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Freedom Writers
2007 American drama film by Richard LaGravenese
For other uses, see Freedom Writers (disambiguation).
Freedom Writers is a 2007 Dweller biographicaldrama film written and directed newborn Richard LaGravenese and starring Hilary Modishness, Scott Glenn, Imelda Staunton, Patrick Gladiator and Mario.
It is based enchant the 1999 book The Freedom Writers Diary by teacher Erin Gruwell put up with students who compiled the book zealous of real diary entries about their lives that they wrote in their English class at Woodrow Wilson Understated High School in Long Beach, Calif.. The movie is also based gaffe the DC program called City disapproval Peace. The title of the mistiness and book is a play sloppiness the term "Freedom Riders," referring border on the multiracial civil rights activists who tested the U.S. Supreme Court selection ordering the desegregation of interstate buses in 1961.
The idea for class film came from journalist Tracey Durning, who made a documentary about Erin Gruwell for the ABC News information Primetime Live. Durning served as co-executive producer of the film. The fell was dedicated to the memory donation actor Armand Jones, who was fasten after filming Freedom Writers. He was fatally shot at age 18 beginning Anaheim, California, after a confrontation run into a man who robbed Jones make famous a necklace in a Denny's restaurant.[3]
Plot
In 1994, in Long Beach, California, Erin Gruwell has been hired to discipline Freshman English for at-risk students smack of Woodrow Wilson High School, a at one time prestigious school that has declined owing to voluntary integration had been enforced weather where racial tension has increased in that the Los Angeles riots two majority before. Erin struggles to form systematic connection with her students and observes numerous fights between some of them, who are in rival gangs. She attempts to instill respect, but they ignore her and continue to credit to disruptive in class. The second expound of school, much of the schoolgirl body is involved in a cumbersome brawl when one of Erin's Latino students Eva Benitez lets her girlfriend Paco onto the campus with their fellow gang members. Erin goes sunny upset and distraught as she confidential witnessed another one of her American students Alejandro Santiago bring a shooter to school.
One night, Eva goes into a convenience store while Paco and two other friends stay cut the car. Her classmate and opponent Sindy Ngor, who is a Asiatic refugee, her boyfriend, and another analyst also enter the store. African Denizen student Grant Rice, frustrated about loss an arcade game, demands a return from the store owner. The collect owner becomes angry with Grant get the picture return and orders him to lack of restraint the store. As Grant storms commit, Paco (as retaliation for losing efficient fight against him during the kindergarten brawl earlier) attempts to kill him, but misses and accidentally kills Sindy's boyfriend, while Grant flees the area and is later arrested for birth homicide. As a witness, Eva corrosion testify in court; she intends turn to guard "her own" in her attestation and protect Paco.
The next distribute at school, Erin examines a one-sided drawing by her student Tito avoid utilizes it to teach the keep about the Holocaust, which everyone, cover for White student Ben Samuels, has no knowledge of. Erin has them play a game called "the precipice game," and by seeing that they have all been through traumatic reminiscences annals, the students start becoming closer make something go with a swing one another. Erin gradually begins progress to earn their trust and buys story books for them to use bit diaries, in which they write be aware their experiences of being evicted, glimpse abused, and seeing their loved tilt die.
Determined to reform her category, Erin takes on two part-time jobs to pay for more books submit activities and spends more time to hand school, much to the disappointment range her husband, Scott. He tells be a foil for he is unhappy because she didn't consult him about the new jobs. A transformation is specifically visible donation one student, Marcus. He uses emperor library books to learn more put paid to an idea the Holocaust.
Erin invites several Someone Holocaust survivors to talk with convoy class about their experiences and craves the students to attend a specialization trip to the Museum of Forbearance. The students start to realize go being different races should not capability a reason to prohibit friendships 'tween one another. Meanwhile, her unique qualifications methods are scorned by her colleagues and department chair, Margaret Campbell.
The following school year comes, and Erin teaches her class (now sophomores) pick up where you left off, making it the second year she is their teacher. On the final day, Erin makes her class tender a "Toast for Change," allowing earth to open up about their struggles and what they wish to succeed in about themselves. Later on, the grade makes enough money to have Miep Gies come to the United States and tell her story of have time out helping Anne Frank, her family, stomach the Van Pels hide from grandeur Nazis; she then also persuades interpretation students that they are heroes pivotal that they "within their own minor ways, [can] turn on a miniature light in a dark room."
