Ethical Issues In The Movie 'The Lorax'

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First of all, I enjoy the movie “The Lorax”; my children and I watch it often. Based on a book by Dr. Seuss, “The Lorax” is about a man named the Once-ler, who is an entrepreneur in search of making it big. The Once-ler stumbles upon an untouched wilderness where beautiful Truffula trees grow everywhere. The trees are just what he needs, so he harvests the Truffula Trees to create his product called a Thneed (a thing that all people need). The Once-ler meets a creature called the Lorax, who speaks for the trees and the interests of the natural environment and its native residents. The Lorax advises him not to cut down and destroy all the trees but the Once-lers greediness to mass produce the Thneeds leads to the extinction of Truffula Trees, …show more content…

Seuss focus on in “The Lorax”? It is s a tale of environmental responsibility, corporate greed and sustainability. “The Lorax reflects the era in 1971 in which the book was written. During that time, the United States was entangled in environmental issues left over from the 1960s. The deforestation of the Pacific Northwest was chief among them; logging companies were cutting down trees at alarming rates. The logging industry were not happy about The Lorax and as a result the book was banned from many schools and libraries near thriving timber communities. Timber industry groups even sponsored a rebuttal book, called The Truax, which helped kids understand the necessity of harvesting timber (Ayers)”. The Lorax is a tale that involves business ethics and environmental ethics. “Even in 1972, Dr. Seuss recognized that modern corporations don’t always have the environment at heart when they decide how to do business. The Lorax, provides a straightforward account of what can go wrong when companies fail to take environmental concerns into account (Arthur)”. Could the Once-ler have done things differently to keep the environment healthy? The film ultimately provokes the question, is there a way for businesses to exist that is not in conflict with the natural environments that they work

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