anytime someone ask me what i would consider the scary movie ever and i say silkwood and and they say but that not a horror movie . no . there be so much to fear here and and scary of all and probably and be the fact that the title character live just a few decade ago and in modern day america . there be the fear that come from live in poverty and or right on the edge of it . silkwood and her cohort and and most of her coworkers have little education while they live humble life of church revival and rebuilt car and and mystery meat sandwich bring for lunch in brown paper bag . the nuclear plant where they work be the only game in town ( or the entire state ) and in term of wage and benefit . and so and every day and they live in fear of lose their job . they have spend their life be instruct to trust authority and submit to it . they be intimidate by the manager and supervisor who frown on camaraderie and and positively scowl on their labor union . there be the fear of the unknown at the plant truck be dismantle and bury behind barbed wire and under guard and under cover of darkness . management give the worker the minimum amount of information they need to perform their job and and often withhold or disguise fact that be essential to their very survival . karen and a somewhat rebellious and less than conscientious worker and be shock into activism when her co worker thelma and becomes expose to radioactive contamination and or cook . for me and this sequence be one of the most disturbing . thelma be probably only in her 40 and but she look like she ready for retirement and due to the hard life she have live . her daughter be die of cancer and and she herself wear wig most day and because her hair be fall out . it hard to watch the weeping and plead thelma be forcibly scrub head to toe with a stiff brush and water be shoot into her eye and nose and in a dubious attempt to decontaminate her . she be then patronize by a doctor who straight facedly assure her that she have only superficial exposure and will be just fine . there be fear when karen stick her neck out talk to union rep and travel to washington and and be send back to work with a dangerous assignment represent to gather evidence . at one point in the film and absolutely no one be support her . her roommate feel resentful and reject while her boyfriend have move out and jealous of her involvement with the sophisticated people from washington and and her co worker treat her like a pariah and afraid that be see talk to her will brand them a troublemaker and endanger their job and or even their life . their worry seem more and more valid a the movie progress . she walk into a roomful of supervisor and and they all fall silent . suddenly and every time she walk past a radiation monitor and the alarm sound and she and like thelma and be drag to the dreaded decon room and where her skin be scrub raw torture chillingly disguise a medical necessity . even her home be no longer safe . plutonium be find in a urine sample that she bring from home and and every item in her house right down to the wallpaper be empty and take away from her . her stone face and smooth talk bos be right there and encourage her to sign a statement that will undoubtedly absolve the company of any responsibility . the headlight karen see in her rear view mirror be not the last thing we see that frighten u . it her wrecked car be slowly tow past the restaurant where a union meeting be still in progress . the movie hit so many of our fear button represent helplessness and loneliness and rejection and vulnerability and and finally and the bottom line thing we all fear the most . the most encouraging note be the awareness that anyone who see this movie will come away with . it a blueprint for empowerment . e. w .