5C PROFESSIONAL ETHICS

The past few days I have been looking at the codes of conduct and regulations of my professional practice. From reading about the ethics in the reader it educated me more on the ethics and rules not just in the world of dance. The reader talked a lot more about these rules and ethics and went into things with a lot more detail.It made me think more about the rules of my enquiry that I wish to study, and if there are any, The image of a dancer ... are there any so called rules? 

The world of dance is a very competitive place, a lot of the time I find myself around spiteful, overpowering and very self centered girls ! very much into there image liking to think that there the worlds best dancer. I often find myself very self conscious whilst lining outside pineapple dance studios waiting for an audition and I am well aware of the wandering eyes of my competition around me eyeing me up and naturally making me feel uncomfortable. The reader states that

“Hobbes (1651) viewed ethics as a practical solution to social harmony and good through the vehicle of a social contract. He posited that in order to achieve peaceful, co-operative social order we need to adhere to a set of moral rules. These rules are necessary because of certain facts about human life which he subscribed to. These were equality of need, scarcity, essential quality of human power and limited altruism.”

Are there any rules to us not to stare at the girl next to us who is wearing far too much makeup or is wearing the wrong leotard that totally unflatters her shape, no there are no rules and thats where I see how right Hobbes is by saying without rules we don't “achieve peaceful, co-operative social order” that we should be setting as human beings.I agree by him Going onto saying how we have rules to try and control our behaviors as human life! These were “equality of need, scarcity, essential quality of human power and limited altruism”. I picked up on the word “need”, why do we all stand in the never ending queues of auditions? well the need of a job for all young dancers is so overpowering and competitive these days ,hobbes is right for using this particular word.

Auditions sometimes do have a few rules these days such as only being able to participate at being a certain height, certain color and even job opportunities such as the link I posted on my profile a while back on a job that you could only receive if you had the blonde factor! I came to notice kants view on rules, he states the following,

“Immanuel Kant (1779) believed that moral rules are absolute and he based this on reason rather than religion. He argued this from a categorical imperative stance whereby you should help people no matter what your desires are. It is not enough to say that you are not interested. For Kant, lying is always wrong no matter what the circumstances are and the categorical imperative is his main argument. If we have a universal law which forbids lying then to allow lying would make it common and before long people would cease to believe one another.”

Kant goes onto talking about “lying” which he goes onto saying is wrong! I can honestly say from my own experience I have infact lied to attend an audition where I was a few inches shorter than I should have been, lied on the slip of paper I filled in that stated my height and have even lied on my weight to make myself seem lighter than I actually was! All image requirements which I lied about that could of helped my case of getting a job! However I seem to be not the only one to do this ! I noticed both Ross Dunning and Hayley Bence noted kants theory on lying. Here is what Ross dunning states on Kants statement, 

“I would disagree with the views of Kant, as although lying is often wrong and used in a deceitful way personally I think that it is sometimes used by people to in a consequentialist way and one that may aide them.”

I agree with ross and therefore find that is no surprise that both myself and ross do the same things at auditions

“When it comes auditions and the height on my C.V I find myself often changing how tall I am. I don’t see this as being morally wrong as if this can get me a job and allow me to fulfill my ambition to become a dancer then surely lying like this is seen in a consequentialist way and not deemed as deontologist.”

Again after reading Hayley Bences Blog she states along the same lines as well as me and Ross

“lying in the case of an audition could be seen as ‘an act is morally right if, and only if, that act maximizes the good’(course reader 5 Jeremy Bentham and JS mil)l. I’ve lied to get a job so I’d like to think it was to maximize good.”

It seems all us dancers don't follow the rules at auditions! instead we sadly lie to heighten the chances of getting a job.Another fantastic example of showing how desperate and how important the image is of a dancer, my main line of enquiry!

I then went deeper into the reader and really connected and shared a link of my enquiry with the Ethics in Photography.I went onto reading the shocking story of the photographer who took the award winning picture of an African child dying before a eagle and not attempting to save her from starving to death because  the “ethical role and duty of a photographer is to observe and not interfere.” take a second to look at the photo that was captured by the photographer  below:

 From looking at the photo the following words came into my mind, frail, weak, ill, undernourished, skinny, unhappy? These words ring a bell ? Now how about putting Natalie Portman who plays the ballerina Nina Sayers into the same picture, any similar characteristics?

Just like the photographer watching the child there are many dance teachers who watch, train and work carefully with ballerinas. Sometimes I feel teachers encourage the young dancer to loose weight for the correct image, specially as a ballerina. The reader goes onto mentioning “Does there come a point where these ground rules and ethical duties as a photojournalist should be ignored for the sake of a human life?” now instead of photojournalist put in the words of dance teacher or media .There are no rules in media of not exploiting dangerous pictures around us on the net and on our screens, it is all around use even in fashion see picture below :

 Young dancers and models see these pictures and films like the above “black swan” and physically and mentally drive themselves into eating disorders and dangerously thin states. Just like the photographer who moved on and left the poor Ethiopian child the same photographers move on after taking the same image to the left, do you really think the photographer would speak to the model and help her or ask if she was ok or try to persuade her to see a nutritionist and tell her that she would probably die if she continued? again the photographers story all relates back to my line of inquiry and shows how I can fit it into the theoretical ethical framework thats portrayed in the reader. Dance teachers and photographers play a large part to my line of enquiry.Personally I think that there should be rules as to what should and shouldn't be encouraged, and when they should step in before its too late as shown by the photographer!