Gonzales, April Jane C.

October 14, 2010

ECE12 Mr. Paul James Santos

Reaction Paper on:

Unthinkable

I cannot concentrate watching this film because it’s so bloody I might not sleep the night
after I watched it. ‘H’, in my point-of-view, is so immunized to torturing human fabric. Yusuf,
on the other hand, is ‘addicted’ to it. Note my quotation on addicted. Agent Brody is the usual
woman with a soft heart she pleads the Muslim to let the cat out of the bag.
I can’t imagine how the alleged terrorist survived the torture. I can’t also imagine what
the FBI would and could do just to make someone speak. In case of National security, I bet
nothing beats the mighty hands of the FBI.
Now, here’s the real deal. The movie posed the question, “Do the ends justify the
means?” Entertainment analyst Matthew Alford argues that "the aesthetic realism and apparent
seriousness of Unthinkable is a mask for the absurdity of its content and reactionary politics"
making it more than just a "nightmare scenario" but rather "a white paper from Freddy
Krueger". Yes, torturing is against human rights no matter what, but if we are used to practicing
utilitarian way of living, we might just sacrifice a 110 pounds of human flesh to save a million
people. A favorite anime of mine said a line something like the question above. It says there, “ I
don’t really mind what the outcome is. What’s counted is the way you did it” (Lelouch
Lamperouge, Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion). Do the ends really justify the means? My
answer is, no, not in every way. Just as the saying says, “When the Great Scorer pens your
name, He writes not as if you win or lose but how you played the game.” If we always practice
utilitarianism, we’ll be nothing like machines! Worn down by environment and time and thrown
straight to the trash bins. Human loves itself so much they do everything to preserve their well-
being.
Unthinkable made us sit and think for a while how vulnerable human can be in times of
grave danger. Pain and loneliness can kill a person, either the fastest there can be or as softly as
turtle crawls. Man can never comprehend with its own nature. Eat, or be eaten. That’s how we
do things.