singer of Harvard University write in an article for Project Syndicate:
“...athiests and agnostics do not behave less morally than religious believers, even if their virtuous acts are mediated by different principles. They often have as strong and sound a sense of right and wrong as anyone including involvement in movements to abolish slavery and contribute to relief efforts associated with human suffering. The converse is also true: religion has led people to commit a long litany of horrendous crimes, from God's command to Moses to slaughter the Midianites, men, women, boys and non-virginal girls, through the Crusades, the Inquisition, the Thirty Years War, innumerable conflicts between the Sunni and Shiite Moslems, and terrorists who blow themselves up in the confident belief that they are going straight to paradise (Hauser and Singer 2).”
It is an interesting confirmation by professionals that morality seems to be universally human, and not brought about by subscription to any religions. Similarly if morality is more universal than religion, perhaps we all can learn to respect each other like the two members of the Justice League.
“The Doomsday Sanction.”
The Episode:
In this episode, written by Robert Goodman, directed by Dan Riba, Cadmus, a secret government organization specializing in defense from super powered individuals, is revealed to have taken steps to ensure safety in the event the Justice League were to go rogue as the Justice Lords did in previous episodes. An angry scientist spited by Cadmus for not producing viable research releases Doomsday, a being singularly focused on the destruction of Superman. To contain the threat, Cadmus launches a nuclear missile to destroy both Doomsday and Superman, putting the lives of common people in danger. The League is able to divert the missile while Superman fights for his life against Doomsday, eventually winning by trapping him in lava and banishing him to a prison for all eternity.
The Issue:
Ethics of cloning.
Wait, really?
As it is revealed in the episode, Doomsday is an imperfect clone of Superman, created by Cadmus, and trained to hate Superman through psychological torture. They bred a sentient weapon with a singular purpose to combat an iffy situation. It is the worst case scenario, echoing many fears held by people about cloning and genetic manipulation. Not only did the cloning produce a dangerous being who threatened the lives of innocents, but it was done as a weapon and kept secret from the government.
"This all-expenses-paid day spa isn't so ba-- AAAAAAGGGGHHHHH!"
How they approach the debate:
They display the worst case scenario in order to bring to light the full fears that people have about cloning. People have documented cases of cloning rats, cows, sheep, pigs, goats, dogs and cats. They are all placental mammals, like humans, so what is to prevent the cloning of people? Well, the first is that in order to clone the first sheep, they implanted roughly 300 or so cloned sheep embryos, and only the one grew to become an adult sheep (Yashon, Biology and Society lecture). So, while technically possible, probably has not yet.
But what about the ethics of cloning a sentient being? They cloned Superman, against his will.
In fact, the important message to take away from the episode comes in the explanation for Doomsday's desire to kill Superman. He was not born evil, he was tortured by scientists until they got the result they wanted. It was not the act of cloning that was evil, it was merely science that was abused by people of questionable morals.
“Flashpoint”
The Episode:
In this episode, written by Dwayne McDuffie, directed by Joaquim dos Santos, Lex Luthor takes control of the Justice League base, The Watchtower, and uses it as a weapon to fire on Cadmus (the organization from before). The weapon is equivalent to a nuclear detonation, and causes massive amounts of collateral damage on the surrounding city. The Justice League is considered responsible for the act, and is alienated and blamed for the presumed dead and witnessed destruction.
The Issue:
A “what-if” scenario in which a nuclear launch occurs.
Pchuu pchuu, gotchaaa!
Wait, really?
I think at this point it is safe to just assume, “yes,” and you should stop being surprised. In the episode, the population, and much of the league itself find themselves shocked that the watchtower is such an effective weapon of mass destruction. Lex Luthor did not really wish to destroy Cadmus or cause the property damage. His true goal was to create an atmosphere of distrust. If a trusted and revered organization was hiding such a weapon from the public, and then claims without proof that they did not fire it, what is the public going to believe? It gave Luthor the opportunity to announce his entry to politics, as the leading source of evidence against him was provided by an organization that cannot be trusted.
How they approach the debate:
The situation is clearly a learning situation: it is a perfect look at a potential outcome of a first strike, accidental or not. They are not truly unbiased in this description of the event. The situation is an accidental first strike by the Justice League, and Cadmus/ the government reacts not by launching a retaliatory strike, but with legal action against the League. If you consider that the fictional US government could have seen the strike as an attack and fired back, and the other fictional countries witnessing that launch could have fired their nuclear missiles, resulting in greatly feared all out war. Instead, the League and the world come to an agreement in the situation peacefully, planning new countermeasures to prevent a repeat of the event. The Flash has a big quote in the episode, “Granny Flash always used to say, 'the problem with an eye for an eye is everybody ends up blind.'” While being extremely close to the words of Mahatma Ghandi, in context the words are no less powerful. The writers seem to be writing an example to follow in the event of such a disaster, teaching that perhaps thinking to create peace instead of revenge is the better course of action.
