Authority In A Few Good Men

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In A Few Good Men, by Rob Reiner, both Demi Moore’s character, Commander Jo, and Jack Nicholson's character, Colonel Jessup, outrank Tom Cruise’s character, Danny, yet he only obeys to Colonel Jessup. Why is this? In the article, “Obedience” by Ian Parker and movie, A Few Good Men, both discuss the concept of obedience to an authority figure. An aspect of obedience they both analyze is the idea that the gender of an authority figure produces a different level of obedience in their counterparts. In A Few Good Men, Danny is completely respectful and obedient towards Colonel Jessup, but not towards Commander Jo, who also outranks him. This can best be explained by gender roles. In the mid-1990’s at the time the movie was created, women weren’t

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