Movie Heroines Bracket Game: Erin Brokovich Vs. Norma Rae

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With Cinderella and Insurgent in theaters, it seemed like an excellent time to rank our female heroes. What exactly it means to be a movie heroine is open to interpretation. We’ve got some of the action heroines you would expect. But we also have some real world figures and some flawed protagonists. Who’s the best movie heroine? It’s time to find out.

Oh for Pete’s sake! Marge Gunderson lost to Clarice Starling in our law enforcement bracket. Clarice carried just over 60% of the votes. That means Academy Award-winner, Jodie Foster, will advance to the second round where she will face off against one of two Oscar winning actresses in today’s match-up.

Today, we’re looking at real life movie heroines. Norma Rae was based on union organizer Crystal Lee Sutton who was fired from her job for trying to unionize employs at the J.P. Stevens plant in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina. And Erin Brokovich was a dramatization of the true story of a legal clerk who became an environmental activist despite no formal legal training.

Sally Field won the Academy Award for Best Actress playing Norma Rae. But Sutton, the union organizer who inspired the movie, wasn’t happy with it. She felt the movie should be a docu-drama. Some scenes from the movie, including the famous scene in which Norma Rae holds up the “union” sign, were direct dramatizations of real life events.

The American Film Institute has recognized Norma Rae in some of their annual lists. In 2006, the movie was named the 16th most inspirational film of all time. And in 2003, Norma Rae ranked 15th on AFI’s list of greatest movie heroes. She’s right behind Hal Solo.

Julia Roberts also won an Oscar for Best Actress for her performance in Erin Brokovich. She became the first actress in history to win an Oscar, a BAFTA, a Golden Globe, a SAG, and a Critics’ Choice Award for a single performance. The real life Brokovich approved of her big screen adapatation calling it “98% accurate”. Although she claims she never intentionally used her cleavage to influence people as Roberts does in the movie, she says it may have been a factor.

Erin Brokovich also made the AFI lists. On the 2006 list of inspirational movies, Erin Brokovich placed 73rd. The characters ranked 31st on the list of greatest heroes.