People who have a constant feeling of pain will do anything to get rid of it. The movie called The Crime of the Century describes how American giant pharmaceutical companies earn millions of dollars by using people’s pain to sell synthetic opiates. The film exposes the profit-driven nature of the pharmaceutical industry, showing that the industry does not care about the welfare of its clients. The movie director, Alex Gibney, demonstrated the inhumane actions of big companies, pointing out their immorality.
I was surprised by the actions of the doctors in the movie, that ignored their duty of not harming patients by allowing them to be addicted to drugs. I thought that doctors would have been able to solve the problem, but they were the driving force behind people’s addiction to opiates. I felt sorry for the victims of the industry that were prescribed dosages of painkillers that could cause addiction. Even now, people are getting addicted to drugs without choosing them on their own. As such, the movie calls for action to control the industry by showing how people are being misguided by doctors and companies.
During the whole documentary, I was thinking about why the government did not take any actions earlier and why authorities let it happen. Indeed, there was corruption as the profits were too high. Yet, there is a crucial violation of the ethical principles of industry and political elites. Additionally, I was wondering whether it is money or the feeling of power that turns people towards violence. I believe that the issue of prescription painkillers should be controlled not only by state regulators but also by a special administrative body. Checks and balances will ensure that doctors do not abuse their position to make the pharmaceutical companies richer and profit from this.