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Freedom Writers

The Rodney King event sparked riots across L.A in the early nineties; but these were bursts of chaos beyond a trash can fire"¦ they claimed the lives of fifty people and pushed the already dangerous racial tensions to an all time high.

Your friends were chosen for you at birth depending on what color you came out. The Latino's had their Mexicana's, the blacks had their brothers, the Asians had their peeps, and the whites had whoever would be their friends. It was a racial war in Long Beach, and the last thing on anyone's mind was education.

For Ms. Gruwell ( Hillary Swank ), a fresh faced, well to do white woman raised in a household that was all about civil rights and equality, the racial integration system was the idea that could possibly save the future and keep us all from destroying ourselves. In fact, when it came time to choose where she preferred to be on her very first teaching assignment, she chose Wilson H.S. one of the first schools to institute this program of diversity. She would soon find out the rest of faculty had grown bitter that their school was no longer an honors hosting facility rather than a racial warehouse.

The innocence and desire to propel her seemingly "stupid" students into the learning process as she used interactive methods of teaching to bring it close to home. She bonded Asians and blacks and Mexicans along with the only white kid while proving humanity against violence.

Basically, Freedom Writers is this generations Dangerous Minds, and I think this teacher is hotter and more believable. For one thing Hillary Swank radiates an inner beauty most actors cannot, and it's effective in a movie where trust is key. That being said, I've seen most of this film before and I know what happens.

It's all very tense and the beginning starts off with a bang, it's literally a gang movie up until the "writing" becomes the focus. Once the curve of gangster to student becomes transparent it begins to take the heartwarming effect and that's when it gets you.

The acting was really good, these students are great and Swank is superb as she juggles her career with her flailing marriage. It's an important story to tell which gives hope and a new lease on life. It's the perfect high school film to show in a classroom especially where race is very tense. I enjoyed the effort but it's all been done before; it's a high stakes movie with a good blend of action and drama that's been done in the nineties. But for anyone who hasn't seen those films, this one will smack you right in the face and really make you think.

Movie Grade: B -

Synopsis:

“Freedom Writers” is inspired by a

true story and the diaries of real Long Beach teenagers after the LA riots, during the worst outbreak of interracial gang warfare. Two-time Academy Award® winner Hilary Swank stars as Erin Gruwell, whose passion to become a teacher is soon challenged by a group of Black, Latino, and Asian gangbangers who hate her even more than each other. When Erin begins to listen to them in a way no adult has ever done, she begins to understand that for these kids, getting through the day alive is enough — they are not delinquents but teenagers fighting “a war of the streets” that began long before they were born. Erin gives them something they never had from a teacher before — respect. For the first time, these teens experience a hope that maybe, they might show the world that their lives matter and they have something to say.