Erin Brockovich
Just stumbled across the speech that Erin Brockovich made in Washington D.C. a couple of years ago today. Good speech, I enjoyed listening to it. When I wrote about "The Corporation", I wrote that I did not intend to make this blog some kind of activist blog, but I want to write a few things about "Erin Brockovich" the film, and also I'd like to write about a couple of other films that deal with activism and environmental issues in the coming weeks. Again, I'm not trying to make this into activist blog, but there are number of quality films that deal with these issues, and I think they are worthy of being mentioned.
I just said "... there are number of quality films that deal with these issues ...", but quite honestly, I do not think that "Erin Brockovich" is a fantastic film, though it is a good enjoyable film. It's a story of triumph and justice; it is also a story of tragedy and loss. I do not think that "tragedy and loss" is depicted strongly enough. A lot of people died in the case that Erin Brockovich involved, and a lot of people are still dying. I don't think the tragedy, the loss, and the sadness are expressed strongly enough. I often find this in Hollywood films. Are they afraid that, if you make the film so tragic(as that in the real event), then you can't sell well? You can't make enough money? Maybe that is how the film was directed, and if it is the case, it's pretty sad. This is a story of triumph as I mentioned, but I'm not so sure if plain happy ending is the ideal ending for the film. The case against PG&E portrayed in the movie is just a tiny tiny tip of giant iceberg, and I think that the film should have clearly stated that; watching the film gives you the impression that all environmental problems are resolved peacefully or they will be resolved peacefully. This is certainly not the case.
The film does not have to be full of sadness and tragedy, but the sense of reality seems to be lacking. Just listening to Erin Brockovich's speech via NPR gives you some idea of how tragic the event was and it still is.
I just said "... there are number of quality films that deal with these issues ...", but quite honestly, I do not think that "Erin Brockovich" is a fantastic film, though it is a good enjoyable film. It's a story of triumph and justice; it is also a story of tragedy and loss. I do not think that "tragedy and loss" is depicted strongly enough. A lot of people died in the case that Erin Brockovich involved, and a lot of people are still dying. I don't think the tragedy, the loss, and the sadness are expressed strongly enough. I often find this in Hollywood films. Are they afraid that, if you make the film so tragic(as that in the real event), then you can't sell well? You can't make enough money? Maybe that is how the film was directed, and if it is the case, it's pretty sad. This is a story of triumph as I mentioned, but I'm not so sure if plain happy ending is the ideal ending for the film. The case against PG&E portrayed in the movie is just a tiny tiny tip of giant iceberg, and I think that the film should have clearly stated that; watching the film gives you the impression that all environmental problems are resolved peacefully or they will be resolved peacefully. This is certainly not the case.
The film does not have to be full of sadness and tragedy, but the sense of reality seems to be lacking. Just listening to Erin Brockovich's speech via NPR gives you some idea of how tragic the event was and it still is.
I might be being too critical here, but I think that a bittersweet ending is more appropriate for films like these("A Civil Action" featuring John Travolta deals with envrinmental issues and the film has the bittersweet ending; I think this works much better as a film, as a story).
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