“The Patriot Act.”
The Episode:
In this aptly-named episode written by Matt Wayne, directed by Joaquim dos Santos, General Wade Eiling of Cadmus becomes fed up with not being effective against super powered threats. To combat this, he chooses to take an overdose of Nazi super-soldier serum and become a walking deterrent to super powered rampages.
The Issue:
The Patriot Act, and the debate of “how much power is too much.”
Wait, really?
I don't think I will really dignify this question with a response anymore.
How they approach the debate:
The general's first act as a hulking super-soldier is to place innocents in danger when he loses all notion of self-control. While the more popular heroes are dealing with other assignments, Green Arrow, a non-powered hero in the League leads a team of similarly normal heroes against the General to try to protect the public from the new threat. They mount an ineffective front against the General that is only halted when one civilian points out that the General has no real reason to fight these members of the League, as he is the only person with super powers in the situation.
Pictured: Immediate regret of the decision.
It is a situation that mirrors the Patriot Act in more than just name. The goal of the Patriot act was to enable the government with the tools to protect the country from hidden threats. The debate centers around the fact that in order to properly protect against these threats, the government must be allowed to infringe on some personal rights. The conflict arises when it comes time to decide how much freedom the government is given to infringe upon rights (Etzioni).
In the context of the show, it is clear that the General did not undergo the change to combat a clear, existing threat. His goal was to avoid a threat that was real to him, but really only a potential. In “accomplishing” his goal, he became exactly what he hated: a super powered being that put the public in danger to satisfy his own agenda. He became the embodiment of the fear people have with government power.
So as you can see, the medium of cartoons can be a valuable forum for ethical debate. In the past, the media of cartoons and comic books were thought to "lure young readers away from literature deemed more appropriate and worthwhile (McLaughlin 29)." It is important to note that there are a wealth of people researching the merits of comic books and the like, with the most recently the book Watchmen, by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons receiving publicity and a movie deal for their satire of American culture. Without a doubt, these forms of media deserve a second chance, and a consideration for what they are: creative methods of exploring ideas deserving of more respect.
Bibliography
“A Better World.” Justice League: Season 2. Writ. Stan Berkowitz. Dir. Dan Riba. Warner Brothers, 2003. DVD.
Etzioni, Amitai. How Patriotic is the Patrio Act?Freedom Versus Security in the Age of Terrorism. New York: Routledge, 2004.
“Flashpoint.” Justice League Unlimited: Season 1. Writ. Dwayne McDuffie. Dir. Joaquim dos Santos. Warner Brothers, 2005. DVD.
Hinman, Lawrence M. “Punishment and the Death Penalty.” Ethics Updates, University of San Diego website. 12 Aug. 2010.
Hauser, Marc and Singer, Peter. “Morality Without Religion.” Harvard University for Project Syndicate. Web/PDF. 12 Aug 2010.
McGee, Glenn. “Primer on Ethics and Human Cloning.” ActionBioScience.org Original Article. 12 Aug. 2010.
McLaughlin, Jeff. Comics as Philosophy. Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi, 2007. Google books.
Moore, Alan and Gibbons, Dave. Watchmen. DC Comics, 2009.
“The Doomsday Sanction.” Justice League Unlimited: Season 1. Writ. Robert Goodman. Dir. Dan Riba. Warner Brothers, 2005. DVD.
“The Patriot Act.” Justice League Unlimited: Season 2. Writ. Matt Wayne. Dir. Joaquim dos Santos. Warner Brothers, 2006. DVD.
“The Terror Beyond.” Justice League: Season 2. Writ. Dwayne McDuffie. Dir. Butch Lukic. Warner Brothers, 2003. DVD.
Yashon, Ronnee. Biology and Society Class. Northeastern University. Shillman Hall, Boston, MA. 8/04/2010. Class lecture on cloning.
Acknowledgements:
John Reilly for helping to provide starting ideas for the paper.
Cory Wilde, Alysoun Wright and Robbie Fei for reading the initial progress report.
Neil Johnson, Diana Zadega, and Greg Zintz for reviewing the initial draft.
Professor Nelson, Alysoun Wright, Gabriella Roselli and Harris C. Spencer for reviewing the fully fledged second draft.
