Freedom Writers Analysis Paper
Freedom Writers Analysis
Over the years, I had heard many positive things said about this movie, but yet I had never taken the time to rent the movie and watch it myself. That is why I am so glad that this movie was our assignment. Freedom writers far exceeded my expectations. It truly was touching to see an adaptation of real live stories come to play. Watching a young woman, a teacher, who was completely out of her element and her comfort zone, grow to actually take an interest in these kids that society gave up on, was truly inspiring to me.
Something that stood out to me in this movie was the recurring theme of racial tension. There was a constant recurrence of these people vs. these people. In the beginning of the film, the subcultures of the students were clearly defined. Many of these kids decided to not care about school, grades, and their future because just surviving one day to the next was success in their minds. Their self-concept constantly made them believe that because of where they were born and what they didn’t have, that what they did in life really didn’t matter. As the story progresses you can definitely see how this affects the students’ self-esteem.
Yet, despite all the years of a negative self-concept they find sympathy in Mrs. Gruwell. It’s within this young teacher’s heart that she grows beyond herself and her accustomed lifestyle, to develop a strong sense of empathy. She literally puts herself in her students’ place and gets herself into their mindset, when the kids finally open up to her in their journals. As the semester continues, she reads about their unsatisfying home life and learns that these kids aren’t just bad to be bad. She learns that these are young people that are hurting and are just adapting who they are to survive in their toxic environments. It’s from that point on that she makes it her mission to show these kids that they are worth something and they are important.
One example of how Erin Gruwell fought for her
Over the years, I had heard many positive things said about this movie, but yet I had never taken the time to rent the movie and watch it myself. That is why I am so glad that this movie was our assignment. Freedom writers far exceeded my expectations. It truly was touching to see an adaptation of real live stories come to play. Watching a young woman, a teacher, who was completely out of her element and her comfort zone, grow to actually take an interest in these kids that society gave up on, was truly inspiring to me.
Something that stood out to me in this movie was the recurring theme of racial tension. There was a constant recurrence of these people vs. these people. In the beginning of the film, the subcultures of the students were clearly defined. Many of these kids decided to not care about school, grades, and their future because just surviving one day to the next was success in their minds. Their self-concept constantly made them believe that because of where they were born and what they didn’t have, that what they did in life really didn’t matter. As the story progresses you can definitely see how this affects the students’ self-esteem.
Yet, despite all the years of a negative self-concept they find sympathy in Mrs. Gruwell. It’s within this young teacher’s heart that she grows beyond herself and her accustomed lifestyle, to develop a strong sense of empathy. She literally puts herself in her students’ place and gets herself into their mindset, when the kids finally open up to her in their journals. As the semester continues, she reads about their unsatisfying home life and learns that these kids aren’t just bad to be bad. She learns that these are young people that are hurting and are just adapting who they are to survive in their toxic environments. It’s from that point on that she makes it her mission to show these kids that they are worth something and they are important.
One example of how Erin Gruwell fought for her