PERFORMANCE TASK - Final Term

SUBJECT

A Critique Paper on the Movie/Novel “Freedom

Writers Diary”

A Critique Paper presented to:

Sir John Marc Del Rosario

Instructor

Julianne C. Gahit and Maria Alfenica Flores

BEED & 3rd Year

Lourdes College
2nd Term S.Y. 2021 - 2022
October 7, 2022

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Thesis Statement:

Freedom Writers is a heartwarming movie based on actual events that highlight cultural
diversity, the influence of a teacher, and empowering one’s rights.

I. Introduction

A. The American drama film: “Freedom Writers” based on actual events, was
directed, and written by Richard LaGravenese, starring Hillary Swank as the
teacher, Theodore Scott Glenn as her father, and Patrick Dempsey as her
husband. The movie has achieved box office success, and critics have mostly
given it positive reviews, indicating they are as pleased as the audience.

II. Summary

A. The film is about a teacher who tries to make a difference in the lives of her at-
risk students. Woodrow Wilson High School, located in gang-ravaged Long
Beach, California, is a hotbed of violence due to a voluntary integration
program that brings students from various cultures together. Despite her
opposition to unthinkable violence, devoted first-year teacher Erin Gruwell
never gives up and gradually bonds with her class of initially unreachable
students. Similarly, by requiring the students to keep daily journals, she breaks
down their tough exteriors and searches for the real people beneath. After
sharing their stories, the students recognize their similarities for the first time
and open to the idea that there are other options in life besides reaching the age
of eighteen.

III. Analysis/Evaluation

A. Cultural Diversity.

1. Cultural differences influence how students should treat others.

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 2. Each race considers the other race to be a rival.

3. Inequality treatment of a different race.

4. Each race has commonalities

5. Regardless of race, everyone can make a positive contribution to

society.

6. Being friends with different races is okay.

B. The influence of a teacher.

1. Each student receives unbiased treatment from the teacher.

2. She can influence how the students perceive their lives.

3. She can motivate struggling student.

4. She could motivate her students to pursue their dreams.

5. She has the potential to encourage her students to finish their

education.

C. Empowering one’s rights.

1. They can stand on their own without worrying about what others
think

2. Boost their confidence in their own capabilities and discover their

purpose

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 3. They gain confidence with the help of their inspiring teacher

4. One person who believes in you is enough to pursue your dreams.

5. Each race has rights

IV. Conclusion

As a result, the film deserves people's attention because it expertly addresses the daily
needs of children in a classroom, promotes relevant issues within the classroom concerning
these learners, and effectively demonstrates the importance of teachers serving as second
parents in their students' schools.

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 A Critique Paper on Movie: Freedom Writers

The film, “Freedom Writers”, is a movie that shows how a teacher can affect their
student's outlook in life and education. The movie was directed and written by Richard
LaGravenese in 2007. The film has reached $43 million at the worldwide box office, with 87%
ratings among Rotten Tomato users. Undoubtedly, the film deserves people's attention
because it expertly addresses cultural diversity, the influence of a teacher, and
empowering one’s rights.

The plot revolves around a teacher who is attempting to teach unteachable students. It
was not easy for her, given her students' involvement in violence and unhealthy backgrounds.
Throughout the years, the learners began to understand and change their perspective in life
with the help of their teachers who encourage them.

The film deserves public attention because it addresses cultural diversity. Apart from
cultural differences, it is one of the difficulties in uniting all people. However, multicultural
education is now associated with cultural diversity (Yee, 1991). Teacher Gruwell incorporates
the film by discussing Anne Frank's diary, the Holocaust, and the Jews. Furthermore, in the
scenes where the students begin sharing their stories, they realize that they all have things in
common. They must not divide, but rather unite.

The film promotes how a teacher can influence a student's life. Teachers foster
independence by providing opportunities for students to make individual decisions, allowing
them to control their own actions (Johnson & Johnson, 2004). In the film, one student,
"Andre," refuses to attend school because his brother was arrested for drug use. He then
wonders what the point of going to school is if other people still regard them as drug dealers.
Ms. Gruwell confronts him and encourages him to return to school and leave his previous life
behind. Andre was taken aback and realized that he had the freedom to make his own
decisions in life, to pursue whatever he desired.

The film depicts the importance of empowering one's rights, particularly how the
teacher encourages her students to journal to express themselves. Burns' (1978) Pulitzer Prize-
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winning book distinguishes between two types of leadership: transformational and
transactional. The teacher is regarded as the leader in the classroom in the sense that she must
carry out her mission, which is to empower unteachable students.

This film touches the hearts of its viewers with its sensitive and pure purpose of making people
aware of how cultural differences, family, and inclusivity affect students in school. The film speaks
volumes and makes us feel the weight of our responsibilities in shaping the future of our students. Ms.
Gruwell is a role model that the community and students need these days. The world must recognize
the value of teachers, and we must learn to appreciate them as well.

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 REFERENCES

Kate, K. (n.d.). The Freedom Writers Movie Review. Scribd. Retrieved from
https://www.scribd.com/document/434638239/The-Freedom-Writers-Movie-Review

Junior, D. (n.d.). Freedom Writers Movie Review. Scribd. Retrieved from

https://www.scribd.com/document/394191666/Freedom-Writers-Movie-Review

Freedom Writers (2007) - Financial Information. (n.d.). The Numbers. Retrieved from
https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Freedom-Writers

Freedom Writers. (2007, January 5). Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved from

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/freedom_writers

Silvestre, R. (2019, April 26). The Legacy of Freedom Writers; How Literature is Helping
Children and Teens Find Purpose. PACEsConnection. Retrieved from:
https://www.pacesconnection.com/blog/the-legacy-of-freedom-writers-how-literature-is-
helping-children-and-teens-find-purpose

Ogbu, J. U. (1992, November). Understanding Cultural Diversity and Learning. Educational

Researcher, 21(8), 5–14. Retrieve from https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189x021008005

Tanase, M. (2012, November 30). ERIC - EJ1022545 - Meeting Student Needs in the Freedom
Writers Movie: An Activity in a Classroom Management Course, Journal of Invitational
Theory and Practice, 2013. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1022545

Burke, W. (1986). Leadership as empowering others. Executive power, 51, 77. Retrieve from

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/W-Burke/publication/246661498_Leadership_as_Emp
owering_Others/links/56aa400608aeaeb4cefaf595/Leadership-as-Empowering-Others.pdf

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