I know this is five years ago, but really?
She said it best when she told George that people quit talking when she walks in a room to see if she has anything to say. I'm not saying she didn't care about the plaintiffs in the case, but she cared more about herself, being important and looking good.
If you take these words at market value, then yes, she's being selfish. However, she is speaking about the respect that she is being given. It's something that she's never had before and if you pay attention, it drives her to work even harder.
She didn't care that Ed thought she should dress more appropriately.
No. What she didn't care about was what the women in the office thought about her. They purposefully excluded her and she didn't care. She was determined to get a job, keep, and provide for her kids. Why should she care if the other women are uncomfortable? And in case you missed it, she told Ed that she would dress however she likes so long as it's ok with him. The line alone showed that she respected him more than her coworkers.
She didn't care that George was being left home to raise her kids.
Actually, she did. She missed her last daughter's first word and countless other previous memories. You see this as she gets emotional during the phone call to George in the car.
She didn't care when Ed said he was going to have to take out a 2nd mortgage on his house. Remember her reply? "So?" She didn't care whether Ed was inconvenienced or devastated financially, which was a possibility in this case because the outcome early on was not known for sure. Erin had never worked hard in her life...and had no idea what it was like for someone like Ed to work his entire life to accumulate a life savings...and to have a case like this jeopardize that lifetime of work. Nope..she just wanted what she wanted.
I have a different take on this. This is not proof that she is selfish. If anything, it proves that she doesn't care what happens to his finances, however, that's not accurate either. Earlier, she said they would figure out the money issues. So when she says, "So..." I believe it was meant as, "We will figure it out because this case is a shoe-in." Furthermore, they are all sacrificing things. Her time with her family and his financial stability. In her mind, they are both on equal footing.
She wanted to play with the big kids even though she did not go to school and go through the same life experiences the big kids did, i.e., she was a lawyer wannabe but couldn't accept the fact that she didn't have an education and wasn't on the same level as they.
You do realize you sound as condescending as the people she probably encountered early on in life, don't you? Formal education doesn't always hold up against life experience. Yet, you give someone a fancy diploma and they think they are God's gift. They are not. Erin Brockovich (the character) was fighting to be seen as an equal and determined to be taken seriously despite her lack of educations. The character acquitted herself quite well, despite her interactions with people who she felt were looking down on her. However, she certainly saw to it that they didn't make the same mistake twice.
She was offensive to those who had put in the time to be lawyers so they could play with the big kids. And, while I'm on that subject, if she had the "600" phone numbers in her head, did it ever occur to her that she SHOULD perhaps put them in the files? No..because this was one more way she could control the situation. Only she had the info...what if she got killed or hurt badly? The info wouldn't have been in the file, and someone would have had to start over on it. She didn't care. She felt this kept her in the drivers seat.
I disagree. She was openly offensive to those who she deemed to be talking down to her. Ed Masry in the beginning, but that was also fueled by her belief that he lied to her. She was offended when Theresa questioned her files because she was in essence questioning her ability to do her job. Erin didn't need to write the numbers down because she knew them. The extra step was unnecessary to her when she was primarily the only one in contact with the plaintiffs.
I am a teacher. I have my own way of doing things and my organization has been called into question numerous times. My classroom is organized in a way that makes sense to me as Erin's files were for her. In fact, I went into labor two weeks early last September and was terrified what would happen to my kids because I didn't get a chance to organize the room in a way that would make sense to a long term sub. Guess what happened? The sub figured it out.
Her own perception of her value was obvious when she asked Ed, "Did you tell them that" after Ed told her she was important to him on the case. She wanted constant ego-stroking, either from Ed or the plaintiffs to confirm her own perception of her value.
No offense but do you have a job? In working within a professional learning community, showing value of each team member is critical and boost employee productivity. Office Space, anyone? Haha!
I found her cussing, screaming rants to be nothing but an additional indication of her instability and short fuse. She was basically a bully with boobs, who couldn't take one bit of criticism. I don't know how Ed stood her.
I hate this generation and their use of the word bully. Hardly anyone knows what it means. Her profanity is interesting but you should pay attention to when she uses it. Very rarely is it with the plaintiffs. Her profanity is used either to defuse a situation (as seen when trying to get the people to sign a contract for Ed) or to blow people away. In the latter, she is most abrasive of her no nonsense personality. Many people don't like people with this particular character trait but in my experience, they are more honest.
I've watched this movie numerous times from high school to college and now as a professional. Now as a parent I see things I've missed. Many films as not multifaceted, but this one is. You can't simply take the dialogue at face value. It needs to be dissected to see the emotion and purpose behind it. Not saying you did, I just think you just saw one side.
I voted for Frenchie and Dia like a sex donkey on Xanax.
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gypsykaia-99626
8 years ago
A person could reasonably be accused of being a bully as soon as they resort to making a personal attack of any kind. Whether they're successful bullies or not depends on how the other person feels.
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