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Freedom Writers: Justice in Context, download-9, download-1, download-13,…
Freedom Writers: Justice in Context
Images (from the film that demonstrates justice/ injustice)
Characters (Description, Quote, Image)
Mrs Campbell
Mrs Campbell is the head of the English department. She is against the integration program and believes that the students of room 203 can't be trusted and that they are a lost cause. She is against Erin's teaching tactics and opposes change in the Department.
You see her go to the principals office many times when Mrs Gruwell class is a headline in the newspaper as she doesn't approve of Erin's teaching methods and the fact that they are getting so much publicity.
“You cant make someone want an education. The best thing that you can do is get them to obey, to learn discipline.”
Mrs Erin Gruwell
Erin Gruwell is a young first time teacher. Her students weren’t happy with her at first as she seemed to know nothing about their lives and expected them to do work in her class without even attempting to form a relationship with them.
Mrs G might seem innocent at first but she knows so much more than what anyone would expect her too. She does amazing things for her students by allowing them to go on trips, get gifts and she refuses to give up on the students who everyone lost hope in. She doesn’t fit the typical stereotype of the other teachers because but she doesn’t give up on her students no matter what.
"So you hate me? You don't even know me..."
Eva Benitez
Eva is a Mexican teenager who is portrayed as a mature, rebellious, strong, young woman who in the beginning was portrayed as the stereotypical "Chola". She has been a gangster her whole life and doesn’t seem to care about school. She had to grow up fast since her dad was taken to jail for a crime he did not commit. She then joined a gang where she was forced to undergo violent initiation rights such as being beaten in order to ensure that she wouldn't break. She will protect her own with her life because she believes that dying for one's own will bring her honour. She becomes puzzled when she has to either betray her own and save an innocent person from jail or lie to protect her own and betray in what she believes is right.
“I hate you and I hate this book. If she dies what are you saying about me?”
Jamal Hill
Jamal always seems to be making jokes about other people, including his teacher. He is stereotyped as the immature teenager who doesn't seem to care about school nor the other students.He seems to be careless and rude but it is clear that he is simply trying to hide his true nature. He shows a different side of himself when the whole class makes fun of him with a racially profiling drawing of him with big lips that Titeo made. People don't know that behind all his jokes and attitude that he has lost many friends in the gang fights and that he could be killed at anytime.
At sixteen, I've seen more bodies than a mortician. Every time I step out my door I face the risk of being shot. To the rest of the world it's just another dead body on a street corner. They don't know that he was my friend."
Ideas about Justice/ Injustice
The justice in the educational system.
The classroom getting emptier and emptier as the year goes on, this shows the disillusion of the students with the school system and their lack of engagement towards learning and school
“you can’t make someone want an education. The best thing that you can do is get them to obey, to learn discipline.”
Finding justice can have a negative impact on an individual.
“Paco did it”
“can I stay here late in here with you?”
Injustice is something everybody faces.
"I don’t even know how this war started."
"i've seen more dead bodies than a mortician."
Context
The 1992 Los Angeles Riots were a series of riots and civil disturbances that occurred in Los Angeles County in April and May 1992. These riots happened after the extensive beating of Rodney King. The riots proved the existence of racial bias as an African-American man was beaten in what became known as a heinous crime however the four white police officers were never charged for the brutality of their crime. The riots that occurred in the days after the crime suggested the presence of white privilege in the community. As a result, the community erupted with violence as everyone turned on one another. This is the context of the Freedom Writers which takes place just after the LA Riots when gang violence was at an all time high.
Segregation was where the law restricted people of colour to certain circumscribed areas of residence or to separate institutions. They weren’t allowed in the same area as white people. This meant that the two races lived entirely separate lives. The integration movement was a program that aimed to break down the barriers of discrimination and segregation separating African Americans from the rest of American society.
