Promoting Ethical Storytelling: The New Director of Cinematic Ethics Has A Message For Bettering Storytelling Workplaces!
by Desa Philadelphia
Professor Gordon Bellamy of the Interactive Media & Games Division has had a long career in the game design industry with key creative and business roles at Tencent and Electronic Arts, as a designer of Madden NFL Football, and at MTV. He is currently featured in the Amazon Prime Docuseries, It's in the Game; The World According to Jeff Goldblum on Disney+; High Score on Netflix; and Rewind the ’90s on Hulu. He began teaching at SCA in 2015 and classes he has taught include Anatomy of a Game, Streaming Explorations, and Interactive Media Startups. For the last two semesters, he has been teaching the class in Cinematic Ethics to SCA Graduate students. He earned a BA in Engineering from Harvard University.
Bellamy was recently named the Director of Cinematic Ethics at SCA, and answered our questions about the role.
Professor Gordon Bellamy
What does your role as Director of Cinematic Ethics entail?
In this role, I collaborate with faculty, students, and industry partners to ensure ethical considerations are woven seamlessly into every aspect of the storytelling process. This involves crafting bespoke curricula and extracurricular experiences tailored to the needs of our various departments, from screenwriting and production to animation, and interactive media. Our shared goal is to empower the next generation of creators to approach their work and each other with both artistic rigor and ethical integrity.
I am also focused on cultivating spaces where ethical inquiry is integral to the creative process. Building on the pioneering work of Wells Writing Division Professor Ted Braun (Chairholder, Joseph Campbell Endowed Chair in Cinematic Ethics), who has laid an extraordinary foundation for ethical discourse in our curriculum, we will create opportunities for students, faculty, industry leaders, alumni, and staff to engage in thoughtful, collaborative, and meaningful dialogue about the ethical dimensions of storytelling across all media.
Is this a new shift in the creative businesses?
While ethics has always been a part of storytelling, the dynamics, connectivity, and opportunities of today’s media landscape have brought it to the forefront. Audiences have evolved into communities. These communities now demand transparency, authenticity, and accountability from creators. This evolution is an acknowledgment that ethical storytelling and practices build trust, drive innovation, and strengthen the relationship between creators and their communities.
Why is it important for our students to engage each other about ethics now, in the classroom, rather than in their future workplaces?
The classroom provides an invaluable space for exploration, vulnerability, and debate without the immediate pressures of commerce. Trojans can test ideas, learn from one another’s perspectives, and confront challenging questions in a supportive environment. By doing so, they cultivate the tools they’ll need to navigate ethical complexities in their professional lives with confidence and compassion.
What would you like the wider Trojan community to know about your efforts?
I want to convey my deep gratitude to the Trojan community. Their trust and support are the foundation for this work. I invite our industry leaders and alumni to engage with us—whether through guest lectures, mentorship, or philanthropy—to continue building USC School of Cinema as a global hub for ethical storytelling. Together, we can ensure that our students are extraordinary artists AND principled leaders who will continue inspire the world, as they have for generations.