Abstract
Maras considers the implications of thinking about ethics in screenwriting from the point of view of the analyst or critic making ethical judgements. He argues that the role of the critic is more than dispensing moral judgements about what is right and wrong. Ethical analysis brings with it a responsibility to be cognizant of what we mean by ‘good’ and ‘bad’. The chapter surveys the broader links between storytelling and ethics. Drawing on the theory of ‘world projection’ put forward by American philosopher Nicholas Wolterstorff, and applying it to Jimmy McGovern’s 2014 script for Common, the chapter illustrates how a script can be said to do ’ethical work’, and suggests that ethical work should play an important part when making judgements about films and scripts.
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Common. 2014. Cr: Jimmy McGovern; Dir: David Blair, BBC1, UK, 90 mins.
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Maras, S. (2016). Ethics, Representations and Judgement. In: Maras, S. (eds) Ethics in Screenwriting. Palgrave Studies in Screenwriting. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-54493-3_11
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