Erin Brockovich

Last month Film Club Extra enjoyed Erin Brockovich. Here are Rosey Lunn's closing thoughts:

Erin Brokovich - the story of a woman who had all the odds stacked against her, but who found a cause worth fighting for, and won: PG& E, and the battle of the chromium in the water supply.
What did you think of her? 'She had her Beauty Queen days', says someone of her - and at first it seems that appearance is everything; how does she come across - a tart? Provocative? Someone who uses her sexuality to get what she wants - or tries to.

She certainly knows how to use language!

'You look like someone who has a lot of fun,' says someone - with a touch of envy? Or is that a disparaging remark? Perhaps our attitudes to her at that stage are ambivalent.

But beneath the appearances, we learn that although she has no qualifications, she always wanted to go to medical school. 'I thought I was going to do something with my life - something important. I thought I was someone...' Here's one of the themes of the film: the development of this woman's potential, the emergence of her hidden identity.

What, then, was it all about?

'It's about respect, it's about being valued.' she says. When first applying for a job with the law firm, she felt neither of those things - and was mad about it. 'The two things that annoy me are being ignored and being lied to.'

Because she had to fight those battles for herself, she became empowered to fight them for others... the victims of PG & E, who had been ignored and lied to. Later she says, 'For the first time I've found people respecting me' - and as that happens to her, so she, in turn, makes it happen for the people whose cause she is fighting.

But the personal cost was great - was it worth it?

Ask anyone whose work /mission /vocation in life makes huge demands on them, and they'll agree - it costs! A mission like this demands a certain ruthlessness, single-mindedness, and others may have to make sacrifices for 'the cause' - is that fair? Erin lost out on many precious moments - not least the moment when her youngest child began to speak.

But who knows, perhaps her children grew up to be proud of her, glad to have a parent who gave them a broader perspective on life than a narrowly domestic one.

So, who are the people who get the world changed?

Powerful people? Experts? Governments and institutions? Celebrities?

What about a man with no academic qualifications, who grew up in an obscure Middle eastern village; who liked the company of disreputable types of people; whose values - manifesto - could be summed up in the words of a song that was composed to celebrate his coming:

'He has shown strength with his arm:
He has scattered the proud with all their plans,
He has brought down the mighty and lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty.'

I think he would have enjoyed Erin's company; and I'm sure he would have approved of what she did.

Discussion Questions
1. Did you enjoy the film? What was your favourite moment?
2. Did your view of Erin change as the film progressed? How?
3. 'I thought I was someone; I thought I was going to do something with my life - something important' says Erin as she looks at her Beauty Queen tiara. How do you feel about the kind of people who want to do 'Something important'?
4. How do you think her children rated her for what she did?
5. 'You look like someone who has a lot of fun' - was that attractive (why?) or threatening (why?)
6. What does this film say about respect / being valued?
7. If you could engage in a battle with a big corporation / organisation, which would it be and what would be your mission?