I wonder if people here have examples of great movies or books that feature protagonists making big moral decisions to save many people?
I find such examples inspiring. Those can be historic or fictional.
This was inspired by this comment by Benjamin Todd, who was interested in:
"In-depth stories of people who had a lot of impact, and the rules of thumb they used / how they navigated key decision points, with the intention of drawing lessons from them.
E.g. Interview Holden or Bostrom about each key moment in their career, challenges & decisions they faced, and how they navigated them.
In this case, it would not be "in-depth" but rather a good movie related to what they did. There are probably a lot of superhero stories (after all, it's their job saving the world!), which is fine if the movie is really good and inspiring, and if the hero is particularly smart and altruistic.
Examples include for non-fictional stories the Schindler's List. Fictional ones may actually involve Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, or similar.
They don't have to be as dark and sad, though! I'm looking for good movies to watch with friends to get an extra boost of motivation.
I am imagining movies with heroes where it wasn't their job (so not the soldier in 1917 / most war movies) or they weren't in some sense "chosen" (most superhero / fantasy movies).
Seven samurai: where some samurai reluctantly attempt to protect a village.
Princess mononoke: I just think this is a good hero story.
Hacksaw Ridge (I didn't really want to include any war movies, but I think this merits inclusion because it's about a conscientious objector. Very violent.)
Haven't seen Hotel Rwanda but it may merit inclusion.