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Freedom writers: justice in context - Coggle Diagram
Freedom writers: justice in context
characters
Mrs Gruwell: She is a passionate and head strong teacher determined to help the students of Woodrow Wilson High School. Erin Gruwell was highly doubted by the other teachers at the school but that did not stop her there. Her dedication lead to her working three jobs so that she could allow the students to benefit from experiences that she thought would help them throughout their schooling journey and to achieve the success that they deserve just as much as everyone else.
“Don't let the actions of a few determine the way you feel about an entire group. Remember, not all German's were Nazis.”
Sindy: Sindy appears throughout freedom Writers as a gang member that has major conflict with Eva. She is a Cambodian refugee who seems cold and tough. As the film continues on we see that after Eva does the right thing and lets justice occur the two girls then begin a mutual friendship. She eventually lets her guard down towards her classroom peers and teacher Erin Gruwell as they all become friends and in a way a ' family '.
"During the war in Cambodia, the camps stripped away my father's dignity. He sometimes tries to hurt me and my mom. I feel like I have to protect my family."
Eva: Eva Benitez is a strong 14 year old latino girl who grew up with seeing and being involved in violence almost everyday. She is a student at Woodrow Wilson High School and is filled with hatred to the education system as she believes it is a waste of her time. Eva protects her own after she witnesses her dad being taken away from her for a crime he did not commit.
"It is all about colour. It's about people deciding what you deserve. About whites thinking they run this world no matter what. You see I hate white people".
ideas about justice and injustice
The notion that your race determines the quality and content of your education.
Everyone deserves to have an equal opportunity and access to a quality education. People should not be discriminated against or thought of as 'less worthy' just because of the colour of their skin.
Eva's use of assertive tone and high modality language "It is all about colour. It's about people deciding what you deserve. About whites thinking they run this world no matter what. You see I hate white people". Eva knows how the teacher feels about her and is resentful towards the teachers and schooling system and has no respect for it.
Juxtaposition of a high angled shot of Erin Gruwell’s classroom compared to the Honours Roll classroom. The Honour Roll classroom is clean and academic looking whereas Erin’s classroom has broken windows shades, graffiti and is messy.
We live in an unjust society. It is our actions and responses that determine whether or not we can make a change.
Society has certain views that are racist and should not be acceptable. Racial segregation is a big problem and everyone no matter what must be given the opportunity and chance to services and necessities (education) that you need for success in society.
The use of a metaphor in, "even a teenager can turn on a small light in a dark room," refers to the power that students have to make a change, not only in their own lives, but in the lives of others as well.
Toast for Change: Symbolises how the students have a voice that should be heard.
The positive impact that finding justice can have on a person.
Justice is very powerful and can have a major impact on a persons life by giving them a voice that can be heard. It empowers people by giving them responsibilities to accept the situation by giving them closure. In the film this idea has been developed through gang violence and how it was overruled by peace and the truth. Finding justice has had a positive impact on relationships between students which has divided racial segregation in the classroom.
Symbolism was revealed through Eva and Cindy sharing make up highlights how the animosity between them is decreasing because Eva did the right thing and allowed justice to occur. She told the truth in court about who fired the gun which was her own gang member and boyfriend Parco.
Connotation of Eva "... this is the only place that we get to be ourselves." This shown in the film provides evidence of Eva's comfort in the classroom and how she can be happy and herself.
Context: Freedom Writers is a film which demonstrates the racial discrimination and gang violence which occurred in the 90's, after the L.A. riots. Freedom Writers depicts injustice through the idea of racial segregation, gang mentality and white privilege. The students within the film all represent a different story, as they all face injustice because of the colour of their skin. In the film the students are looked down on by the teachers as no one sees a future for them. The students reveal the justice occurring as they display to the teachers that they will "break the borders" and graduate, making a difference in society.
white privilege
White privilege is similar to segregation as it compares the colour of peoples skin and race. It happens in societies where it benefits white people by giving them better opportunities over people of colour.
segregation
Segregation occurs everyday and is when people separate into different racial groups. Segregation is when a society believes that one race is better than another. It started in America around 1870 to 1880 and was the practice of separating housing, education and other services such as job accessibility to people of colour.
L.A. Riots
The L.A. Riots occurred in April and May 1992 which lasted for five days. A major disturbance affected Los Angeles with the uprising of a series of riots. Starting with four L.A. policeman which ended in a brutal beating of Rodney King. There was a video caught on camera by a bystander which then got broadcasted across the nation and worldwide. The stopping of the riots was only resolved when the military and law enforcement were deployed to end the violence.
