Finals: A Movie Review and its Ethical Principles Behind
A. Title of the Movie: Bad Genius
B. Plot of the Movie:
Bad Genius is a Thai movie that focuses on four highschool students who basically committed a
cheating crime inside and outside the school. Lynn, Bank, Grace, and Pat, the four students who are the
masterminds of the cheating crime. It all started when Lynn became friends with Grace. Lynn started
tutoring her when Grace begged her to because Grace wanted to continue being part of the play but in order
to do that she needs higher grades. Lynn ended up helping her in an exam by writing the answers on the
eraser and passing it to her using her shoe. The news was told by Grace to her boyfriend, Pat, and he
eventually made a deal with her to provide answers in every exam to him, Grace and their other friends in
exchange with cash. Lynn, who is struggling with financial problems, agreed with Pat and teach provide
them the answers. She taught a lot of students with piano keys to disguise their cheating crime. The clients
of the said ‘piano lesson’ grow larger and larger each time. Lynn maintained her rank and earned some
money. Pat is praised by his parents and had a car as a reward. Grace continued to be part of school play
and got higher grades. But the cheating wasn’t covered for long time when Bank, Lynn’s co-quizzer,
suspected that someone is copying Lynn’s answer during the exam in the gym. The head caught the
cheating incident when she noticed different set items on Lynn’s scratch paper. The head was so
disappointed that she banned Lynn from competing in the quiz bee and canceled Lynn’s oppurtunity to have
full scholarship in overseas college. Instead of stopping the cheating crime, the three started to plan a bigger
cheating crime, which is Standardized Test for International Colleges. Due to Lynn’s need for money and
Grace and Pats need to pass to be able to enter Boston University, they planned and recruited a lot of
students for it. Lynn needed a hand from someone to memorize all the answers during the exam in Sydney
and Bank was their only choice. Bank denied the offer but Pat did something horrible that left Bank with no
other choice but to join. They both fly to Sydney to take the exam and send the answers to Pat and Grace
while they distribute it to the others through the barcode in the pencils. It was almost a perfect crime but
Bank asks for more money that delayed the plan and eventually became the reason why he got caught.
Lynn, on the other hand survived and was able to pass all the answers to Pat and Grace. The plan was
successful but happiness was no where to be found in the four. Lynn unfriended Grace and Pat and as she
visit Bank, she saw how he was able to put up business from the money but wasn’t able to study because of
the caught crime. Bank proposed another crime plan to Lynn and threaten her that he will confess about
STIC exam. But then Lynn still denied the plan. The movie ended as Lynn is being interviewed on her
confession about the suspected cheating incident during STIC examination.
C. Principles Shown in the Movie:
1. Moral Sentiments
 Lynn is the character who exhibit moral sentiment in the movie. Moral sentiment is define as
having empathy towards the other that allows us to identify with others. At the beginning of the
movie, Lynn felt the empathy to her friend, Grace, during their library talk where in Grace told
her that she needs higher grade to be able to continue taking part in the school play. Being
Lynn’s only friend, she helped her and even let her copy in the exam. Although she knew that it
is a crime to cheat, she still let Grace copy her answers; out of friendship and empathy as well.
2. Utilitarianism
 Utilitarianism focuses on ‘greatest happiness principle’ where in the action can be classified as
morally right if it is for the good of the greater number of people. In the movie, the cheating
crime shows the utilitarianism principle. Even though in other principles, the cheating act
specially the STIC exam is a crime and morally wrong, in utilitarianism it is otherwise. In
utilitarianism, the cheating crime of Lynn, Bank, Grace, and Pat can be considered morally right
because it is for the benefits of the numerous students including the four of them. Grace and Pat
was able to pass the exam, Bank and Lynn got the money, and a lot of exam takers, 30 students
at least, are able to pass the exam as well. Because utilitarianism doesn’t take action in
consideration and only focuses on the number of people benefiting on the action; thus the
cheating crime can be considered morally right in this principle.
3. Egoism
 Out of all the characters in the movie, Grace and Pat are the two characters who exhibit egoism
the most. They decide and act in a given situation with their welfare as the main priority. They
encourage Lynn to cheat with them, pay her to agree with them, even though they are both aware
that Lynn might loose everything. They even asked Lynn to help them in STIC, risking Lynn’s
future education and name for their own cause. Even after Bank got caught and Lynn almost too,
they still thought of going to the same university with Lynn to use her brain again. Bank, being
the most honest character in the start of the movie, exhibits egoism at the end as well. After
getting caught in the STIC, cheating, Bank encourage Lynn to be part of his plan of cheating in
another aptitude test. He even threatened Lynn that he will expose them in the STIC cheating
scandal if she won’t agree. He said that it is a huge money and will surely help him and her. His
principle was ruined and ended up being a selfish person after loosing everything in the STIC
cheating scandal.