Sunday, October 4, 2009
Blog #11: Poor Working Women in the Media
I am not one for watching the news or staying up to date on current events. I do, however, love to watch movies. I think that a good movie that addresses the conditions of working poor women is Erin Brockovich. This movie portrays a single mother of three trying to find a job to support her family. What I like the most about this movie is that it is based on a true story. In the beginning of the movie it shows Erin coming to pick up her kids from the informal child care provider. The conditions were unsatisfactory to say the least. Erin went to pick up her children and no one was home, her kids were nowhere in sight, and she was left in a state of hysteria. When she got home she found her kids in the care of her biker neighbor and the only thing he could tell Erin was that “something came up” and the care provider just dropped the kids off and left. It actually turned out to work in Erin favor because she found a new care giver in the form of her biker neighbor who was great with her kids and was reliable. Many of the women in Chaudry’s study had to make choices of whether or not to leave their kids in conditions they did not think were the best. Another aspect of the movie that touched on poor working women was when Erin took her children out to eat because she had no food in the house. While at the restaurant the kids ordered their deluxe cheeseburgers, but when it came around for Erin to order she just order water. When the kids asked their mom why she was not eating she lied to them and said that her “lawyer took her out to a fancy lunch to celebrate…” (Erin Brockovich movie). Erin Brockovich’s story ends with a happy ending. No it does not portray her on the welfare system, but it does not mean that she did not struggle to make ends meet and to provide for her children.
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The movie Erin Brockovich was an amazing movie. Given that the movie was based on a real woman some of the scenes were more believable than other "Hollywood" portraits of poor single mothers. It would be interesting to interview Ms. Brockovich and find out just how true the depiction of her story really is. Good post.
ReplyDeleteI on the other hand read the news but don't watch any movies. I am so glad that I read your post because now I'm going to see this movie and more so because it is based on a true story. It seems that this movie brings a lot of the experiences of Chaudry’s study to life particularly with child care arrangements. And in light of the recession, I’m sure that more working women can relate to the movie.
ReplyDeleteI am not kidding when I tell you that some of these videos brought tears to my eyes. As a mother, I only want the best for my children and I am thankful that I have been able to provide them with it however I cannot help but ponder how these single, coragous, admirable, and hardworking women are managing to do what they can to stay afloat. I honestly believe that if there are not enough jobs to permit the working class and the working poor to provide for their own families then we as a society have a responsibility to the children of the poor to ensure that they are cared for because they are our future.