Instructions for the Reflection on Erin Brockovich
1. On your paper, put your name, date, and period on the top. Title your paper
“Erin Brockovich Movie Reflection”
2. We will be viewing the movie Erin Brockovich in class for the next few days.
Read the plot summary below and write a brief explanation of why you believe
your teacher has chosen to show you this movie in class.
“Erin Brockovich is an unemployed single mother, desperate to find a job, but is
having no luck. This losing streak even extends to a failed lawsuit against a doctor
in a car accident she was in. With no alternative, she successfully browbeats her
lawyer to give her a job in compensation for the loss. While no one takes her
seriously, with her trashy clothes and earthy manners, but that soon changes
when she begins to investigate a suspicious real estate case involving the Pacific
Gas & Electric Company. What she discovers is that the company is trying quietly
to buy land that was contaminated by hexavalent chromium, a deadly toxic waste
that the company is improperly and illegally dumping and, in turn, poisoning the
residents in the area. As she digs deeper, Erin finds herself leading point in a
series of events that would involve her law firm in one of the biggest class action
lawsuits in American history against a multi-billion dollar corporation.” IMDB plot
summary - Written by Kenneth Chisholm
3. Introduction to characters:
a. Describe the main character, Erin Brockovich. What does she look like,
sound like, and act like? Who is she?
b. How does she finally get a job?
c. What happens when the woman Erin talks to about the link between the
contamination levels and her illnesses finally believes her?
4. Building a case:
a. What actions did Erin take in order to build a case against PG&E?
(describe at least 3)
b. What was it about the case that made Erin connect with it so strongly?
c. What is the “smoking gun” element the lawyers keep saying they need?
5. Court battle:
a. Whose explanation of the level of risk was more believable? Why?
b. Do you think the PG&E attorneys believed their company was not
responsible for the residents’ health problems?
c. Why do you think PG&E was resistant to taking responsibility for the
contamination?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: Pick one from each section and answer on your paper.
You do not need to rewrite the question, but put the number next to your
answer.
Gender Issues
1. In your opinion, was Erin a good mother? A good role-model for her children?
2. Was her wardrobe acceptable for her work setting (the law office)? By whose
standards?
3. Did Erin’s heavy workload harm her kids? Why or why not? If she were a man,
would that change your perception?
4. Was it fair of George to ask Erin to quit her job? Why or why not?
5. How do you think George felt about staying home with the kids while Erin was
working on the case? Would you have felt the same way?
Ethics
6. Why would a company intentionally pollute? Could this still occur in our
country? Do you think it does? Why or why not?
7. What is a reasonable trade-off between employment opportunities and doing
something illegal or unethical? Who decides? Who should decide? Why?
8. Given their circumstances, what recourses did the townspeople have available
to them? What resources are available to a community in an environmental
crisis?
9. Why do people work for corporations they know—or suspect—are polluting
(or making a harmful produce like cigarettes)? Why would someone destroy
documents when it might be illegal to do so?
10. Was the settlement figure enough in the end? Do you think a value can be set
for a human life? How would that be determined?
Environmental Impact
11. What did the contaminant, hexavalent chromium, do to the people who were
exposed? What sorts of illnesses or injuries did they suffer?
12. Using what you know about water and ground pollution, will the area around
the company ever be clean again? Why or why not?
13. Was the pollution in this movie point-source pollution or nonpoint-source
pollution, explain your answer.
14. How did this movie change your view of this class? How has it become more
relevant to you and why? (Only answer this one if it has changed your view!)