Theme Of Gang Violence In The Movie 'Freedom Writers'

Prior to being assigned the reading of the memoir “Always Running”, by Luis Rodriguez, I had never given much thought on juveniles involved in gang life. Rodriguez achieved success as an award-winning poet; sure the streets would no longer haunt him - until his own son joined a gang. Rodriguez fought for his child by telling his own story in the vivid memoir, “Always Running.” “Always Running” is the compilation of events Luis experienced during his youth in San Gabriel. The theme of the book is to always strive for the best things in life and to always take a stand for what you believe. Lured by the seemingly invincible gang culture of East L.A., he witnessed countless shootings and beatings, as well as senseless acts of street crime against his friends and family members. As a Latino in a poor neighborhood, Luis struggled through criticism, stereotypes, and mistreatment. With the help of his mentor, Chente, Luis saw a way out through education and the power of word to successfully break free from years of violence and desperation.

The movie “Freedom Writers” is based on a true story. Hilary Swank as Erin Gruwell plays an inspirational teacher at Wilson High School. She is ready to take on the teaching world as she steps inside Wilson High School for her first day. Her class, varied with teenagers of different ethnic backgrounds, wants nothing more than to just get through the day. African Americans, Latinos, Asians, gang members, and much more are from poor neighborhoods, that all share a similar hatred for each other. On the first day of teaching she is very scared and unsure, but she knows she has to stop the racism in the class as well as their attitude towards life. Despite her students' persistent refusal to participate

In the movie Freedom Writers there are many examples of criminology theories that explain the way the characters act the way that they do. The characters in the film all go through different stages in the film, and all of them have different theories that relate to them. There are three main theories that are seen in this film they are, Conflict Theory, Social Control Theory, and Neo Classical Theory. Inside of each of these theories is a sub group, some of them are Labeling Theory, Self-Fulfilling Prophecy, Social Bonds, Neutralization, and Social Exchange. The main characters that fit these theories are Mrs. Gruwell, Eva Benitez, Andre Bryant, Marcus, and Miss Campbell. There is also a school in Washington D.C. that had this kind of problem that the classroom of 203 had.

“Freedom Writers” is a powerful film that is based on a true story about a teacher named Erin Gruwell, who struggles to connect with her students to make them believe that they can succeed in life, and to show them that their lives, experiences, and knowledge is valuable, all while attempting to unify them and to overcome racial segregation and gang violence that is part of their daily lives. Gruwell focuses on introducing the concepts of discipline and obedience in her classroom. She gradually begins to earn their trust and buys them composition books to record their diaries, in which they talk about their experiences of being abused, seeing their friends die, and being evicted; Gruwell refers to the composition books as “The Freedom Writers Diary.”

Freedom Writers is a movie based on the book The Freedom Writers Diary by teacher Erin Gruwell. The movie was directed by Richard LaGravenese and it was released in 2007. This movie discusses significant themes such as stereotyping and racial discrimination but most important the power of tolerance and understanding. The purpose of this movie is to promote the message that knowledge is power and in a world filled with disparities where hundreds of ethnic groups convey and interact humans are obliged to accept and tolerate the differences that define each person. This film is a perfect example of how these rhetorical components are used to create an effective argument. The director of the movie as well as the characters build their

In the 1920s, when movies were a brand new concept, people went to see the pictures in order to escape from their lives. In these movies, everything worked out in the end and they depicted happy, perfect lives. As the Depression raged on, movies were a distraction from the wear and tear of normal life. With the movie Freedom Writers, however, that is not the case. Freedom Writers tells the impossibly true story of a first-year teacher, Erin Gruwell, and the difficulties she faced in her classroom of supposed hopeless cases. In Long Beach, California, her students dealt with gang violence, drugs, and racism in their everyday lives. They lived in constant fear. The movie emphasizes how Gruwell wrestles with the public school system, motivates her students to learn, and changes their lives in the process. Directed by Richard LaGravenese, it came out in 2007 with stars such as Hilary Swank, Patrick Dempsey, and April Hernandez gracing the screen (IMDb). In contrast to the early movies, Freedom Writers deals with issues that are still a problem today, such as a focus on the majority instead of helping students who need extra assistance or encouragement.

The chief of the Aztec's had a young princess daughter Iztaccihuatl, she was beyond beautiful and the most honorable princess of all the princesses. The chief gathered all his men in preparation for the war and upon the gathering of the warriors Iztaccihuatl fell in love with the utmost handsome warrior, Popocatepetl.

