On the Waterfront

From the very beginning of the film On the Waterfront characters are faced with decisions that can either lead to them being viewed as a whistleblower or as a traitor. The problem they are faced with is the choice of either going to the police and standing up against the mobs wrong doings or keeping quiet. Characters such as Joey, Doogan, and eventually Terry Malloy, are all whistleblowers and believe in standing up for what is right. They are willing to risk their lives to bring justice to the families of the waterfront by speaking out against the mob. Joey and Doogan are unsuccessful but Terry continues on even after seeing what fatal consequences can come. On the other hand there are characters such as Johnny Friendly and the dockworkers who believe speaking out would make them a traitor. The dockworkers also don’t budge on offering any tips to the police out of fear for their lives; this fear is brought on by Johnny and his mob that make them believe speaking out is the wrong thing to do and would be considered tattling. Through all this Terry persists with the encouragement of the Priest and Edy and eventually reaches his goal of bringing justice to the mob. But before he is able to fully bring down the mob he first needs the support of the dockworkers which he eventually gets as they realize that being a whistleblower and telling the truth really is a benefit to society and shouldn’t be considered tattling.

In my opinion being a tattle and being a whistleblower are two hugely different things. To me a tattle is just someone who tells on another for their own personal pleasure or gains not someone who speaks up about wrong doings in hopes that they can improve society by fixing this problem. A whistleblower is someone who is to be appreciated for spreading awareness and helping to fix problems not just someone who is looking to get someone else in trouble for amusement.