Movie Review: Freedom Writers

Amanda Pastrana
Movie Review: Freedom Writers

Freedom Writers, a movie based on true events and the book Freedom Writer's Diaries: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them. The movie takes place during the Rodney King Verdict in April of 1992 in Long Beach, California. Gang violence and racial tension reached an all time high. One hundred and twenty murders were committed in Long Beach alone, affecting hundreds of people and their families. During this time twenty three year old Erin Gruwell, played by Hilary Swank, was starting her teaching career and got assigned to Woodrow High School in Long Beach, freshmen classroom 203. This is where the story began, where lives were changed because of one person who was persistent and never gave up on the students.
The first day of school, Mrs. Gruwell gives Margaret Campbell, the Department Chair her teaching plans only to be told that they too advanced for her freshmen class. She becomes informed that her students are at a 5th grade reading level. Mrs. Campbell also tells Mrs. Gruwell not wear her pearls to class. Erin walks into classroom 203, and as the students walk in the classroom immediately separates, divided groups by race. Erin feels like she cannot get the respect she deserves and when she states that the students start to tell her she isn’t going to get it. Marcus played by Jason Finn explains that they don’t know her and she isn’t going to get the respect just because she is a teacher. He says how they are in a war and they “graduate everyday,” that they don’t need her or school to survive. The students in Woodrow High School were labeled as failures by all the teachers and are referred to as unteachable. Erin is appalled by all of this and thinks they need to be treated like the honor students so they know thier important as well. Erin fights to get books for them but is denied because the students always ruin or never return the books. Erin strongly wants...