John Q: Movie Review Example

The movie begins with Gabriela Oltean recklessly driving down a mountain and is hit by two trucks. Michael, the son of John Quincy and Denise, collapses during his baseball game. Dr. Raymond and Rebecca Payne inform the family that their sons heart is enlarged and needed transplant. John is no longer a permanent worker, and his new insurance policy does not cover his sons surgery. They have to raise $75,000 to get their son into the list of donors. The hospitals wanted to release Michael, but John would not let his son die, and he takes some hostages in the ER and sets his demand. John ensured that the hostages received the treatment they needed. In return for Michael to be on the list, he released some hostages. John sustains a minor injury after being shot by a SWAT sniper. John wants to commit suicide to save his son, but his wife tells him about the woman in the car accident. Michael receives the heart transplant, and John is taken into custody after that.

Ethics is questioned when the family is asked to make a cash payment for the heart transplant which they did not have. The hospital is responsible for helping anyone who needs lifesaving treatment. Beneficence is an ethical principle, and it is the act of doing what is right. The hospital asked the family to pay $30,000 and tried to release the dying child. More alternatives should be given besides cash payments. Human life is essential and sending someone home to die is not ethical. This brings up the principle of human dignity. Money became more important than the life of the boy and refused to put him on the list.

The movie demonstrates the need for reforming health care in the United States. Many hospitals are concerned with monetary gain more than the patients health. Insurance programs in the U.S are inadequate, and many people are underinsured, and they become defenseless in case of a medical emergency. It is a bad representation. Underinsurance is a serious condition that needs to be dealt with. Additionally, HMOs should not only provide the basic level of care but also, the systems should provide help in medical emergencies. The healthcare system is stacked between the poor and the underprivileged hence enough resources should be there to serve all citizens equally. The goal of the movie is to emphasize the importance of reforming the health care system and problems that exist with health insurance sponsored by the employers. The movie made me question what is right and wrong. I wonder what is truly important and what I would have done in the same situation. From Johns example, I learned how it is difficult to judge the morality of other peoples actions.

The movie embraces a huge ethical dilemma. It conveys an intense story of parental love and forfeits covered by a stunning discord of moral dilemma. Each significant character faces hard choices and must appeal to a code of ethics keeping in mind the end goal to legitimize his or her activities. Infrequently are these decisions obvious and something valuable must be yielded in every result. John Archibald navigates through the vexing ethical dilemmas, setting his overwhelming parental obligation against "more prominent benefit" for the society.