Azia Ludwig Professor Brown Eng.

2010 04/09/2014 Review: Freedom Writers In a multi-racial school in Long Beach California, kids do not get a chance to make something of themselves, they only get opportunities to survive, at least thats what they think. Until they meet Erin Gruwell a motivated, high-spirited, schoolteacher whose only goal is to get through to the kids. However noble her goal is, the students she meets want to do anything but give her a chance. In this hard knock tale of crime, violence, and education only those tough enough will survive and only those desperate enough will get through to the greener side of life. An MTV Film that has inspired many and focused the lens on an important yet overlooked issue, our childrens education. Freedom writers is both captivating and distinguished with its teen influential cast and multi-ethnic story, it will have you at the edge of your seat for the one hundred and twenty minute run time.

Freedom Writers 1 The real Erin Gruewell and her freedwom writers

Erin Gruwell, played by actress Hilary Swank, will not accept defeat, even though it seems everyone including other teachers want her to fail. She is ambitious and charismatic in her approach at getting a particularly stubborn high school class to listen to her. The setting is in highly racially tense Long Beach California during 1994. In Long Beach its all about what you look like. One of the teens narrates, attempting to describe the tension that she feels on a daily basis. Erin is not scared by this fact, she chose this school specifically for the challenge it posed. She shows up to her first day at work wide eyed and full of enthusiasm wearing a white pearl necklace and a stunning red business suit that screams fresh meat.

Freedom Writers 2 Cover

Throughout the movie, she faces several challenges while attempting to get to know her students. Her main challenge being that the school does not have enough funding to support its students. Books are old and outdated, the students have no incentive to learn, and she quickly finds out that she has to come out of her own pocket to help. After her stern persona is cracked, she must show a gentler side which the students actively respond too. After creating a positive relationship with her students and successfully focusing their attention on a brighter future, Erin

finds herself faced with another adversity, gang violence. In America a girl can be chosen for her beauty and her grace, but Im Mexican and I have to be tough to survive. Eva Benitez, played by April Hernandez, tells us that life in Long Beach is hard and breaks do not come easy. In the movie, we follow Eva and her fellow classmates and as they struggle to make the right choice in society or by what is right within their families. Throughout the film, Freedom Writers offers entertaining dialogue, a heartfelt plot, and modern score. The MTV film is based on a true story of Erin Gruwell and her students. The cast of all stars include Hilary Swank, Patrick Dempsey and Mario. The film shows how difficult the educational world can be, such as struggles for schools with lack of funding and struggle with students whose home life is less than perfect. The film provides a different insight for both students and teachers. Most outstandingly, though, the plot of this feature steers toward the hardships that low income schools go through. It takes turns with different student as narrators and allows the viewer to hear the students side for just a few moments. Erin Gruwell gets a chance to hear the students when she has them write in a daily journal. The students can write anything they want as long as the write daily. In addition, if they wanted Erin to read the journal she would keep a locker open during class that the student could drop off and she would lock it after class. She quickly got a taste of the students emotions as she read the entire classroom of journals. Erin then sets out for them to be published writers and so started the freedom writers. Overall, I truly enjoyed the film Freedom Writers. Hilary Swank did an excellent job as Erin Gruwell. She helps create the movie and provided such intense emotion that it is almost impossible to not feel what story be. The film gives the viewers a different perspective in low-

income schools and the student life. The film also shows that amount of extra work that teachers provide for their students, to make sure the students can learn effectively. Freedom writers affectively show its audience the difference that educational funding does.

Works Cited Freedom Writers. Dir. Richard LaGravenese. Paramount Home Entertainment, 2007. Humanitas Prize." The Humanitas Prize: Changing the World One Story at a time. N.p., 1 Jan. 1974. Web. 9 Apr. 2014. "Internet Movie Database - IMDb - Movies, TV and Celebrities." IMBD. N.p., 5 Jan. 2007. Web. 9 Apr. 2014. "The students of room 203." Freedom Writers Foundation. Freedom Writers Foundation, 1 Jan. 2014. Web. 9 Apr. 2014.