Racial Differences And Gang Violence In The Movie 'Freedom Writers'

Movies can often teach us important lessons. They can show us different perspectives of different people and situations. Often times, without knowing it, movies teach us things when we don’t think we are learning anything. The movie Freedom Writers has a powerful and emotional message. The message of this movie is that we are all the same under the surface, this is most relevant to gangs and gang violence. The movie Freedom writers is set in a bad neighborhood in California. In the movie, the focus is on racial differences and gang violence. There is a white teacher who comes from a rich family. She wants to make a difference in the lives of students, so she decides to teach at a poor school in a rough part of town. At first, she is not taken seriously. The students don’t respect her, fighting outbreaks on a regular basis.
The students have been taught that they aren’t worth anything, they won’t even graduate high school.
What’s the point of coming everyday if no one cares about them? They soon realize that their teacher cares. She puts in the extra effort and tries to show them that they are worth something. The students quit fighting and realize they are in this together. Fighting stops as all the students realize that underneath their outside appearances they are all the same. They all have struggles. The movie is an eye opener for everyone who watches it. Especially for students who attend Liberty-Benton High School. There is not much diversity here, and the students are typically very privileged. Of course everyone has their problems, but not many of us can relate to the issues in the Freedom Writers. Most of the students here will never fully understand the burdens
they faced everyday. It really puts in perspective the amazing city we live in and the school we attend. Those student from the movie never had anyone to believe in them, like we all do. The teachers never cared about them like ours do. The biggest message that I think we can learn from this movie, is that not everyone is what they seem. When we first look at someone we might think that they don’t care about their life and they won’t ever amount to anything. This is not true, but it is what everyone is conditioned to think, even them. When someone is treated like they are nothing, that is exactly what they will think about themselves. As a society we need to stop labeling people based on their race, living conditions, and grades in school. It is not their fault for the way they were raised, were they were born, or how they look. It is not fair to make them pay for actions of their families. The best example is gangs. A majority of gang members are not members of their gangs by choice. It is often their only option. Sometimes their families are apart of it, and if they want a place to live then they will be apart of it too. They often do not know anything different. It is not their fault that they were trapped into that lifestyle. They often don’t have a good role model to guide them in the right direction.
As a society we often judge people as soon as we see them. Often times it is just a habit and judging happens without realization. People geet generalized and separated into categories based on where they live, who they are friends with, what clothes they are wearing, and how smart they are. To some people, it doesn’t matter how nice a person is. They already have a preconceived idea of who that person should be and it can be hard to change. Although most students here at Liberty-Benton don’t encounter much racial discrimination or gang violence, we all can relate to the feeling of being judged. It is safe to say that all students have been stereotyped or put in a category based on what they looked like or where they live. This is something everyone can relate to. However, we all have also judged others. Every person knows what it’s like to feel judged and stereotyped, yet we keep doing it to others. The only way we can end the cycle is start with ourselves. This all goes back to the “golden rule”. We need to start treating others the way that we would like to be treated. How can we expect others to treat us fairly if we treat them the same way?