The Mighty Ducks: Levels of Development

Screen favorite Emilio Estevez stars in The Mighty Ducks. His on screen character Gordon Bombay is a tough trial lawyer who never loses a case. But when convicted on a D.U.I., Gordon is faced with a community service assignment. He must coach district 41-hockey team. This bunch of kids can't skate; shoot, score, and most of all can't win! With little enthusiasm Gordon takes on the task of turning these bunch of losers into a winning hockey team, and along with that he learns many lessons, one of which is that winning is not the most important thing there is in life.

The first scene that I am going to evaluate is the one where Gordon is talking to his boss (Donald Ducksworth) and he tells Gordon that he can either take a paid leave of absence and do community service or he can serve his time in jail or on probation. Gordon reluctantly chose the community service because he did not want to go to jail, and also he wanted to do the easiest thing possible. Which for him was community service. I chose this as an example of Pre-Conventional because, Gordon did not want to go to jail, probably because he was afraid of it. The other reason he chose community service was because to him it may have seemed to be the easiest way out. Little did he know that these kids were the kids from hell! For this scene I thought that Gordon was acting as a utilitarian because he wanted to do this only because he was being forced, and it served him the better because he did not have to go to jail. All he cared about was himself not that those kids needed his help.

The second example that I am using is when Gordon asks Mr. Ducksworth for $15000. Gordon is doing this because the kids on the team cannot afford the proper equipment to wear and because the players have no ice time on which to practice they're meager skills. This action by Gordon shows that he is acting on a Post-Conventional level. This is so because he is asking for the money because the kids may get hurt and because he cares about them and wants them to succeed in what they are doing. In this scene Mr. Bombay is acting as an altruist because, he is doing this for the good of others, not just for himself.

The third example I am using is when Mr. Bombay tries to get his team to cheat. The team goes along with it, but the only player that takes a stand is Charlie Gordon. He says that you cannot make him cheat, and he quits the team. This is an example of post-conventional because he knows that it is wrong, and he does not want to do it, even though the team and the coach wants him to. Charlie is standing up for what he feels and knows is right. Charlie is acting as a utilitarian because he feels that it is not right that he is cheating. And if he cheats it may cause some harm to the other players, and he does not want that.

The fourth example that I am going to use is when Gordon finds out that there is a player that is playing for another team and he should really be playing for the Ducks. Gordon thinks that with this player they may have a chance to win the league. But when the father of the kid named Adam Banks finds out, he goes to Mr. Ducksworth and he says that if Gordon does not agree to let Adam continue to play with the hawks, he will lose his job. Gordon knows that this is not right and does not agree, thus losing his job. I feel that this is an example of post-conventional. This is so because Gordon knows that he will pay a price for doing what is right. And in the end he pays that price (losing his job). Gordon is acting as a utilitarian because he is doing this for the good of the team, not himself.

The final example that I will give is one that I put a lot of thought into. The scene is when Gordon receives skates from Hans, an old friend. Gordon goes out onto the ice and begins to examine his thoughts and feeling of how he really feels about hockey. In reality he loves it. Gordon then decides that he will put all of his heart into this team and create them into a top-ranked hockey team. This is an example of post-conventional because Gordon is doing what he feels is right, not matter what anyone else says. He is acting as a utilitarian because he is thinking of how much the kid’s need him, not how he needs the kids.

The Mighty Ducks is a great movie with a great plot, and I recommend that you see it.