ABSTRACT
Hollywood films such as Silkwood, A Civil Action, and Erin Brockovich portray ordinary citizens courageously taking steps to expose corporate wrongdoers. In those films, private citizens armed with tort remedies uncovered risky environmental conditions. The films accurately reflect the role of tort law as an institution of social control to punish and deter companies that endanger the safety of all Americans. Tort law, like sunlight, acts as a disinfectant by exposing hidden threats to the public welfare not detected by public authorities.
