Freedom Writers: Justice in Context
Eva
Erin Gruwell
Mrs Campbell
Description
Eva is a young teenager who is misguided, complicated and filled with anger. She has taken a lot of abuse over the years and repeatedly went through violence everyday because of her race and beliefs. Her parents played a major on influencing her negative behaviour due to her neighbourhood environment. Eva was full of hatred towards others of different races as she was a witness to the shooting and death of her close friend
Description
Erin Gruwell is a highschool teacher. She is new at the highschool she teachers at the movie. Her classroom is filled with kids of mixed races, and she applied for that spot because she believes that everyone deserves the same level of education. She does a lot for her students and she is always trying to understand what injustices they all face everyday.
Description
Mrs Campbell is the principal of the highschool that EG teaches at. Mrs Campbell’s view one the students is very different to EGs perception. Mrs Campbell Believes that the students don’t deserve an education and that they are the main reason for all the problems at the school. Mrs Campbell is one of the antagonists of the film.
Quote
“Don’t let the actions of a few determine the way you feel about an entire group. Remember not all German’s where Nazis”
Quote
“I don’t even know how this war started. It’s just two sides that tripped each other way back. Who cares about the history behind it? I am my father’s daughter, and when they call me to testify, I will protect my own, no matter what.”
Quote
“You can’t make someone want an education. The best thing that you can do is get them to obey, to learn discipline”
Idea 1
The injustice of ones race determining their future
“ I don’t even know how this war started”.
“I don’t see no one else that looks Ike me with their pockets full unless they are rapping a lyric or dribbling a ball.”
Idea 2
The notion of justice within a gang
Context
Images from the film
Context of Film: Freedom Writes is set in Los Angeles during the years following the 1992 Rodney King riots, Freedom Writers tells the true story of how a young English teacher provided such a great influence to the students she was teaching that experience injustice acts due to their individual ethnicity.
Erin Gruwell begins the school year as an English teacher for the “at-risk” freshmen students (who the majority of them are people of colour) at Wilson High School in Long Beach, California.
LA Riots:
The 1992 LA riots erupted after four white police officers, filmed severely beating black taxi driver Rodney King. These officers were acquitted of assault. As a result of the televised beating of Rodney King several days of rioting occurred such as looting, assault and arson. This killed more than 50 people, more than 2,300 were injured, and thousands were arrested. About 1,100 buildings were damaged, and total property damage was about $1 billion, which made the riots one of the most-devastating civil disruptions in American history.
Segregation:
Racial segregation is the systemic separation of people into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life. Segregation was used to obtain subordinate status by denying them equal access to public facilities and ensuring that blacks lived apart from whites. Racial segregation began in the late 18th century and ended in the mid 19th century.
Intergration:
Integration is the process of ending systematic racial segregation. On May 17, 1954 the U.S. Supreme Court declared that segregated schools were unconstitutional.
:
“we kill each other over race, pride and respect”.
“They call my people a gang because we fight for our America”
Idea 3
Individual experiences of injustice
A distinct lack of lighting shrouds the class in darkness whilst a spotlight
The montage of images of violence