Conflicting Modes of Moral Reasoning; The Case of 24

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2022

Keywords

con­se­quen­tialism, deon­tology, moral rea­soning, nar­rative com­plexity

Abstract

In this article I will argue that 24 can be seen as a variation of the tendency “tonarrative complexity” in current US TV series. Its straight-jacketed adherence to chronological time may not allow for fundamental disturbances of the discourse of characteristic of many of its cinematic and televised contemporaries, but 24 distinguishes by shifting itself complexity from conceptual and narratological to the realm levels of morality. By analyzing two episodes from different seasons, closely related to actual political developments in the US War on Terror at the time, I will outline the show hovers between (and plays with expectations our expectations) deontological and consequentialist (utilitarian) forms of moral reasoning.

Publisher Attribution

Article published within 24 heures chrono, naissance du genre sécuritaire ?, edited by Sylvie Allouche, J Vrin. 

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