“Butterfly Effect”

What if you could go back in time and change the sequence of events leading up to the biggest mistake of your life? Most would automatically seize this seemingly glorious opportunity without a second thought, never taking into account the consequences that could proceed. In the film The Butterfly Effect, Ashton Kutcher plays Evan, a young boy with a genetic predisposition to psychosis, and the ability to travel back in time and redo events in his life. What is first viewed as a gift soon becomes a nightmare as Evan realizes while it may be simple to fix his mistakes, it is impossible to predict what his “solutions” might set into motion. Ethics teaches us that every choice we make or don’t make, why we make them, and what happens when we do is consequential not only for ourselves but for those around us (Williams 24). Although we have a universal responsibility to think about the effect on the global community and even future generations before taking action (Williams 40), we cannot predict or control what additional events or circumstances coincide with our actions. Therefore our choices cannot directly cause negative or positive consequences (Williams 30). The Butterfly Effect is a prime example of our inability to control the sequence of events that is life. As Evan tries to save his one true love Kaylee time and time again, he only complicates the lives of those around him even more. “If I can make scars do I have the power to heal them?” This is one of the most powerful quotes in the entire film. Seven years earlier Evan, his friend Lenny, and the brother sister duo Kaylee and Tommy decided to take a stick of dynamite and play a prank by sticking it in the neighbor’s mailbox. What seemed harmless at first soon turned dangerous when a mother carrying her infant daughter went to check her mail and was blown to bits. Although the young kids didn’t know it, by standing by and watching the woman stroll to her death they were committing an act of omission, where instead of choosing to act one way or another, they chose not to act at all. According to Ethics this can be just as challenging as engaging in the wrong sort of actions (Williams 25). Because of this traumatic event another series of distresses occurred on the group; Kaylee and Tommy were beaten by their abusive father, Lenny was so traumatized that he stayed in a child-like mental state, and Evan’s mother decided to move them away. Before he left Evan made a promise to Kaylee that he would come back for her, although he had no idea how hard that promise would be to keep. After finding out Kaylee committed suicide, Evan goes back in the film to when Kaylee’s dad tried to make child porn with them. The seven year old tells Kaylee’s dad he’s going to lead her to suicide later in life and not to touch her again. When Evan snaps out of it his problems are seemingly solved; Kaylee is alive and in his bed; she had no memory of being molested by her father. However, Evan had no way of controlling the situation that would ensue. Because Kaylee’s father never touched her he took all of his frustration out on her brother Tommy and he was in and out of prison. That night he followed the couple and attacked Evan with a tire iron. In defense Evan began bashing him over the head, killing him and sending himself to jail. Socrates says, “We cannot choose evil if we know good. Evil choices are made in ignorance; anytime we act from choice we are pursuing a chosen end. All our actions are intended to bring about certain consequences.” If we are acting to bring about the consequences we must believe the consequence to be good or desirable (Williams 29). This is proof that neither Evan nor us are responsible for all the negative outcomes of our actions, especially if one has an ethical awareness and consideration for morality when making a decision (Williams 29).
This is again proven in the film when Evan makes another attempt to fix his mistake by preventing the explosion. His belief was that this was the evil action that had caused all the negativity in his life thus far, so this was the problem that needed resolving. When Evan attempted to save the woman and infant from the mailbox the bomb exploded. Consequently, upon Evan’s return to the present day he realizes that he has blown off both his arms and his legs. On the other hand, Tommy, saved by the event, is now a Christian. Lenny and Kaylee are happily in love, leaving Evan to consider his universal responsibility to those around him. Evan then decides to sacrifice his own happiness for theirs, before he discovers his mother is dying of lung cancer.
Finally realizing there was no way for him to control the sequence of events that would occur when he changed his choices, Evan came up with a solution in which the ends justified the means (Williams 35). Sacrificing himself for the good of those around him and future generations, Evan went back to the womb where he strangled himself to death with his umbilical cord. Because of the selflessness and goodness of his actions, positive effects arose as everyone around him went on to lead a happy life. So again I ask you, if you could go back in time and fix the biggest mistake of your life, would you? After taking into consideration the lack of control we have on what happens many may reconsider. There is no way of knowing what consequences may come of the smallest act. “It has been said, that something as small as the flutter of a butterfly’s wing can ultimately cause a typhoon halfway around the world” – Chaos Theory.

Bibliography

Williams, Christopher R., and Bruce A. Arrgio. Ethics, Crime, and Criminal Justice. Second Edition. (2012). Print.