Larabelle Adrianne M.

Luntayao

BA20 B-O

MOVIE REFLECTION PAPER ON ERIN BROCKOVICH

A single woman with three unemployed children is the subject of the true story Erin Brockovich.
Her automobile is struck as she exits an interview, resulting in injuries. As she is hired to do
menial secretary work by her sympathetic lawyer, Albert L. Masry, she learns that one of his
clients has questionable medical records. Brockovich continues her investigation and learns that
Pacific Gas and Electric was responsible for poisoning the groundwater with carcinogenic
Chrominum-6 but had attempted to cover their tracks by covering Masry's client's medical
expenses. The issue turned out to be pervasive, and many residents of Hinkley, where PG&E
was based experienced health issues.

634 plaintiffs filed a class-action complaint alleging that PG&E intentionally poisoned the town's
groundwater. By giving the characters inclusive emotional depictions and presenting a clear
conflict, the director and writers built a story that showed the firm as the social and
environmental villain. In the film, Erin Brockovich is portrayed as a single mother who works
hard but struggles. The single mother's story is woven throughout, giving viewers a reason to
care more about her situation and develop an emotional connection with her. The film also
focuses on a number of the plaintiffs' stories, including that of eight-year-old cancer patient
Annabelle Daniels, who was depicted with her parents and appeared sick.

The contrast with the corporate behemoth PG&E is starker because it fosters empathy for the
victims and paints them as struggling, working-class individuals. The PG&E representative
added, "Before you go off on your crusades, remember who you're dealing with...PG&E is a 28-
billion-dollar organization," in a scenario when Masry and PG&E's lawyers negotiate. In the film
Hinkley vs. PG&E, the Pacific Gas and Electric company was presented as a heartless, power-
hungry organization that exploited Hinkley's working-class inhabitants. But the plaintiffs in the
case received the largest direct-action lawsuit payout ever granted in American history.
Because viewers were more likely to empathize with the chromium pollution victims than the
greedy corporate giant, the story of Erin Brockovich and the victims was successful in making
the corporation out to be the bad guys. Brockovich remarked that the movie was "probably 98%
factual." Even today, Brockovich continues to be a consumer champion.

The controversial topic of environmental contamination is brought up in the film Erin Brockovich,
which also depicts how companies are progressively destroying life due to their hunger for more
money and material wealth.