C. Wright Mills was known for coining the term and writing the book The Sociological Imagination, term and book know by every sociologist to date. This referred to the intersection of history and biography, meaning that every individual is influenced by the past and that in turn reflects their decisions and their lives. Hence writing his or her own biography throughout life based on what an individual has experienced in the past. These influences are based on society and what is happening around an individual to make him or her live the way they do. Erin Brockovich is an excellent movie that provides numerous sound examples of the sociological imagination. Choosing this film was based on the pure fact that it is based on a true story and the sociological problems that occur in this film are true. Society plays a huge role in this movie in all elements as far as families, corporate companies and the deception a powerhouse company like PG&E (pacific gas and electric) can elude to the public.
In the movie Erin Brockovich is a twice-divorced single mother of three looking for work, as any single mother should. After many failed attempts at finding work she stumbled upon Edward Masry’s law firm, and landed a job as a clerk. During her work she found blood samples and toxicology reports in occurrence with real estate paper work, which sparked her curiosity. Erin started to dig deeper and eventually unveiled a bigger issue, PG&E was pumping out water filled with toxic chemicals into the surrounding area. These families had many medical problems ranging from cancer and spinal deterioration to nose bleeds and chronic headaches. PG&E bought homes from these people in attempts to clear them from the area as well as paid for their medical screenings, and paid doctors to lie to these people about the true cause of their conditions. All along they were completely oblivious as to why they were all sick. Erin convinced Marsy to