Entertaining Ethics: Lessons in Media Ethics from Popular Culture

The play’s the thing wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king… Shakespeare was repeating what the ancient Greeks had pioneered–if you want to tell a moral lesson and have it remembered, then make it entertaining. Chad Painter and Lee Wilkins explore how popular culture explains media ethics and the philosophy that is key to solid ethical thinking. Each chapter focuses on a key ethical concept, anchors the discussion of that concept in a contemporary or classic accessible film, analyzes decisions made in that film with other popular culture artifacts, and grounds the analysis in appropriate philosophical thought. The book focuses on core philosophical concepts of media ethics–truth telling, loyalty, privacy, public service, media economics, social justice, advocacy, and accountability–as they are examined through the lens of narrative film, television, and music. Discussion questions and online instructor materials further course applicability while the popular culture examples make ethical theory accessible and exciting for students and professors from a variety of academic backgrounds.