Freedom Writers
Characters
Eva Benitez: Eva is a young Latino gang member who's father has been jailed for a crime that he didn't commit. Upon witnessing a violent shooting where a young man dies at the hands of her boyfriend and fellow gang member, Eva is faced with a tremendous decision - does she break with gang mentality and reveal the true shooter or does she send an innocent young man to jail for a crime that, like her own father, he didn't commit?
Marcus: Marcus is a young African-American gang member who has been kicked out of home by his mother because of his gang affiliation. Living on the streets, he helps recruit young individuals into the gang lifestyle. He hates the lifestyle that he lives and wants to break away from his gang but struggles to do so.**
"I don't even know how this war started."
"All the cops see is a dead body, a gun, and a nigga."
Ideas about justice and injustice in the text
The education system is racially biased.
Injustice is something that everyone faces.
The court system fails to achieve true justice.
Context: Freedom Writers takes place in the US in the 90's when gang violence was at an all-time high after the civil unrest caused by the LA riots. An integration program has changed Woodrow Wilson High School from one of strict academia to being the stomping-grounds of racially varied students who primarily come from disadvantaged backgrounds. A new English teacher attempts to inspire her class of at-risk students to learn tolerance, apply themselves, and pursue higher education.*
LA Riots:
Integration
Segregation
Image from the film
Integration was a policy that was introduced to end segregation. If focused on allowing white people and African-American people to live their lives equally.
Segregation is the practice of requiring separate housing, education and other services for people of color. Segregation was made law several times in 18th and 19th-century America as some believed that black and white people were incapable of coexisting.
Explain: where in the film does this idea occur?
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Explain: where in the film does this idea occur?
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Example 2: TQE
Explain: where in the film does this idea occur?
Example 1: TQE
Example 2: TQE
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*Twenty-five years ago this week, four Los Angeles policemen — three of them white — were acquitted of the savage beating of Rodney King, an African-American man. Caught on camera by a bystander, graphic video of the attack was broadcast into homes across the nation and worldwide.
Fury over the acquittal — stoked by years of racial and economic inequality in the city — spilled over into the streets, resulting in five days of rioting in Los Angeles. It ignited a national conversation about racial and economic disparity and police use of force that continues today.*
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Ms Gruwell: Erin is a first time English teacher with a desire to enact change. She comes from a privileged background and struggles to understand the behaviour of her students. As she changes her methods of teaching to cater for her class' ability, she begins to recognise their fight for survival in a society that has failed them.
“Everyone has their own story. And it’s important for you to tell your own story."