Social problems, especially those that are closely connected with education, have always been a subject of scrutiny not only of social sciences but also of literature and cinematography. However, we cannot say that the peculiarities and the problems of public education, especially in the context of racism, were so often explored in the movies. Naturally, it is quite possible for us to give some examples. However, it will not be an exaggeration to say that the film “Freedom Writers” really attracts our attention to these problems.
This movie, based on the book “The Freedom Writers Diary” by the teacher Erin Gruwell was released in 2007 and cause deep resonance because it threw light upon the drawbacks of public education, which have been practically disregarded for a very long time. It seems that the American society just turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to them.
As far as the plot of this film is concerned, we can summarize it in the following way. The movie concentrates on a teacher who tries to break the deep-rooted racial stereotypes, which are so common among his students. She teaches them about World War II and especially about the Holocaust. Slowly but surely, the main character begins to win the respect of her students. She manages to reform her students and helps them to enter college or university. However, this is what lies on the surface, and there are many messages that the makers of the movie are trying to convey.
As we have already mentioned, there are many other interesting aspects in “Freedom Fighters.”It goes without saying that some of them are not stated explicitly, but the authors try to show it in a very subtle way. First of all, the makers of the movie try to show that the country itself does not pay too much attention the public schools, especially in the inner cities. Moreover, this statement can be proved by the official data. According to the Public Policy Institute of California, there is a wide discrepancy between the “rich” and “poor” schools. It is very rare that students of such “poor” schools are able to enter college or university. It was eloquently shown in the movie. The main character helps the students of an inner-city school join college, which is almost unprecedented.
According to the authors, the quality of the education leaves much to be desired, mostly because many teachers in public schools often consider their position of a teacher as a part-time job. In other words, these people are not very intent on contributing to the spiritual growth of their children. It is also worth mentioning that sometimes these people hardly meet the required standard. As far as the film is concerned, we can say that practically the whole teaching staff of the school Gruwell works in is the bright example of such behavior. These people just seem to serve the “sentence” in school, with no concern for the well-being of their students. Gruwell seems to be the only exception that only proves the rule.
Thus, it comes as no surprise that this movie was perceived with indignation by the public. Naturally, it can be ascribed to many factors. First, it is worth mentioning that teachers, especially in inner cities, are very often underplayed. However, it can also be explained by the callousness of these people.
Moreover, the makers of the movie try to show that students tend to segregate from one another even in school (naturally, it means racial segregation, but it is not put so straightforward in the film). It should be taken into account that the very name of the film is to some extent symbolic because there is a civil rights organization, “Freedom Riders.” The movie shows that Latino and African American Students tend to segregate from each other. The brightest example that the movie gives is the encounters between gangs. The main character succeeds in breaking this vicious circle by teaching her students the events of World War II. She makes them be more tolerant of one another.
Thus, it is quite possible for us to arrive at the conclusion that the movie “The Freedom Fighters” focuses on a great number of very acute social problems. However, the overwhelming majority of them can be resolved with the help of teachers enthusiasm and their desire to stimulate the cultural growth of their students.