2007 drama film, Freedom Writers, directed and written by Richard LaGravenese (whose previous screenplays include The Fisher King and The Bridges of Madison County) starring Hilary Swank, Scott Glenn, Imelda Staunton and Patrick Dempsey. It is based on the book The Freedom Writers Diary by Erin Gruwell (teacher by profession) who wrote the story based on Woodrow Wilson Classical High School in Long Beach, California. Hilary Swank stars in this enthralling movie of ghetto kids raised on street corners, underprivileged boys and girls who use drugs, have served time in prison, and are very angry about living in a war zone where people are killed regularly on the streets. She gives them what they need to be successful independently, a voice of their own. Erin Gruwell turned this story around from immense struggles to a successful ending by revolving a rough furious classroom situation into an educational achievement.
Freedom Writers is exalted by a true story and the diaries of real Long Beach juvenile after the LA riots also known as the 1992 Los Angeles Civil Unrest. Hilary Swank a two-time Academy Award winner stars as Erin Gruwell whose interest in becoming a teacher is soon ruined by a bunch of Blacks, Asian, and Latino criminals who disrespect her more than each other. When Erin prepares to concentrate on them like no grown up as ever done she soon realizes that for these kids getting through the day alive is good enough, they are teenagers fighting a war long ago before they were born. Like no other teacher in that school, Erin gives the students respect and dignity. For the first time, these teens soon understand that their lives matter and they have something to say.
The main characters in the movie are the same as the ...
... middle of paper ...
...here is some gun violence and adult language.
Freedom Writers deliver the message of hope and teaches the audience that if hard work is put into a task then a purpose to life can change completely if the right decisions are made. This movie delivers that message in a wonderful way by using the ‘ghetto’ as an example to change ones destiny which is truly satisfying. This isn’t the best movie but it is a convincing drama where the emotional scenes often feel real than fake. Freedom Writers was a movie that totally blew the audiences mind away, it was an emotionally, heart touching movie that got people thinking about what happens and what others go through. LaGravenese did a very good job using passages from the actual student’s dairies to pursue the message of the film. This is truly an awesome, incredible, amazing movie that everyone should watch connect with it.
Journalist Charles Lane learned about the Colfax Massacre case while he was on The Washington Post case. In his book “The Day Freedom Died: The Colfax Massacre, The Supreme Court, and The Betrayal of Reconstruction”, Lane spotlights the Colfax Massacre of 1873 and the result of that event. Lane gives an insightful and detailed analysis of the conditions in Louisiana during this time of reconstruction, both politically and socially. He describes the death of over 60 blacks as a result of the horrific attack that took place at the Colfax court house. Lane recounts the Federal and the Supreme Court trials and the aftermath of the criminals’ not guilty verdict.
In this day and age, writing is being portrayed through various mediums, such as film and television. Some of those portrayals depict writing as both good and bad depending on the situation that is present. Authors such as, by E. Shelley Reid, Kevin Roozen, and Anne Lamott all write about important writing concepts that are being depicted in films, like Freedom Writers. The film Freedom Writers shows a positive and accurate portrayal of writing in the sense that the writers should have a connection to what they are writing about, writing is a form of communication, and that writing does not have to be perfect the first time.
...ersonal growth. Finding Forrester, Louder Than A Bomb and Freedom Writers, helped the characters express their emotions and feelings by writing. Writing also helped them realize the power of their abilities as individuals and as a community. The films also depicted the growth of maturity in the characters personalities alongside with improving their writing and reading skills. Finding Forrester and Louder Than A Bomb focused more on writing, whereas Freedom Writers focused more on reading. The characters in Louder Than A Bomb and Freedom Writers had difficult lives, but used them as a common ground to connect with each other. Whereas, in Finding Forrester Jamal worked as an individual. The mentors helped the characters put their abilities to the best use and helped them utilize their life experiences to reach their full potential as writers, poets and individuals.
History is taught and perceived in different ways throughout the country, however historians and teachers play a major role in how history is understood. My history teacher made me understand that the African-American slaves suffered adversity in different manners but never explained how their efforts led to a revolution in America. This gap has been filled by David Roediger in his book Seizing freedom where he reminds us of what we have missed in our prominent and scholarly accounts of emancipation and what we might gain by revisiting an era when “profound and unimaginable changes exploded” across the country(p.9). In reference to WEB Du Bois analysis of Civil war as workers strike, David Roediger accounts for the upsurge and
Over the decades a lot in the world has changed. In the book To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, and the movie Freedom Writers by Richard LaGravenese. Tell the stories about how one ethnic group rules over the other nationalities. Making it known that they have more power. This resulted from segregation because of their colored skin. They both have different situations. The “FreeWriters” is about a classroom full of kids who have poor situations, and have to defend for their lives because of their nationalities. Their teacher inspires and teaches them respect, that they all can make it in life, and that they're all equal no matter what anyone says.It was a real story taken place in La, California in the 1990s. The book “To Kill A Mockingbird” is about between whites and blacks. It takes place in Maycomb, Alabama back in the late 1930s and early 1940s. This book is fiction but based on reality.
