Freedom Writers: A Story of a Mini Holocaust

The Freedom Writers

The movie Freedom Writers (2007),  which is based upon a true story, opens up with the just graduated Erin Gruwell (Hilary Swank). She is being accepted as an English teacher at the Woodrow Wilson High School, which is characterized by its large diversity of students.

The story is set in the early nineties, at the time of the race riots in the American city of Los Angeles. These riots arose as a reaction upon the violent arrest of the innocent black man Rodney King  by white police officers. These riots make up for the atmosphere in the city and at the Woodrow Wilson High School. The high school is also deteriorated because of it; most of the students do not complete their education because of it and the teachers could not care less.

The new teacher Erin Gruwell ends up in a class where there are Spanish speakers, descendants of refugees from Vietnam and Cambodia, African Americans and one single white boy. Each one of these ethnically different groups have their own territory, which are not only visible in the streets, but also in classroom 203.

From the very beginning of her first day, Erin struggles to connect with her English students. She notices that she will have to handle this class in a different way than she is used to. Before she can teach them anything, she will have to earn their trust and respect.

But this does not stop her from trying to teach her students, who all have bad histories of street gangs, (domestic) violence, homelessness etc. By talking to her students about topics that matter to them, she tries to win her students over. Therefore, Erin wants her class to get acquainted with the Holocaust, because she feels like her students will recognize themselves in the with racism overflown story.

Erin gives them the opportunity to write about their own experiences and backgrounds of the world they live in. The department chair Margaret Campbell holds Erin and her students back by not “wasting” teaching material on the class. By taking on two extra jobs, Erin pays for the literature books and journals herself. Erin eventually wins over the hearts of her students, by making big efforts and using her unique teaching methods.

The Freedom Writers Diary

The movie is based upon the novel, The Freedom Writers Diary, by Erin Gruwell and her students of Woodrow Wilson Classical High School. By combining all the journals of her students about their personal lives together, she created a novel which shows beyond doubt the poor conditions of the American education system.

The uplifting novel of Erin Gruwell and her students shows that with hard work, trust and respect you can change the future of people. The majority of Erin’s students graduated high school and attended college, for a lot of them the first in their families to do so. The proceeds made from the book are used to pay for the college tuition of the Freedom Writers.

The book is now banned in a lot of schools in the United States, because people who are at odds with the Freedom Writers Diary, argue that the book provokes violent and sexual behavior.

How a Teacher and 150 Teens

Used Writing to Change Themselves

and the World Around Them

The Freedom Riders

The title of the novel and the movie, is a play on the term "Freedom Riders", referring to the multiracial civil rights activists who tested the U.S. Supreme Court decision ordering the desegregation of interstate buses in 1961. The Freedom Riders challenged this decision by riding interstate buses in the South in mixed racial groups to call attention to local laws or customs that enforced segregation in seating. These non-violent demonstrations were often met with police arrest and mobs who would attack the interstate busses out of nowhere.

With the book and the movie, Erin Gruwell and her students also tried to stick up for the segregation between different ethical and social groups.

The movie

The fact that the roles of the students are being played by kids who got plucked of the street by the producers, makes sure that you can really feel the pain and the stories the students have to tell. The characters of Eva and Marcus, two of Erin’s students, were my favorite. Throughout the movie you can see the changes they are going through.

In the beginning they are the ones who go against their new teacher the most, but they are exactly the ones who, at the end of the movie, appreciate Erin and all the things she has done for them the most. Erin teaches Eva to stand up for herself and that she can do anything she wants, if she’s willing to work for it. She convinces Marcus to go home to his mothers and make it up to them, instead of living on the streets.

A small role is played by the character Ben, the only white boy in the class. In certain scenes you can really feel his fear towards all the colored people in the classroom. Although he has a rather small role, it really shows the differences in culture and upbringing between white and colored people. Ben and his fellow classmates eventually overcome their differences, so why can’t we do that in real life?

One of the first scenes you see, are told from Eva’s perspective. From being beaten up as of a young age, seeing her cousin get shot, seeing her father being arrested and after getting involved in a gang life, the viewer might realize in what kind of bad conditions these kids have to grow up. You come to understand why people like Eva do not see a way out of this life, because they are constantly being told by people around them that there simply is no way out. For the English freshmen students this view changes, when they meet their teacher Erin Gruwell.

Should you watch Freedom writers?

I particularly liked how the story of the Holocaust is intertwined with the story of the English students of room 203. The majority of the world population would agree with me that the phenomena of WWII and the Holocaust, should be prevented from ever happening again. A lot of people who are not in touch with racism from day-to-day, often forget what kind of impact it has on society nowadays.

Freedom Writers is an eye-opener for these people, in the sense that small Holocausts are still happening today. The characters of the movie are all fighting for their own in the gang war, wherein racism and oppression are central points of discussion. It takes a lot to change the view and give hope to people which are on the inside, but we need outsiders too, to stop the phenomenon of a Holocaust from happening again.

Overall it is a good movie, showing real problems that are happening in the world right now. Yet the side stories of the movie, the staggered marriage between Erin and her husband, and the laborious relationship between Erin and her dad, are not at all necessary in addition to the meaning of the movie.

I would most certainly recommend the movie to people who are suckers for happy endings, because although the storyline is rather predictive and the side-stories are unnecessary as mentioned before, Freedom Writers totally is a feel-good movie. It is an inspiring movie and gives hope to our future. Therefore, I can actually recommend Freedom Writers to everyone, because it may give you the inspiration to try and make a change, just like Erin Gruwell gave her students. The movie shows that, after all, there is still a light at the end of the tunnel.

References

Dargis, M. (2007, January 5). To Ms. With Love: A Teacher's Heart Fords a Social Divide. In The New York Times.

HISTORY. (2018, October 3). Freedom Riders.