Introduction
The film “Erin Brockovich,” released in 2000, immediately conquered the hearts of a broad audience. This is a famous biographical film directed by Stephen Soderberg, based on a true story of human rights activist Erin Brockovich. She fought for the rights of residents of the Hinkley community of California against PG&E: an organization that polluted the city’s groundwater with hexavalent chromium, which causes cancer.
The main character was played by Julia Roberts, who won numerous film awards for this role, including, for instance, the Oscars and Golden Globes. Stam (2017) states that “the cinema virtually requires multiple frameworks of understanding” (p. 2), and this movie gives ample opportunities for deep analysis. The purpose of this paper is to consider the main topics that are raised in the film and discuss its value to the audience.
Issues Highlighted in the Film
The film “Erin Brockovich” raises several topics that are important to people in terms of ethics, morality and life position in general. According to Lehman and Luhr (2018), “no movie has one “right” meaning that every viewer can “get” by approaching it “correctly” (p. 198). Viewers can find something for themselves in “Erin Brockovich,” projecting it onto their life experiences and the principles created throughout their lives. However, some of the themes can be named essential, and everyone can notice them while watching the film. One of the crucial topics is human ambition, strength, and self-confidence.
These qualities are revealed thanks to the behavior of Erin, the main character. Despite everything, she defends her point of view and fights for the rights of people. She is a person whose life is based on clear and sustainable principles. All her actions are aimed at achieving justice in any situation. Undoubtedly, this is the character, which many people should consider an example, and after watching the movie, some may change their outlooks on life.
Another meaningful topic raised in the film is human relationships. First of all, it is a struggle between a manager and a subordinate. Erin has to constantly prove her intelligence and competence to Ed, her boss. Only thanks to hard work and significant achievements did she manage to climb the career ladder. This state of affairs is quite common in modern organizational culture, but not everyone dares to defend their position to the end. The film also discusses family relationships: between a mother and children and between a man and a woman. Examples of different patterns of behavior in various situations help viewers rethink their interpersonal relationships and possibly change for the better.
The movie also reveals the topic of environmental issues associated with the development of modern technology. The main problem raised in the film is the impunity of the company which negatively affects the environment and the weakness of suffering people in this situation. This remains relevant twenty years after the release of the film: even now, production companies have a substantial negative impact on the environment. Humanity has not yet found a way to properly manage waste, harmful gases, or, for example, consumables, which leads to pollution. “Erin Brockovich” examines a small, local case of an organization’s polluting nature. Thanks to this, the viewer can project what is happening to more significant situations and think about measures to prevent pollution.
The Main Character
Erin is an example of a strong and independent person who can find a way out of any problematic situation. To reveal the character, her past is remarkable: she is not from a wealthy family, she has no education, she has been divorced twice. Such circumstances could deprive anyone of their will to live, but Erin remained true to her principles and continues to fight, no matter what. One of her core values ​​is the support of her children, even when not everything goes well for her. Thus, we see that Erin’s core values ​​are responsibility, justice, and perseverance. According to the plot, relying on them, the heroine can achieve any of her goals, as she can competently distribute her efforts and even sacrifice something.
All these qualities of the main character are manifested in the course of interaction with other people. A heightened sense of justice can be seen, for example, during the employment of Erin. Since Ed loses her case in court, she considers it fair to demand some compensation from him. To do this, she invents a method that ultimately brings benefits to both herself and him: she gets a job in his company. She has to insist on this idea since initially, Ed is against such an employee, but the consequences are positive. This is one of the proofs that decisions, based on wise and rational principles, often lead to good results.
It is also important to consider moral principles of Erin. She finds herself in a situation in which it is necessary to make an ethically correct choice and act according to this attitude. Thanks to a developed sense of justice and moral qualities, Erin decides to confront the whole organization. She is confident in her victory because she knows that the truth is on her side. This behavior is an example of an ethical decision, as it leads to positive changes in the lives of many people and the restoration of justice.
