Entitlement In Stanley Milgram's A Few Good Men

A Few Good Men is a prime example of obedience-involved situations throughout the entire film. Specifically, it contains great examples of the relationship of obedience and the sense of entitlement. Entitlement tends to logically come hand and hand with a sense of being above most authority figures, resulting in the lack of obedience towards those figures. Stanley Milgram has examples of this trend in his works in “The Perils of Obedience,” where the test subject tends to feel entitlement, mainly from the experiments “teacher” explaining how the experiment depends on them with how far they are willing to go with the experiment (Milgram 79). An additional popular experiment we can effectively compare A Few Good Men to is the Stanford Prison

This is greatly frowned upon where in the military respecting a higher officer is strongly enforced. The disrespect and lack of obedience in this situation is logically an effect of Kaffee’s self-entitlement. Milgram may explain Kaffee’s entitlement from a review of his own experiment. He can argue that the subjects in his experiment were established with a sense of entitlement when they are briefed that the success of the experiment depends on them and their choices (Milgram 78). Milgram would connect his subjects with Kaffee by effectively explaining when Kaffee is confronted about his father and in result praised for having such a great man as his father, he takes this as praise of himself from coming from such a family. Logically he adds self-importance to himself resulting in entitlement. In support of Milgram’s claim, the article of “Entitlement Predicts Sexism,” collaborated by Case Western Reserve University, would add the addition of the connection between sexism and entitlement. Studies mentioned by the article would support the opinion that Kaffee not only felt entitled above her but felt as a man he was not required to show her respect (Entitlement Predicts Sexism). Ross and Nisbett, authors of “The Power of Situations,” state that people tend to place more value on the personal traits of a person rather than giving consideration to the

While having lunch at Guantanamo Bay, Kaffee directs a question towards Jessup in an informal way compared to military standards. Jessup immediately becomes angered and demands that Kaffee rephrase his question in a more respectable form because he feels entitled to respect due to his many achievements. Zimbardo would start the conversation off with the matter of a man in a uniform. Being put in a uniform and blatantly told that one is above others and can give orders consequently results in entitlement as seen in Zimbardo’s experiment. As the students are given uniforms and put above the prisoners, Jessup is promoted to the head of Guantanamo Bay and is assured that he is above other soldiers on his compound (Zimbardo 118). Zimbardo would effectively emphasize this parallel association and state how they both resulted in entitlement to command freely what they wanted to command. Nisbett and Ross would agree and logically focus on an additional parallel of the change of environment of the two examples. The students went from a mainly submissive state as a student to professors and then were jumped to a position of such authority and command over the “prisoners.” Likewise, Jessup went from an under ranking officer to the a major commander in the military with lesser officers suddenly at his exposal. Ivan Boszormenyi-Nagy, M.D. is a psychiatrist that states, “Entitlement resembles a right, something