Abstract

Movies tell stories. Thrilling are especially those situations, when people have to make ethical decisions. Issues of medical ethics crop up not only in hospital series, but often in genres where this subject is hardly to be supposed: comedies, westerns, love stories and gangster movies. Enacting these conflicts means offering a solution, and in doing so films refer to moral values and – at the same time – function as seismographs for the social relevance of bioethical topics. But it is possible that ethical principles of good decision-making fall victims to the drama of the story. Analysis of the portrayed conflict is similar to a case discussion in bioethics and represents a helpful adjunct to the procurement of analytical and communicative competences