¶ … Erin Brocovich

Movie Review: "Erin Brockovich" How did the movie contribute to your understanding of American politics?

It can't happen here.' No American will say this after seeing the movie "Erin Brockovich" (2000). The film suggests that massive government cover-ups that endanger ordinary citizen's lives are possible, even in a representative democracy with a free press. Thus, Americans cannot trust their elected legislators to protect their health and well-being. Americans must take responsibility for monitoring what is going on in their own communities, or special interests such as large corporate entities will dominate the political decision-making process. Not even the news media can entirely be trusted to bring problems that affect the public to light. Without crusaders like Erin Brockovich, ordinary Americans not associated with powerful special interest groups are apt to lose their voices in their own government, even though it is elected by the people to serve the people. As noted by T. R Dye (2002), although every citizen only has one vote, the existence of interest groups defies such notions of fairness. Even when citizens ban together to form a lobbying group and the group's influence should theoretically not exceed the numbers of the group's membership, quite often the faction's ability to have influence depends upon the financial and social status of its membership.

However, it is not enough to merely blame interest groups. The fact that Erin Brockovich was able to succeed demonstrates that the American political process can work. The fact that the problems of environmental pollution are often invisible, and difficult for the lay person to understand is an explanation, but not an excuse for why so few people take positive and proactive action. This is why people must not be paralyzed by fear like the California community before Erin begins to investigate -- instead, they must speak up for their own welfare and the welfare of their children.

Works Cited

Erin Brockovich." (2000). Starring Julia Roberts.

Dye, T.R. (2002). Who's running America? The Bush restoration. (7th Ed.).

Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Lowery, D. & Brasher, H. (2004). Organized interests and American government.

New York: McGraw Hill.