Mangagom, Joy Claire B.

2D
Reaction Paper: Erin Brockovich and Disclosure

In the movie Erin Brockovich, Erin which is portrayed by Julia Roberts who wants to
give the residents of Hickleys justice for the damages and all the sufferings that the
PG&E had caused them for using excessive chromium and letting this harmful
substance run in to the ground water of the said area which is used by the residents, by
suing the said corporation, but in their situation if they press charges against PG&E the
trial would take years before the residents can have the said justice they seek for , it is a
good thing that the lawyer Masry have convince the residents to agree to settle the
issue and so that they can already have collect their compensation for the damages
created by the PG&E corporation.

The character in the movie Disclosure made the right choice when he seek for the help
and assistance of the lawyer regarding the problems he is encountering in his work
place wherein his boss wants to fire him by using oppressive means for him to quit his
job and also the sexual harassment that the new VP of their company had committed
against him. Settlement in this movie was used to resolve the issue regarding the
sexual harassment without ruining both the reputation and personal life of the parties
,but it seemed that the aggressors have only agreed to settlement to prevent the
companys reputation and name to be ruined from the investors and not to settle the
dispute between the higher officers of the company and Tom.

We can say that both in the movies settlement of the disputes is used to avoid it from
prolonging, unlike when it is filed in court where it might take years before it can be
resolved and the personal life and economic stability of the parties might be affected
because of the lengthy hearings and trials, but the downside of settlement is that the
aggressor might not learn a lesson or continue to do the wrong acts which affects the
rights of the victim because he/she assumes that the victim might agree again to
settlement without him/her going to jail and face the consequences of his/her actions.