Stories often wrap their narrative around a moral message. These messages reflect how one should behave in life: for example, The Boy Who Cried Wolf is a story with a moral note that lying is wrong. Movies do this too, no matter the genre. Romance films can have a message about not changing for another person, and documentaries can be made with the message of justice for a certain individual.
However, not all of these messages are conveyed well in their stories. Some of these movies even contradict themselves in the behavior of their characters, the lack of perspective outside their own, and even in the plot itself.
Shrek (2001)
This Dreamworks animated comedy was a hit, producing many sequels and inspiring other movie-makers in how to portray fairytale worlds differently. The main character is an ogre named Shrek, and he saves a human princess for a selfish ruler named Farquaad. The message at the end is about accepting people who are different. The princess even marries Shrek and the end.
However, the movie constantly contradicts its lovely message with how it treats Farquaad. The man is constantly made fun of because of how short he is. The conduct toward him is quite the opposite of what the movie tries to convey about outward appearances.
The Lion King (1994)
This Disney classic takes the story of Hamlet into the world of lion and the wilds. The main character, Simba, runs away after Scar kills his father. Simba lives his life believing the death of his father to be his fault. However, he gets a moral message about confronting his past mistakes.
The message falls very flat when audiences know very well that Simba actually made no mistakes in the first place. Scar killed his dad, not him.
Forrest Gump (1994)
Forrest Gump is a significant film with a ton of American culture and history wrapped into a romantic comedy-drama. The message is to appreciate life and what you have and to face the world optimistically.
This moral message falls short with the comparison to Jenny, who is far more cynical and spends a lot of her life fighting the world around her. Unlike Forest, though, she fights for what she thinks is right rather than what others tell her is right. She was born into an abusive household and dies at a young age. She is portrayed somewhat as a fool, and the movie makes it seem like Forrest is the only person who could do right by her. Yet, the optimistic life view of the titular character is undermined by Jenny's tragic story.
Alice In Wonderland (2010)
Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland tried to take a dark and feminist spin on a literary classic, but the morals crashed and burned. Alice is fated to marry as part of the expectations of everyone around her. In Wonderland, there is a parallel to this. She is fated to fight the Jabberwocky. She puts an end to a rebellion and restores the fated status quo of Wonderland.
So, the movie's narrative leans towards accepting one's destiny and meeting the expectations of others. However, she does the opposite in her own world by rejecting marriage and going against the status quo. Either Burton didn't realize what he was going, or he realized he accidentally was making an anti-feminist movie and tried to do a half-step back.
Beauty And The Beast (1991)
Known has one of Disney's best animated films, Beauty and the Beast sports a moral message not all too different from Shrek. Inner beauty is key, not outer beauty. The prince turns into a Beast because he rejected a crone who came to his door asking for shelter. However, she was actually a beautiful enchantress, and she cursed him.
All the non-beautiful characters in this movie turn out to be beautiful. The beast turns into a handsome prince, and the crone turned into a beautiful enchantress. So, how does the message truly work if there are only beautiful looking characters by the end?
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)
The lesson of its predecessor, Jurassic Park, is a message of conservation and shows how human meddling is very harmful to the environment. However, in the most recent Jurassic World, they release a bunch of dinosaurs into the world and cause untold man-made ecological destruction in the name of "compassion."
The movie would make any biologist scream, as it oversimplifies one of the most controversial subjects in that field of science. The original trilogy's moral message was thrown out the window, but it is possible that the next film will rectify this moral biological issue.
Fifty Shades Of Grey (2015)
To rag on this movie is kicking a dead horse, but it shall be kicked none-the-less. There are lessons even wrapped in this romantic-erotica. This movie has been plucked to death by critics for these lessons, as well, as they are dangerous ones in romance such as being able to change/save a person rather than love them for who they are.
However, those are not in-narrative contradictions. Instead, the contradiction is about the lesson of embracing the freedom of kinks. The movie instead makes it toxic and unsafe rather than empowering. It tries to go for "don't be ashamed of yourself," but then shows mostly negative consequences to this.
The Harry Potter Series (2001 - 2011)
Among many other issues that have arisen this year from the Harry Potter series, there are also contradictions abound in the wholesome lessons of the films. One example is the lesson of having a "found family." Many stories have this, showing that blood does not matter, as what really matters is your friends. Despite this though, Dumbledore gave baby Harry to an abusive family based on only the fact that they were blood relatives.
A lot of fans have also had issues with the epilogue, such as Harry naming his children after Dumbledore and Snape. Both characters, while quite iconic and nostalgic to audiences, used and abused him.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe Movies (2008 - 2019)
All the moral contradictions of the MCU movies are interesting because they tie into the limitations of the superhero genre. For example, Iron Man, the very first movie of the MCU, contained moral messages about the danger of creating weapons of mass destruction to solve world problems. However, the movie's solution is to just create more weapons and make sure they are used by Iron Man rather than anyone else.
The villain, the Vulture, even tries to provide the moral quandary of how the working class suffered under Tony Stark. That ultimately gets ignored because he is a "bad guy." That is not even a contradiction, just an utter lack of trying.
The Last Jedi: The Rise Of Skywalker (2019)
Fans had a lot of issues with this movie, and its moral contradictions are one of many. The biggest may be about Rey's bloodline. The series often empowered its audience with the moral lesson that heroes can come from anywhere. However, that was taken back in this movie when Rey's powers were due to her blood-relation with Palpatine. All the bad guys are obsessed with bloodlines, making Rey a rebellious outlier until the reveal in this movie.