Freedom Writers
Segregated by Race, Equal by Education The movie Freedom Writers directed by Richard LaGravenese is a story full of different themes, from segregation to sacrifice, and respect to equality. The movie shows multiple themes from different angles. There is a constant subliminal background to the whole story. The Freedom Writers was made after the famous trial of Rodney King in 1992. This trial brought out the injustices experienced by people of different ethnic origins. The Rodney King’s trial provided the background of the movie, and was presented by showing the footages of the 1992 Los Angeles riot. Set in Long Beach, California, Freedom Writers, brings forth the negative stereotype of people within the ethnic community. Focusing on the students of Mrs.Gruwell’s freshman class, the students are segregated into different groups, the blacks with the blacks, the whites with the whites, and the asians with the asians. “In Long Beach, it all comes down to what you look like, it’s all about color” (LaGravenese). The students are taught how to accept one another, to emerge as one, to break free from violence, and to not be stereotypical. Despite knowing Woodrow Wilson High School is a recently segregated school that has ruined their reputation, Mrs. Erin Gruwell, a new white teacher excited to fulfill her dream in teaching, accepts her position as a freshman and sophomore English teacher. As a first-time teacher, she is given a group of students labeled as the “un-teachable teenagers” by the government due to high risk in violence. The movie represents a group of young adults who have all witnessed a life full of crime starting at a young age. They are taught to fight back, to take control of their belongings, to fight for their family, and most important to fight for their life. On her first day of teaching, Mrs. Gruwell encounters an empty classroom, and has to wait till a police officer drags her students into class. As soon as the students enter the