Iris Murdoch The Sovereignty of Good and Equilibrium

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Iris Murdoch the Sovereignty of Good and Equilibrium the Movie
Overview of Equilibrium Film
The movie Equilibrium depicts a small nation named Libria that was established by the survivors of the World War II and which required the citizens to take injections of a drug named Prozium II. The drug is a mandatory requirement by the state to the public intended to suppress feelings and emotions and to encourage obedience and loyalty from people. Every material and substance that is stimulating and which triggers emotion is illegalized and the Libria government deploys trained forces to arrest offenders of both the laws – and those who fail to take the drug Prozium II. According to the Libria government, emotion is the cause of every conflict, tyranny and war and Prozium II is administered to citizens to eliminate emotions and feelings and to make people allegiant to the state. The Libria city-state is governed by the Tetragrammaton Council which is headed by a character named Father (Sean Pertwee) and which seeks to lead the state in a restricted and a highly bureaucratic manner. Father is only seen on giant screens across the State giving speeches and addressing the citizens of Libria.
The Equilibrium film further shows there is a law enforcement team of Tetragrammaton clerics trained in a special martial way. The martial training is called gun kata, and it is intended to bring to law the violators of Prozium II who are dubbed ‘Sense Offenders’ and to bring to book citizens that interact with contemporary forms of art like music, literature, art and other elements of ‘freedom of expression.

’ It is important, however, to note that one of the powerful members of the Tetragrammaton clerics named Preston who is well-trained and exposed to gun kata martial art turns against the regime. John Preston who is at the apex of the council would later come to realize that the regime violated the right to expression by forcing consumption of the Prozium II drug. That way the regime interfered with the freewill and the personal freedoms and choice. The film connects to many philosophical ideas of morality in the sense that those at the apex of political leadership, Father and the Tetragrammaton Council, are imposing mandatory requirements on the people. By doing so, the Libria regime undermines personal freedom, it downplays morality, and constantly violates the most pressing fundamental human rights and ‘good.’
Murdoch Philosophy – Comparisons with Equilibrium Film
A fundamental philosophical idea communicated by Murdoch is that morality and freedom are closely related because one leads to another. According to Murdoch, morality comes when individuals are free to make decisions that influence their actions in the world they live in. To what many scholars would term as the freedom of expression, Murdoch philosophical observation reveals that true morality, by either individuals or states, comes when freedom is granted and practiced accordingly. This philosophical idea correlates expertly with the movie Equilibrium. In the film, there is a ruling class consisting of Father and the Tetragrammaton Council that imposes ‘harmful’ drugs and medications by the name Prozium II. The drugs are intended to attract obedience and loyalty from citizens as they suppress feelings and emotions. It is, therefore, clear that the nation fails to achieve ‘morality’ as par Iris Murdoch’s perspective of true morality. As such, the state that governs Libria area and city fails to conform or to meet Murdoch definition of morality. By denying people the freedom of whether or not to take Prozium II, the state undermines personal expression and thus the Libria state can be termed as ‘immoral.’
There is yet another fundamental correlation between the film Equilibrium and Murdoch philosophical ideas and convictions. According to Murdoch, complete vision and clarity enable persons to avoid prejudice, and personal bias and persons can act in reality because they have the power to see. Obedience to reality places humans in a position where there are no choices, and which is similar to artists. The philosophical conceptions of Murdoch support that artists have a unique inclination to reality. The author’s conceptualization of moral philosophy is such that it incorporates art and morals as the philosophy of good. The film Equilibrium depicts a city that has prohibited art and literature because the two offer liberation to citizens and hence evoke war and conflict. According to Father the President and the Tetragrammaton Council, artists and those who believe in conventional forms of art and self-expression should be eliminated. While Murdoch views arts and artistic forms as ideal morality, the movie depicts how Libria city is immoral as it denies citizens artistic forms of self-expression.
An important philosophical concept advocated by Murdoch that correlates well with the film Equilibrium is with regard to prayers and communication with a supreme being like God. By turning to God in prayers and confessions, Christians essentially turn away from their egocentric and selfish interests, and gradually conform to the secular world. According to Murdoch prayer depicts a special attention to God and it is an expression of love. The film Equilibrium sets out a struggle for power by showing a royal council named Tetragrammaton Council. The Father is depicted as a god because he is responsible for the overall governance and his supremacy overrides the interests and concerns of the entire city. The Libria city, when viewed through Murdoch philosophical light, can be termed as a city without love (love is defined as complete trust and obedience to a supreme body) because an underground regime fights against the imposition of Prozium II by the government. The correlation is, therefore, clear. A central theme of the Equilibrium film is supremacy and absolute obedience to authorities; a theme that compares significantly with Murdoch philosophy of good and love.
The Equilibrium Movie and the Murdoch Philosophy of Morality – Merging Themes
The film Equilibrium incorporates multiple themes discussed in Murdoch philosophy of good and morality. The first concept is that personal freedom leads to morality because individuals have the decision over what happens to them. In the movie, personal expression is a central theme because the government has completely disregarded personal expression as it executes anyone who fails to take a daily dosage of Prozium II. The City-State which is governed by Father proves immoral by withholding the most pressing fundamental human rights and freedoms. Other concepts and themes discussed in both the film and in Murdoch philosophical account include; submitting to a higher power as a form of love (Preston the leader of the underground fails to submit to Father and the regime). The Libria city-state also fails to satisfy the requirements of good and morality because people are ‘blind’ to choose. The Prozium II drug is a mandatory requirement that does not stem from freewill. As such, there is an aspect of denying the person ‘light’ and the ‘vision’ to make informed and moral decisions. The above analysis surmises the paper, adding insight and creating knowledge on comparisons between the movie Equilibrium and Murdoch philosophy of good and morality.