Environmental Problems
It is necessary to consider in more detail the ecological problem raised in the film since in our time this is one of the most important issues for humanity. According to Friend and Kohn (2018), “monitoring workplace conditions and advising management on the importance of making critical corrections for moral, legal, and economic reasons” is very important (p. 3). Thus, an essential employee for any production company is one who is responsible for a proper approach of the company to the safety of the environment.
In the story, PG&E contaminates water with hexavalent chromium used during the process of production, which results in negative consequences. The inhabitants use water around the PG&E factories, and many of them are found to have cancer caused by this. Considering this problem more globally, it is possible to see that the joint work of manufacturing organizations now has a very similar impact on the whole of humanity.
However, instead of changing the operation of their own company, PG&E approaches the issue differently. First, it engages in the purchase of the real estate in the areas where the company functioned, so they can occupy even more territory and, theoretically, increase productivity. Second, even knowing the toxicity of the substance used, they carefully conceal all the facts and destroy the documents. This situation is terrible because the Hinkley community residents alone cannot resist a large-scale organization.
They have only two options: either continue to endure, or sell their houses to the company and move as far as possible. In the first case, this may adversely affect their health. Besides, this will make it clear to the company that their behavior is permissible, and people can coexist with them. In the second case, people just leave the problem without actually solving it, which also leaves the company unpunished.
Such situations are difficult to solve without resorting to joint efforts. On the one hand, this requires the influence of people living in the area of ​​operation of factories. They need to convey to the company that they feel bad, and they need to change something. On the other hand, the company itself must listen to these people. According to Reese (2016), it is necessary to develop “an occupational safety and health approach, which will meet the specific needs of your company” (p. 1). This is not always profitable and rational from the point of view of technology. However, in this case, they will have to change something in the production process. In the long run, this will lead to improvements in the environment, in the lives of affected people, and in the image of the company.
Government Action on Unethical Decisions
The situation with PG&E should be considered from a state perspective. A rational approach would be to establish specific rules for companies that use toxic substances in production. For example, the state may ban some of these substances or organize a system for their processing or destruction. These measures should be established at the legislative level and fixed in official documents. Mansdorf (2019) formulates these rules as follows: “ensure that prevention methods are included in all designs that impact workers, contractors, and others affected by the enterprise” (p. 146). In addition, the state needs to monitor its implementation, and this may require the creation of a new agency specifically for these purposes.
Also, it is necessary to consider a system of punishments for violators of these guidelines: companies that make unethical decisions. This system can include several stages: from a simple warning to company closure and criminal liability. Despite this, in the initial stages, the state should assist such companies and help set up the work so as not to harm the environment. This would be beneficial both to the company which will keep functioning and to the state.
Conclusion
“Erin Brockovich” is a great and vivid example of how the art of any kind can reflect real life. Each viewer can put himself or herself in the place of the main character and think how he or she would behave if they had to solve these issues. This film raises a vast number of exciting and significant topics affecting various areas of human life. The viewers can find answers to many questions: how to behave in stressful situations, how to assert their rights, how to relate to family members, colleagues, and strangers. Thanks to this, people have the opportunity to think about themselves and the surrounding realities, reconsider their values, ​​and adopt new useful attitudes. Even though the film was made twenty years ago, it remains relevant to this day.
References
Friend, M. A., & Kohn, J.P. (2018). Fundamentals of occupational safety and health (7th ed.). Bernan Press.
Lehman, P., & Luhr, W. (2018). Thinking about movies: Watching, questioning, enjoying, the fourth edition. John Wiley & Sons.
Mansdorf, S. Z. (2019). Handbook of occupational safety and health. John Wiley & Sons.
Reese, C. D. (2016). Occupational health and safety management: A practical approach (3rd ed.). CRC Press.
Stam, R. (2017). Film Theory: An introduction. John Wiley & Sons.