#Dom writers line game movie

#Dom writers line game movie

The movie takes place in 1994, in the immediate aftermath of the Los Angeles riots in 1992. Brian Addison, ‘ Erin Gruwell, the Freedom Writers, and Their Undeclared War’, The Hi-Lo (2912), For more information about the movie, see, for example, here “I learn from them every day, and, in this way, I have also become their student” Erin Gruwell Nevertheless, she also likes to draw attention to the impact that the students have had on her. Over the years, Gruwell´s impact on her students has materialized and it has become more and more notable. “It´s a remarkable story of how a teacher can have a tremendous impact on students” Carl Cohn Most of them went to college, graduated with a degree and some even have more advanced degrees. Currently, she is a program specialist with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Orange County & Inland Empire and is also a program coordinator with the Freedom Writers Foundation.Īccording to Gruwell´s testimony, all of the Freedom Writers graduated from high school, which is a major achievement. She recalls that Gruwell´s efforts to get to know her as an individual made a difference with her. “Erin was the first person to tell me I could go to college, the first person who believed in me” Sue Ellen AlpizarĪnother student, Latilla Cain, revealed that she grew up in a gang environment. Her learning abilities improved and she went on to obtain degrees from two different colleges and currently works at the Freedom Writers Foundation. She recalls feeling afraid when turning in her first paper, but Gruwell instead helped her becoming aware of her learning disorder. One of the students from Woodrow Wilson High School, Sue Ellen Alpizar, recalls her problematic family background growing up, and how in school she was considered “ not college material”.

These events took place in the 90s, so their protagonists have had time to reflect upon the experiences they lived and carry them on moving forward. Gruwell provides the students with diaries so they can use them as a vehicle to tell their stories.

Upon seeing that everybody has gone through something of their own, the students grow closer together. Then, Gruwell asks her students to play what she calls “the line game”, which consists of taking steps forward if the students have experienced any of the events mentioned by the teacher. Grant is arrested later and Eva is called as a witness to the case, being torn between protecting her boyfriend or telling the truth.Īfter this incident, Erin decides to openly address racism and teaches her students about the Holocaust, which came as a surprise for most of the students except for Ben Samuels, a White student. Unfortunately, he hits instead one of Sindy Ngor´s friends, another fellow student of Cambodian ethnicity who was at the same location.

Grant Rice, a fellow student of African American ethnicity who was involved in a brawl with Paco days before, is leaving the same store, and when doing so, Paco retaliates against him. The topics of gang violence, race and intolerance are displayed throughout the whole movie.Įva, of Latin American background, goes to a convenience store while Paco, her boyfriend, waits outside. The school used to be a prestigious institution until the enforcement of the voluntary integration of at-risk students and students of color, amidst the increase of racial tension. The events of the movie take place at Woodrow Wilson High School, in Long Beach California, in the 90s. Virginia, ordering the desegregation of interstate buses. The name also makes a reference to the multiracial civil rights activists known as ‘ Freedom Riders’, who are known for testing the U.S. The plot of the movie is inspired by the real stories that the students of Gruwell´s English class compiled themselves. Gruwell had already been in the spotlight for her labor as a teacher in the ABC News program Primetime Live, where her story was told by Tracey Durning in a documentary. BACKGROUNDīased on real life events, it depicts the story of Erin Gruwell, an English teacher at Woodrow Wilson Classical High School in Long Beach, California. The movie was written and directed by Richard LaGravanese and the character of Gruwell was portrayed by the actress Hilary Swank, who starred alongside other names such as Scott Glenn, Imelda Stauntan, Patrick Dempsey and Mario Dewar Barrett. Cover of the movie Freedom Writers INTRODUCTIONįreedom Writers is an American film which was released on 2007 based on the book from 1999 titled The Freedom Writers Diary.