A Movie You Might Have Missed

 

An Old movie you probably have missed

It’s 1994 and Long Beach, California is a racially divided community filled with drugs, gangs, and homicides. Inside the classroom, Erin Gruwell encounters hostility and racial divisions between students. The struggle and strife on the streets have carried into the school halls. Follow a teacher’s journey to change the lives of her students.

This is a movie that got me in tears which is not for the romance contained within it but for the bravery of the students to stand up on their own feet and rise up as better individuals. All the characters play a major role in bringing emotion into the hearts of the people watching it.

The teacher mainly grabs the attention in my eyes as she tries her best and gives her all to bring some light into the lives of her students who are basically lost in a shell of pure darkness.

One of the greatest challenges of our multinational culture is dealing with the stranger. We give love and respect to relatives but are doubtful and unsympathetic toward outsiders. These attitudes are especially widespread in many urban bounds where youth have been divided into groups based on race and gang aligning. They are loyal to their own and aggressive toward strangers, constantly increasing the costs of risks of distrust and violence. This is the background for Freedom Writers. The movie I am about to talk about.

Why you should watch this movie?

Well, we live in a biased world where we are judged by how we look, our appearance, and not by what we do. When it comes to doing something we are constantly judged for our actions. We aren't really given a chance to express ourselves as individuals. I talk more about this in my previous blog post, feel free to check it out! I hope you find it useful.

This movie particularly following racial discrimination in a color-based society gives a good approach to why we should not judge people based on color. We all are human beings after all. How can color separate us from the rest? In the same way, this hits me as we all are equals but yet people would make fun of us for what we do and what we look like.

Taking consideration into a range of different perspectives of many different students, we are given a chance to stand on their feet and experience their misery in life.

Also, the dedication and the willingness of the teacher to change the lives of her students are utmostly outstanding! She manages to capture your heart and inspires you to show that there is no turning back and what others say can't stop you from going where you want to. Her goal was to teach to the students who were irritated by the education system that existed in the college as they were more prone to a background of corruption.

This is based on a true story.

This deeply intense drama follows a beautiful storyline. An idealistic young teacher inspires her "at-risk" urban students to respect each other and themselves. She's white, they're mostly of color; she's clueless about their harsh lives, they initially resent her ignorance but learn to appreciate her efforts to understand them.

I don't like to spoil it for you so I won't be revealing much information on what happens in the movie. (well hehe that's for you to watch). It takes you on an adventure where a set of multicultural students are drawn into one class and how they learn to respect each other as time passes by. The teacher plays a major role in connecting the students and separating the walls between them.

The steps she takes are simply beautiful. Her name is Erin Gruwell and she arrived for her first day in teaching at Wilson High. For instance, as a first approach, she tries to communicate with them in their language. She plays music that they would love to hear. Even though it doesn't work out she doesn't stop trying.

Later on, she introduces the line game where each student has to step on the line if their answer is yes to that question. On that particular occasion, we notice how each and every one of them has gone through at least one harsh thing in their lives. Most have lost their loved ones. Some of them have been in jail. However, Erin successfully through her approaches gets to know the students better.

Erin's commitment to transforming her students' attitudes undergoes many setbacks. She has to take part-time jobs to buy books for them as the library doesn't agree on giving books to students as all they do is damage the book or draw on it. Her husband, Scott, grows increasingly annoyed by her passion for the work. Her father, who inspired her with his fantasizing, also has a hard time accepting all the time and energy she devotes to teaching.

Her colleagues don't support her approach too. They think she's doing something completely useless but the best part is she still doesn't stop. Even without the support of the others, she decides to go ahead. That is what is truly inspiring.

The story comes to light as the students connect with each other despite race and color which prohibits making friendships with one another.

Eventually, they become a family.

Erin gradually begins to earn their trust and buys composition books for them to use as diaries, in which they talk about their experiences of being abused, seeing their friends die, and being evicted. And they begin to write and share their experiences with her through their diaries.

And another important part that caught my eye was the fact that when the students talk about how great being a part of the gang is, the teacher shows them that there is no such greatness in doing so. She asks how many people do really remember their dead loved ones. They go blank at that moment. She shows that in life, we should do something to be remembered before we die. I think that's where the REAL GREATNESS lies.

Not only does this story pays tribute to a teacher who makes a huge contribution to the lives of her students, it also celebrates the unity that can come out of diversity when individuals break down the barriers that separate them from others. Right now the nations of the world need to study the spiritual meaning of unity and the beauty that can arise out of respect for difference.

Share your thoughts and comments on this movie down below. If you would like to give your view on how it has helped you to understand please do so too. And after reading this and if you got curious enough to watch this I would like if you comment BUT PLEASE GO WATCH IT ASAP!!!!