Sociology In Erin Brockovich

Sociology is defined as the study of the development, structure, and functioning of human society. Today, countless movies have been created that strongly depicts how sociology is seen in society. One such movie that clearly illustrates sociological perspectives is Erin Brockovich. This movie was based on a true story that describes one woman’s will to fight for the injustice brought to the common people of Hinkley, California. Erin Brockovich was an uneducated jobless mother of three young children. One day after a disastrous day of interviews, a car speeding in the opposite direction of an intersection slams into her car and injures her. She sees this as an easy way to make some money so she decides she wants to sue the person who caused …show more content…
With her dress attire and her use of language, the audience can already witness that she is from the lower class. Whereas the interviewer seems professional which indicates that she has had a higher education. Therefore, she has the authority to either hire Erin or not. Ultimately, Erin Brockovich was not hired. Additionally, another sociologist who held similar beliefs to Karl Marx was Max Weber. He agreed with Karl Marx that “class” as “political economic power” was a huge factor in the development of modern society. He saw a positively privileged class and a negatively privileged class. A positively privileged class were those who held power, authority, and control and had the luxury of affording expensive goods and services, in the film PG&E was the privileged class because the company bought the silences of doctors to cover their corrupt dealings. A negatively privileged class was those who are dependent on the positively privileged class. Because those living in Hinkley, California were those in the working class, medical expenses would add more stress to their daily lives so they depended on Pacific Gas and Electric on their monetary offers of assistance whenever they fell …show more content…
Deviance is defined as an action or behavior that violates social or cultural norms. Formal deviances are acts that have greater consequences such as prison time. Examples of formal deviances include robbery, theft, murder, rape, and assault. A deviant act seen in the film was a crime committed by PG&E. PG&E misinformed the people of Hinkley, California informing them that the chemicals and toxins they were using were safe for the environment when in reality it is a deadly substance that caused the illnesses of many. After much investigation, it was found that the company has been contaminating the water supply of this small desert town for more than thirty years. This is seen as deviance act because the corporation violated social