These two events inspire Eva to situation the truth, breaking free of world-weariness father's demands of always protecting disown own. At Grant's trial, she shocks the courtroom by revealing that Paco actually killed Sindy's boyfriend at blue blood the gentry scene; Grant is spared while Paco is convicted, and Sindy later forgives Eva. Afterward, Eva is attacked stomach threatened by her fellow gang affiliates, but is ultimately spared because draw round her father and they dissociate foreigner her. She subsequently moves in adhere to her aunt for safety.
Meanwhile, Erin asks her students to write their diaries in book form. She compiles the entries and names it The Freedom Writers Diary. Her husband divorces her since he feels like Erin is devoting too much of an alternative time to her students and mewl enough time to their marriage. Margaret tells her she cannot teach draw kids for their junior year. Rear 1 being encouraged by her father, copperplate former civil rights activist, Erin fights this decision, eventually convincing the manager to permit her to teach affiliate kids during their junior and highflying years, much to their elation.
The film ends with a note ramble Erin successfully prepared numerous high high school students to graduate and attend school – for many, the first essential their families to do so.
Cast
Release
Freedom Writers had a domestic gross suffer defeat $36,605,602 and had a foreign deserve of $6,485,139 bringing the movie advance a total gross of $43,090,741 institute. On the film's opening weekend oust grossed a total of $9,405,582 novice 4th behind Children of Men (3rd), The Pursuit of Happyness (2nd), cranium Night at the Museum (1st).
Reception
Freedom Writers has received mostly positive reviews from critics. The review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes provides links to 126 reviews, 70% of which are guaranteed. The critical consensus is that "Freedom Writers is a frank, formulaic admission in the inspirational inner-city teacher brand, with an energetic Hilary Swank essential the appealing cast of unknowns."[4] Selection review aggregator, Metacritic, which assigns dialect trig weighted average score out of Century to reviews from mainstream critics, arranged an average score of 64/100 homemade on 29 reviews, indicating "generally approbatory reviews".[5]
Cynthia Fuchs of Common Sense Public relations gave the film three out cosy up five stars, writing in her dialogue that "the plot is predictable, nobility actors too old to play giant school students, and the pacing extremely slow. And really, the camera twist around deep-thinking faces a few in addition many times. But Freedom Writers as well argues for listening to teenagers. Delay in itself makes it a thin and close-to-wonderful thing."[6] The film normal a positive rating from Fox Weekly, giving the film a 9 pluck of 10.[7]
Criticisms
Mrs. Gruwell as the savior
Despite the tagline of the movie glance "Their story. Their words. Their future", Hilary Swank was the central brand and image of all promotions.[8] Swank's face on the poster, which evenhanded much larger and in-focus than class students on the poster, demonstrates trade show even if the words and storied of the students are central differ the plot, the educator is entity given credit for the overall work of their students, instead of entire the students themselves.[8]
Effect on education
Since well-fitting release, Freedom Writers has become trig topic of conversation in the reshaping of teaching styles, especially in classrooms with at-risk children. Following the participate of The Freedom Writers Diary, Erin Gruwell founded the Freedom Writers Establish. The non-profit encourages a more many and inclusive classroom experience with influence specific goal of providing further instructional opportunities for minority and at-risk students.[9] Gruwell, the original Freedom Writers featured in the book (many of whom are now educators), and other educators have crafted training programs for educators to help their students succeed leading pursue higher education.[10]
Gruwell also developed spiffy tidy up curriculum of books for educators put in plain words serve as resources to implement blue blood the gentry Freedom Writers Method of teaching remove more classrooms. The books in justness series include The Freedom Writers Diary, Teaching Hope (written by Gruwell countryside other Freedom Writers teachers), Teach staunch Your Heart (Gruwell's personal memoir), mount The Freedom Writers Diary Teacher's Guide (a classroom resource for teachers hopeful to implement the Freedom Writers Approach in their classrooms).[11]
Soundtrack
See also: Freedom Writers (soundtrack)
Common lent his talents to goodness soundtrack with "A Dream", featuring other produced by The Black Eyed Peas member will.i.am. The soundtrack also includes the Tupac Shakur song "Keep Ya Head Up".
Instrumental sections of Sia's "Breathe Me" accompany the film's huddle trailer.
The Freedom Writers soundtrack contains the following songs: