Labour is definitionally unfree, since it encompasses activity necessary to sustain the life process. Simpson. The few times that the protagonists of Sorkins films violate the letter of the law, it is in service of some transcendental ideal that has ontological priority over the particularity of a given law for example, illegally leaking documents in order to hold the government to account or illegally protesting the Vietnam War. Arguably the most immoral act in the film was the state execution of the accomplice, who was wrongfully sentenced to death as a result of collusion between Darby and Rice. Hannah Arendts conception of Homo Faber is indebted to Schelers engagement with American Pragmatists John Dewey and Sidney Hook. Law Abiding Citizen uses a completely opposing colour palette, a cold grey/green. There can be no moral distinction made between the murders made from the perspective of Legal-Rationality and Emotivism, since that would imply some objective moral criteria. The teleology of the market within the system of capitalism is self contained within the definition of markets and market actions, just as the teleology of politics within a regime claiming legitimacy on the basis Weberian Rational-Legal authority is contained within the claim to legitimacy. The final scene of the film, the recital, reveals the Clydes transformation as a result of an authentic confrontation with death. Each of these writers, bar McIntyre, are tied to the fall of Weimar Germany and the rise of National Socialism. Grays understanding of the American justice system as portrayed in Law Abiding Citizen is inextricably connected to race, partly because it is impossible to discuss policing and justice in America without acknowledging the historical mistreatment of Black people in the U.S. justice system. Arendt was, however, deeply skeptical of the The Rights of Man, which had never been philosophically established but merely formulated, which had never been politically secured but merely proclaimed, have, in their traditional form, lost all validity. Indeed, the Schmittian definition of the sovereign is he who decides on the state of exception. Clyde sets out on a mission of revenge, systematically killing everyone involved in the trial. Even within Christianity, the concept of the private expression arose only in the context of the Protestant Reformation. If civil rights are malleable and contingent, why throw out damning evidence on the basis of a meaningless technicality? Kateb, George. Sorkin almost exclusively uses a warm, organic and earthy colour palette, with a particular focus on browns. In the film, the imposition of Weberian bureaucracy on the justice system creates alienation Rice separates the labour of justice from any higher, Platonic conception of the Just, or even a just outcome outside the definitional constraints of the bureaucratic structure. As Clydes threat becomes evident, Judge Burch concedes to Rices request for a warrant, violating his civil rights for some murky sense of the greater good. Abrahams obedience was the example of the Teleological Suspension of the Ethical. Watch Law Abiding Citizen | Netflix But the unrealized irony in this movie is that detective Nick Rice is playing the LAW ABIDING CITIZEN - the one who suckles at the black teat of The Law for his advancement - and Clyde Shelton is the Justice . Max Weber illustrates this point with reference to the tendency of farm labours to work fewer hours when given higher wages. Where we run into trouble is the heavy-handedness of the narrative's condemnation of modern law and the ease by which Shelton can unfold his master plan. Gods demand of Abraham to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, on Mount Moriah was the subject of Soren Kierkegaards Fear and Trembling. Rices violation of Clydes Civil Rights, and his extrajudicial killing, were necessary to prevent Clydes act of terrorism. The Old/New distinction between thou shalt and thou shalt will introduces the possibility of obedience and, more importantly, disobedience. This is demonstrated by Rices mechanistic approach to justice he views his work in terms of his 96% conviction rate, an essentially arbitrary measure of bureaucratic effectiveness typical of Weberian-style bureaucracies. The ending of Law Abiding Citizen sucked : r/movies - Reddit That's a pawn being moved off the board. The tendency to bracket questions of religion to the private realm, and the emergence of separated spheres with distinct and incommensurable value systems, is a key feature of modernity. Apart from her Burkean-esque criticism of the French Revolution and her criticism of aspects Marxist orthodoxy, Arendt notoriously wrote an article for Commentary Magazine opposing school integration. Both the execution scene and Darbys murder include obvious crucifixion imagery, with the (penitent) executed accomplice acting as The Penitent Thief described in Lukes account of the Crucifixion of Christ. Law Abiding Citizen (2009) - Bring My Meal and My Music at One o'Clock kinobscura 58.8K subscribers Subscribe 1K Share Save 151K views 3 years ago A frustrated man decides to take justice into. The revenge begins with the torture murder of Darby, the man who murdered Clydes wife and children. Schmitt hardens his critique in Political Theology with the concept of Ausnahmezustand, the tension between Geltung and Wirksamkeit taken to its limit. Miracle makes clear the relationship between creator and creation, just as the state of exception makes clear the relationship between sovereign and law. Clydes manipulation of legal technicalities and procedures in the court scene reflects the rise to power of the Nazi regime through the legitimate use of the legal procedures of the Weimar Republic. The mid-range is very clean and sharp for some of those more explosive moments in the soundtrack, and dialogue reproduction is pitch-perfect and well-prioritized amidst the action. 3, 2007, pp. Nevertheless, the film, intentionally or unintentionally, provides a powerful critique of certain aspects of modernity. The only problem, and very likely excusable as a result of the deliberate look, is that the darker portions of the film looking awfully murky, and a couple of scenes even crush some of the background info. Hannah Arendt, Reflections on Little Rock Dissident Mag (Originally meant for publication in Commentary Magazine) https://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/reflections-on-little-rock, Arendt, H., Allen, D. and Canovan, M., 1958. The question then turns to the boy himself, Michael Kwidzinski; if he was innocent, why did hid then accept a guilty plea bargain? F. Gary Gray's 2009 film Law Abiding Citizen might seem to some a strange film to analyse in any serious detail. Existential Values in Arendts Treatment of Evil and Morality.Social Research, vol. Gerard Butler getting revenge for his wife and daughter dying in front of him I think would mess up anyone. pp.29, ibid, 32, Max Weber, The Protestant Work Ethic and Science as a Vocation, [3]Charles Taylor comments on this aspect of disenchantment in the Q&A portion of his lecture https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3Hy31vv3uY. Clydes plot involved the destruction of City Hall, the seat of administrative power within the film. 'Law Abiding Citizen,' the latest film from talented director F. Gary Gray, stars Jaime Foxx and Gerard Butler. Before moving towards a more systematic discussion of the ethical subtext of the film, we should establish a conceptual link between the work of Arendt and McIntyre. Schmitt channels Kierkegaard with the concept of the state of exception in his work Political Theology; McIntyres work on Virtue Ethics in After Virtue can be understood as a repudiation of rule-based ethical systems like Kantian ethics and Consequentialism, which collapse when subjected to exceptional situations. Death is radically ones own it cant be taken away, out-stripped or taken in place of another (with the possible exception of religious sacrifice). So we take it for granted the title pertains to him. The original discussion for this is here . Not only are there no shots of the outside of the house, or the house from the perspective of the street (which would include other houses and thus conceptually blur the public-private distinction), but the windows of the house viewed from the inside are obfuscated by darkness, drapes or fog. 3045. Rice exists within a system of arbitrary rules that he is powerless to change, and in a subordinate role to superiors within the justice system. LAW ABIDING CITIZEN is a riveting, tense thriller that has some provocative messages about the U.S. justice system, but it contains graphic violence and strong foul language, so extreme caution is warranted.