Freedom Writers

Another movie about well-meaning white teacher succeeding in teaching the value of education to rotten teens?? No, no, no. This movie based on a true story is according to me about tolerance, urban violence and gangs that end up hating everything that does not look like them. Also is about despair. Despair of having to follow traditions because of elders and peer pressure.

Great performances by Hilary Swank and Imelda Staunton complement this remarkable story, one that dares to compare lack of tolerance among residents in large American cities lesser urban neighborhoods with the Holocaust… and make sense of it. We all know that America is a melting pot and has a long history of bigotry, but this movie shows that today it may be worst than ever, with so many different people discriminating against each other, is no longer just white and black, Jews and non Jews, is much more complicated with latter immigrations. Nevertheless, there is one thing in common, all want respect and each group defines their own rules to gain respect and die with respect. How absurd all this sounds, but seems that ignorance promotes segregation, isolation and death. Then education can become the mean to understand how to live all together.

This is not only happening in America, is happening allover the world and we passive contemplators of life around us, most of the time just acknowledge that it might be happening very near to us, but do nothing about it. This movie made me think about this fact and so many things we all can do if we just put our minds into and be willing to sacrifice a bit of our personal life. Greatness comes with a price. Most of us are not willing to pay it.

You may notice that I liked the movie; yes I did. I liked the story more than the movie as a movie. So if you decide to watch it, be prepared to see a story that could take you into a deep thinking voyage.