The China Syndrome Proposal

People interpret tradition differently depending on class, education, and personal beliefs. The China Syndrome shows many people and the different social circles they represent and how they react to the circumstances portrayed in the film. Many characters in the film undergo a shift in perceptions, whether it is Jack Godell’s realization that those higher in the company only care about production and not the lives of the people that use their product or even his friend, Ted Spindler’s declaration at the end of the film that not all orders he receives proof to be the right ones. Traditions provide the impression that rituals or beliefs created in the past still hold precedence over more modern beliefs. For instance, Ted Spindler sticks out to both Richard Adams and Kimberly Wells because of his age, and Adams remarks that he “is the only one who looks like he knows what he is doing.” His interpretation of Spindler becomes contradicted later by Spindler himself when he talks to Godell about his interrogation with the investigators after the first SCRAM; he comments that he does not have the same level of education as everyone else in the control room and knows nothing about nuclear power. When Godell asks him why he believes the investigators were looking for a “scapegoat,” his answer: “Tradition,” spells out his thoughts about the hierarchy of the workplace. This idea is further developed as throughout the film he constantly asks for the next set of orders, and at the end of the film, he is given orders to distract his friend to give the SWAT team enough time to capture Godell. He, of course, does this without any outward disagreement because to him, tradition dictates that he follow the instructions of his superiors. Ted Spindler's character shows the audience the effects of both education and class structure and how that directly affects how he perceives the tradition of following orders and how the perception of those orders changes by the end of the film.