English 105
Film Analysis
It would be impossible to find a
person in this world who could not write a one-page list of things he
values. This list would probably
include everything from moral values and his family to his career and his car
to staying physically and spiritually healthy.
The movie Erin Brockovich deals with which aspects of life that
most of us would lump under the category of “things I value” should be
cherished and never taken for granted, which should be highly appreciated, and
which we like to have, but could live without.
The entire community of Hinkley,
past and present, value every day that they wake up and aren’t feeling like
they are on their deathbeds. Many of us
take our excellent health for granted because we’ve never been really
sick. Donna Jensen’s entire family had
been in and out of the hospital for years with a seemingly endless list of
medical conditions. This caused Erin to
want desperately to help the Jensens and eventually the rest of Hinkley,
especially when she found out that all their illnesses were the result of the
Pacific Gas and Electric company lying to the community about the safety of
their drinking water. This brings up
the moral value of honesty.
No one likes to be lied to, especially
when the lie is life threatening. Erin
may not have left the best first impression on people with her revealing style
of dress and her almost constant swearing, but she was honest. When Ed Masry was trying to convince the
Jensens and Robinsons to hire him for their lawyer, he tells them that his
standard fee is 40% of their award, Erin responds to the incredulous looks on
the two couples’ faces by saying, “Boy, do I know how you feel. The first time I heard that number, I said,
‘You’ve got to be kidding me. 40 god damned percent!? I’m the one who’s injured … You want to walk away with almost half
my award!?’ But then I asked him what
he makes if I don’t get anything.” Then
Ed, who had tried to stop Erin from saying that, told them that he didn’t get
anything and Erin added that he’d also be out all the expenses if they
lost. Once people saw that she was
honest in spite of her initial appearance, they trusted her and valued her
opinions. This is evidenced when the
Danielses tell Erin that they don’t like Theresa, Kurt Potter’s assistant, that
she makes Annabelle uncomfortable, and all Erin has to do is tell them that
she’ll take care of it.
Along with trust and honesty comes
respect. When a person is trusted and
shown to be honest, that person is respected for those reasons. Erin experiences respect of her for the
first time with the community of Hinkley.
Once she knows how it feels to be respected, she realizes how valuable
that asset can be: “For the first time
in my life, I’ve got people respecting me.
When I walk into a room, people shut up to see if I have anything to
say. I never had that before. Please, don’t ask me to give that
up.” Erin was also respected for her
compassion and selflessness. She
genuinely cared about every single victim of P.G. & E.’s lie. She proved this fact when Theresa said
Erin’s files needed some holes filled in and Erin recited from memory all the
information Theresa wanted and more.
Someone who doesn’t have compassion and caring for the townspeople of
Hinkley would not have been able to do that.
Erin sacrificed spending time with her children in order to help
everyone. Even when Matthew was mad at
her for never being there or always reading when she was, she continued her
work, hoping that someday he would understand that she couldn’t abandon Hinkley
now. She also missed hearing Beth’s
first word as a result of her compassion, but in the end, it was a sacrifice
worth making because Hinkley needed her help.
All of Erin’s hard work paid off and, as
a result, everyone involved got a nice sum of money. The Jensens were awarded five million dollars. Ed’s law practice moved to a huge office
building. Erin got her own office,
complete with a window, and a two million dollar bonus from Ed. Those were all very good things, but more
important was that P.G. & E. was held responsible for knowingly poisoning
the community of Hinkley and Ed Masry and Erin Brockovich were taken seriously
in the law community. At the end of the
movie, Erin is working hard on a new case against P.G. & E. for the
community of Kettleman Hills, CA, which is a much larger town and it is assumed
that they expect a similar outcome because of their success with Hinkley.
None of the things in life that we value
should be taken for granted. As humans,
we like to be successful, comfortable, and not worry about where the next
paycheck is coming from. It is possible
to live without that; however, it’s not the safest, healthiest, easiest, or
most enjoyable way to live. More important
than money and success is respect.
Respect and leaving a good initial impression on people should be highly
appreciated because it helps achieve success.
Erin, however, did not usually leave a good initial impression because
of the way that she dressed and talked, and was not initially respected. However, she gained respect and success even
in light of all that. The most
important values, the ones to be cherished, are not earned. Honesty, compassion, and selflessness are
learned at an early age and should never, ever be taken for
granted. Values such as those bring
about the aforementioned qualities. No
one truly respects someone who is dishonest, mean, or selfish. If the illusion of respect is given, it is
only out of fear, doesn’t last forever, and doesn’t gain that person any
genuine friends. Erin’s life proves
that a person doesn’t have to have the cleanest mouth, most decent dress, or
biggest income to be respected, successful, and valued as a human being, as
long as she is honest, compassionate, and selfless toward those around her.