Review of Freedom Writers (2007) by Joshua B — 04 Aug 2009

I was impressed by Hilary's dedication to her class. Her heart was in the right place, and she took it upon herself to go an extra step to help the students learn and make something of their lives. A very honorable and noble action on her behalf.

However, she neglected other aspects of her life completely while in this process of working in all of this nobility and honor. I've seen enough movies now to look outside of the status quo of thinking while viewing a film at the big picture, and not just fall in line with "how I'm supposed to think" along with the protagonist because it's their story.

So I totally see where her husband and Hilary's immediate supervisor were coming from. This wasn't a case of "they're the bad guy" and we're supposed to cheer for the good guy and hope they come out on top. I could relate to the case they were making because now I'm a living adult, living in society today, making decisions for myself and knowing how the world works, and they have a strong voice here.

Yes, sometimes you have to take a stand against the system, but a distinguished corriculum with 30 kids may work this one time ... could she exert that same energy and effort to do it again? I say it's still worth it this one time so all of what she did wasn't in vain. However, overall, I don't see how she received the outcome with the students like everyone was hoping for. You know, the "and they all lived happily ever after" kind of conclusion that lots of movies leave you with.

Her husband didn't want to be the bad guy, or feel selfish becasue he honestly made the effort. She wasn't trying to end up with the results that happened, but it was bound to happen on her course of "nobility and honor". So I can't blame her husband and point the finger at him like he's the bad guy and she's all in the right because she's doing such a good thing in the world with the students.

She has other responsibilities too that she can't just push aside and say she'll bring more attention to those responsibilities when she has time away from her work. I mean, it's her husband for goodness sake, he deserves something ... not EVERYTHING, but something. We're talking a fare share here, not talking about half or more than half of her time and efforts ... but something ... fare.

Kind of have to ask yourself, "was it worth it?". She changed the view of her disagreeing father with how he felt about her taking on this position. Told her to not stress herself over this all, and at the end of the day it's just a job so don't kill yourself over it. So do you want it that bad is the question here? Are you willing to sacrifice thing near and dear to you for it? Something we all can take away from this experience.

So because of this tension that it brings, it deserves to be viewed by all, teenagers and up. It causes for great discussion afterwards and brings up some serious issues like gang violence, drug useage, and the importance family in life.