Freedom Writers
A BRIEF SUMMARY OF FREEDOM WRITERS
Freedom Writers is set in the 1990s and tells the story of a novice teacher’s interactions with a group of students in a Long Beach high school two years following the
Los Angeles Riots. The film is based on the book The Freedom Writers Diaries: How a
Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them, a collection of essays compiled from the real experiences of Erin Gruwell (1999) and her students, known as the Freedom Writers. The teacher in the film, Erin Gruwell, played by
Academy Award winning actress Hilary Swank, begins her teaching career at Wilson High
School teaching a remedial freshman English class. Early in the film, Erin has difficulty establishing a connection with her students and turns to her father and husband for support.
Erin’s father, a former civil rights attorney played by Scott Glenn, offers guidance, but not the support Erin seeks.
Scott, Erin’s husband played by Patrick Dempsey, distances himself from Erin’s work and eventually their relationship. Erin dedicates herself to teaching her students, leaving little time for her husband. She takes on part-time jobs to buy books for the students and spends late nights working in the classroom. This eventually leads to the distancing between Erin and Scott. Erin only realizes the effect of her dedication to her work when Scott asks for a divorce. The faculty of Wilson High contributes little to helping Erin in the classroom. They offer advice based on institutional standards and past performance of the students, some staff suggesting that the students simply “don’t want to learn.”
At the center of the film, lie the stories of the students. The students are skeptical of
Erin and her interest in their lives. Initially, they resist her attempts and refuse to cross the self-inflicted boundaries they have designated in the classroom. Based on race, the students sit within
Freedom Writers is set in the 1990s and tells the story of a novice teacher’s interactions with a group of students in a Long Beach high school two years following the
Los Angeles Riots. The film is based on the book The Freedom Writers Diaries: How a
Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them, a collection of essays compiled from the real experiences of Erin Gruwell (1999) and her students, known as the Freedom Writers. The teacher in the film, Erin Gruwell, played by
Academy Award winning actress Hilary Swank, begins her teaching career at Wilson High
School teaching a remedial freshman English class. Early in the film, Erin has difficulty establishing a connection with her students and turns to her father and husband for support.
Erin’s father, a former civil rights attorney played by Scott Glenn, offers guidance, but not the support Erin seeks.
Scott, Erin’s husband played by Patrick Dempsey, distances himself from Erin’s work and eventually their relationship. Erin dedicates herself to teaching her students, leaving little time for her husband. She takes on part-time jobs to buy books for the students and spends late nights working in the classroom. This eventually leads to the distancing between Erin and Scott. Erin only realizes the effect of her dedication to her work when Scott asks for a divorce. The faculty of Wilson High contributes little to helping Erin in the classroom. They offer advice based on institutional standards and past performance of the students, some staff suggesting that the students simply “don’t want to learn.”
At the center of the film, lie the stories of the students. The students are skeptical of
Erin and her interest in their lives. Initially, they resist her attempts and refuse to cross the self-inflicted boundaries they have designated in the classroom. Based on race, the students sit within