The film “Freedom Writers” by Richard LaGravenese has been successful in terms of expressing the emotions of students through their diaries but also engaging the audience emotions through the characters’ gang experiences. The character of Mrs Gruwell(Mrs G) is a teacher of low performing students trying to achieve their goals against all odds. Techniques the director used to show this include flashbacks, non-diegetic sound, spot light and pan shots which are all important in sending the message to the audience that family problems and violence have a big impact on the students lives.

When each of the students came into detention, they each had their own identities and their own underlying issues that no one knew about. When they started to open up and grow closer with each other, their identities changed all together. They were beginning to show their real personalities within each other and at the end of the film they all embraced who they really were on the inside and who everyone else was.

In school there are many groups that can be identified within the film. It is interesting to see how five students who are all in different social groups came together at the end despite these differences. In the film, the students all get dropped off at the school to attend a Saturday detention all for various reasons. The characters in the detention were Allison Reynolds, John Bender, Claire Standish, Brian Johnson, and Andrew

Baber uses pathos to inspire Liberals whom took part in the Civil Rights Movement to once again take action for the equality of minorities. Barber appeals to the emotions of his audience and attempts to capitalize on their feelings based on their socioeconomic status as he illustrates the negative consequences of a subpar, crime riddled, truncated public school system. Children are unfairly left without simple literacy skills to contribute to the work force that would keep America strong competitively in the global economy. If American children’s lives really matter Democrats would not allow public schools to abuse, manipulate, impoverish, and kill the dreams of inner city kids in the same fashion as gangs are destroying their lives. Barber would like his audience to show empathy for the children that are left at a disadvantage for academic success by unfairly being labeled as “unwilling student” to learn and as a result urban dropout rates sky rocks. More disadvantaged teens are passing through the judicial systems than that successful graduating the public school system. “Do the right thing turn on the light in a dark room” words of Miep Gies the author of, The Diary of Anne Frank in the movie Freedom Writers (2007) a message to Liberals it is only human to help someone in need. Barber attempts to establish credibility with his audience by displaying his distinguished intellect of politics, culture and education in

In the movie, The Freedom Writers Mrs. Erin Gruwell (Hillary Swank) plays a role of a dedicated teacher who did all she could, to help her students learn to respect themselves and each other. She has little idea of what she's getting into when she volunteers to be an English teacher at a newly integrated high school in Long Beach, California. Her students were divided along racial lines and had few aspirations beyond basic survival. Mrs. Gruwell was faced with a big challenge when a group of freshmen students showed her nothing but disrespect which made it hard for her to communicate, teach and understand them. However, Erin Gruwell was determined that no matter the cost she would teach her students not only

This is a true story based on inner city kids that whom live in the projects living the most difficult lives. These kids struggle every single day… living in poverty/homelessness, lack of educational skills, and were a part of gang and domestic violence. They were taught that all police and white people were bad because they were the people who arrested them or their family (people of their same kind). They didn’t believe in giving respect to teacher because she was white. They wanted respect and in order to gain respect it was more than just the color of your skin.

At school the principal of the school scolds the group and says, “‘This place is the last chance your kind have!’” (pg 33). The principal also states, “‘You boys are scum. You’ll always be scum’” (pg 34). Although the principal knows that the trade school is the last chance for the gang, he still believes they have no shot in society. Unlike teachers and principals today, their principal doesn’t care about his students and only cares about his school’s reputation. After his talk, the gang ignores all he has to say, so the physical education teacher punches each one of them in the face. After the beating, it becomes evident that the students don’t respect the school administration and the administration doesn’t care about its

The movie tracks a handful of students in an ordinary, modern-day American high school as they go about their seemingly routine-oriented day. It records extensive events in a documentary-like form in which it follows around students as they walk down long, locker-lined hallways and partake in their mundane conversations. Van Sant creates enough characters to fulfill each high school stereotype from the dorky girl to the bulimic popular girls to the jock. It gives us a brief glimpse into each student’s personality/interests. None of the students really have a connection with each other and if they do, it is mostly of the superficial kind. The scenes are shot at a slow pace and in a way that time periods overlap and the same events are viewed at a different perspective. All looks to be normal as the day unfolds yet an ominous undertone is always present from the foreshadowing that is done (Willmington). Unbeknownst to the student body, two specific students (Eric and Alex) who happen to have been bullied at their