This film provides several explanations of why Lord Longford decided to help Myra Hindley, a person who was convicted of multiple murders. At first, we would have to speak about his innate sense of justice.
While discussing this issue with his wife, he argues that Myra Hindley was psychologically dominated by her accomplish, Ian Brady. In his opinion, this woman’s guilt cannot be compared to that one of her accomplice, and she does not deserve the punishment imposed on her. One may agree or disagree with such an opinion but this could one of his motives.
Apart from that, we need to speak about his deep belief in the ability of human being to reform and to show the better sides of his/her character. For him Myra Hindley is a person who is still able to lead a normal life, even despite the fact she committed those crimes or at least assisted Brady in committing them. Lord Longford does not deny the fact that this woman did some very atrocious things but he does not want to deny her the right for redemption.
This thought can be the underlying force which guides the main character. Besides, he vehemently objects to the idea of retributive justice, in other words, the idea that the key purpose of a penal system is to punish the criminal. This character believes that ability to forgive is an indispensible quality for any person and for any society. This is why he opposes the idea of punishment for punishment’s sake.
Additionally, we need to show how the relations between these characters develop with time passing. At the very beginning, she seems to be of some interest to him but very soon this interest turns into compassion and even friendship. At the end of this film, we see that Myra Hindley becomes one of the closest people to Lord Longford.
Rethinking a No-Brainer
According to a popular opinion, lying about one’s credential contradicts the principles of integrity and violates the norms, established in the society. This paper is not aimed at justifying this kind of conduct. Instead, it intends to provide a feasible explanation of such a phenomenon.
In the majority of cases, conservative approach to this problem utterly overlooks the underlying causes of this behavior. Very often a person does so in order to apply to a certain position or post. One of the most notorious cases is the scandal of Richard Bromenthal who falsely claimed to serve in Vietnam. The key issue is that in the modern world credentials can be the only way of climbing a social ladder.
Unfortunately, sometimes people are assessed not according to their skills and competences but according to their academic background or work experience. For instance, in order to be eligible for a certain job, one must have at least five years of work experience; those people who do not have them will not be even considered for this position, even if they possess all the necessary skills. Therefore, it is quite possible that people will try to get round this obstacle by falsifying their credentials.
To some extent, the society forces these people to act in such a manner by paying too much attention to the background, rather than to the personal qualities and skills. Finally, we may argue such emphasis on formality is an example of rule which exists for simply for its own sake. It does not contribute to the wellbeing of community and its individual members. Falsifying one’s credentials is one of the ways to struggle with such rules.
Works Cited
Longford. Dir. Hooper Tom. Per: Broadbent Jim, Morton Samanta, Duncan Lindsay, Serkis Andy. Granada Productions. 2006. DVD.