In “Freedom is Intended as a Challenge,” Naomi Wolf explains that Americans don’t understand the real meaning of the Declaration of Independence. Wolf develops her idea by fist pointing out that for most of the Americans the Declaration of Independence means life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. This leads Americans to interpret the declaration of independence as personal pleasures. However, the Declaration goes beyond of how it is interpreted it today. Naomi Wolf says that the Declaration of Independence is a valuable sword that every American has inherited. In the modern translation of the Declaration, Jefferson alludes that as a society all Americans have the right to be free, but at the same time; he is saying that each member of the society has the responsibility to continue fighting for that freedom “They understood the status of being an American existentially, that it means that one has signed on to fight the permanent revolution. So real patriotism means understanding that the Declaration of Independence charges us categorically and always as Americans to rise up in person against threats to liberty” (Wolf 636). In this quote, Wolf argues that the members of the society must work as a whole to rise up and rebel against the ones to attempt to that freedom. But in order to fight as a whole, Wolf claims that first every American must make a personal commitment to defend their natural right “freedom” and protect the honor of their country even if this implies a personal risk.
When one hears the word freedom, one associates it with the words independence and liberty. It means that a person is able to exist freely without any limits, as it is their god-given right to do so. While this is true, the definition of freedom changes based on the context of the situation. During the time of slavery, freedom had a unique meaning to each person who was subjected to slavery. In Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Frederick Douglass explores what the unique and complex meaning of freedom based off his experiences and knowledge of slavery.
Their own film culture would encourage more Chicano filmmakers and lessen the damage created by stereotypes in the film industry (Berg 33). A Chicano film culture resists the past incorporation of Chicanos into the American industry and allows for a space to tell their own story and forge their identity. An excellent example of a film that does this is Walkout. Walkout is a film about Chicanos for Chicanos directed by a Chicano. The film tells the true story of the 1968 East L.A. walkouts, a successful protest against unjust conditions and opportunities for Chicanos. The director, Edward James Olmos, himself starred in the film Stand and Deliver, another true story set in an East L.A. high school, directed by Ramón Menéndez another Latino. The Chicano film culture is educational in that it has the powerful to inform on the complexities and history of Chicanos in response to their socioeconomic
The theme of the “meaning of freedom” is a common theme between the two stories “A&P” by Updike, and Harrison Bergeron by Vonnegut. In both stories, the characters are take different routes to rebel from the standards of society. In A&P, gender roles are heavy, and Sammy is expected to conform, but he does otherwise by leaving his job. Harrison Bergeron takes place during a time where the human population is expected to be equal, but Harrison steps beyond these limits. These characters show that conforming to society truly does not make you free, in fact it holds you back from your full potential.
Spike Lee’s first student production, The Answer, was a short ten minute film which told of a young black screenwriter who rewrote D.W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation. The film was not well accepted among the faculty at New York University, stating Lee had not yet mastered “film grammar.” Lee went on to believe the faculty took offense to his criticisms towards the respected director’s stereotypical portrayals of black characters (1). For his final film project, Lee wrote, produced, and directed Joe’s Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads. The film won him the 1983 Student Academy Award for Best Director and the Lincoln Center chose the film as its first student production. The film was lo...
Freedom is having the right to own, act, think, and speak without any restrictions from the outside. Ever since the New World was discovered, people have been fighting for their independence till this day. People of other colors and race have been forced to do labor without their consent. Today, those same people have been blamed or accused of crimes that were not committed by them despite of being free. Freedom has different meanings and those meanings change overtime; however sometimes the significance of freedom does not change.
The novel Speak, written by Laurie Halse Anderson is about a girl, who gets raped in the summer before the start of her freshman year in high school and the book follows her as she tries to cope with the depression that comes that kind of violation. This book was turned into a movie; and released early in the early 2000’s and when adapting books to film, a lot of information and details are lost in the process. When comparing Speak the novel and Speak the movie, the noticeable differences are; the character relationships, Melinda’s character, and Andy Evans and Melinda’s dynamic.
“Freedom.” It is a word with many different connotations, but symbolizes one central idea: Liberty. Freedom has always been deeply embedded in the history of our nation. Throughout time, many Americans have fought for freedom. From the Pilgrims, who set sail from England to the shores of Cape Cod to escape religious persecution, to the Founding Fathers of America who fought for freedom from England’s oppression, our fellow Americans have always fought for what they believed in. They gained certain freedoms that they thought would not only be important to them, but to future generations. However, it is evident that society today does not value those same freedoms.
...n people have nothing. If people had more compassion for others the United States would not have all the problems that it does today. Mrs. Erin Gruwell had compassion for the students; when they saw how much she cared they changed their perspectives on life. Against all odds toward against Mrs. Erin Gruwell, she had the power of human will to teach the student. The writer introduced several scenarios on how young innocent children were influenced by family and friends of the same racial background to create hatred and gang’s violence against other races. Five messages in Freedom Writer are: Non judgmental, Racism, having compassion, the power of the human will, and education. Being non judgmental, having compassion and having human will helped Mrs. Erin Gruwell educate the children at Woodrow Wilson Classical High School. Segregated by race, united with education.
The Theme of Freedom in Poetry Write about three poems on freedom: On Liberty and Slavery (George Moses Horton), Sympathy (Paul Laurence Dunbar) and Caged Bird (Maya Angelou). I have chosen to write about three poems on freedom: On Liberty and Slavery (George Moses Horton), Sympathy (Paul Laurence Dunbar) and Caged Bird (Maya Angelou). The full text of the poems is attached.