This week we watched Freedom Writers. In this 2007 movie, Hilary Swank plays Erin Gruwell, a young teacher who inspires students in an inner city high school.
In our discussion of this movie, we touch on White Savior movies and how they are problematic. The White Savior story is super common in teacher movies. For more about White Savior Narratives, read the Wikipedia article.
Also, our critique is entirely based on the movie and not the real Erin Gruwell, her students, or events that inspired the movie. We haven’t read the Freedom Writers book and know nothing about the real Erin Gruwell or the Freedom Writers Foundation. Our comments are only regarding the story told on screen.
Also, we are both white teachers so our take on this movie comes from that perspective.
If you agree or disagree with our take, chat with us on Twitter or Facebook.
Thanks for listening!
Podcast: Embed
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