An important character in the fim “Freedom Writers” directed by Richard LaGravenese is Ms Gruwell. She is an enthusiastic teacher, determined to help students succeed she is a problem solver and is altruistic. Four techniques that helped me understand this character are camera work, costumes, dialogues and editing.
She was enthusiastic when she first arrived at Wilson High School in Long Beach, California. She showed this with a big smile on her face roaming around the school gazing at the trophy cabinet and she admired the classroom of Mr Gelford.A film technique that helped me understand her enthusiasm was camera work. The technical proficiency was led by cinematographer Jim Denault who used tracking shots in the beginning of the film to show movement parallel to the actions.
An example of the tracking shot is on her first day of teaching. The camera was always close to Ms Gruwell and it followed her right throughout the initial stages in the school. An example of the camera work was the mid-shot of Ms Gruwell’s waist up which showed how pleased she was with the achievement of the students when she looked at the trophy cabinet.However, her enthusiasm quickly diminished when she witnessed the students talking to each other and that the class was divided into racial groups as soon as they entered the classroom.
Then, the shot cuts away from the main scene to show the reaction of Ms Gruwell. This is identified as a reaction shot. An example of this shot was the smile on Ms Gruwell’s face fading away and she looked very miserable. The close-up focused angles on Erin Gruwell brought out this realization at many key points in the film.
Extreme long shots of the group of students helped us understand the diversity and difference the classroom was experiencing. In an integrated school in California, all minority groups were represented. The long shots helped me to understand the struggles and hardships that each of the students were facing in their communities. Also, it helped me to understand the realm of problems and differences this community in Long Beach was experiencing.
All the above techniques have helped me understand that despite all the problem there were in the school, Ms Gruwell tried to remain as enthusiastic towards the students.Although the class was difficult to teach she did not give up. Her constant energy and enthusiasm inspired her students and the viewers to strive for excellence and take advantage of the opportunities presented. Another important characteristic demonstrated by Ms Gruwell is her determination to help students succeed.
An example of this is when she decided to work two part time jobs. Her first job was selling lingerie in a Department Store while her second job was a hotel concierge in Marriot Hotel. She worked tirelessly to fund for textbooks for her students.The rest of the administration had given up on these kids, withholding supplies and keeping expectations low.
However Ms Gruwell went beyond her comfort zone to provide students with resources. A film technique that helped me understand her determination to help students succeed was costumes. Costumes Designer, Marisa Aboitiz has made the use of formal costumes for the character of Mrs Gruwell played by Hilary Swank in the film of “Freedom Writers” to emphasize an ideal teacher’s quality and moreover to project a professional image. An example of this is on the first day of school for Ms Gruwell.
She carefully chose her outfit for the first day confidently, adding a string of pearls her department head advised her not to wear to school. She wore a red blazer, red blouse and knee highed skirt. This technique has helped me understand that costumes acts as means of creating personality and not changing during the course of the film An example of her true personality and how Ms Gruwell was not influenced by her surroundings is that Ms Gruwell does not act like other teachers such as Ms Campbell. She does not allow Ms Gruwell to give them new books, fearful that they would destroy and confident that the students can’t read them anyway.
However Ms Gruwell had optimistic views. She did not let Ms Campbell interfere with her views, personality and her way of teaching. Ms Gruwell was actually the only one who saw something in the student. Her husband supported her big dream, but did not do much to directly influence the student’s lives.
What Erin Gruwell saw in her student is contrary to what others saw. Instead of seeing students who are drop-outs, a menace to society, or dying before the age of 18, she saw the next generation of writers, publishers, artists, and professionals.In addition, the students of Ms Gruwell looked up to her as a mentor as she delivered in abudant of what was required from an ideal teacher. She motivated her students without pretense and did not attempt to hide her middle class heritage or form an alliance by claiming that she empathized with the teenagers’s stuggled without being overly condescending and an instant connection was made.
Another characteristic exhibited by Ms Gruwell is that she was a problem solver. Ms Gruwell was a thinker who focused on the problem and tried to synthesize information and knowledge to achieve a solution.An example of this is when she was concerned for one of her student getting an “F”. A film technique that helped me understand her being a problem solver was dialogues.
An example of this technique is when Ms Gruwell talked to Andre about his grades. She says, “You know what this is? This is a f*ck you to me and everyone in this class. I know what you’re up against. We’re all of us up against something.
So you better make up your mind, because until you have the balls to look me straight in the eye and tell me this is all you deserve, I am not letting you fail.This technique helped me understand the character of Ms Gruwell more thoroughly as it showed how dedicated and how she solved problems effectively. She also talked informally to Andre to blend in. She was a mentor and all her techniques gave them tools to help students move on to the next year and stay successful.
Erin Gruwell dedicated to her students and motivated and taught them, had to first break down the barriers to learning, change and inter-group relations with some support from within the system, and with the permission and buy-in from her students themselves.Gruwell was able to create an educational environment that valued and promoted diversity. Most importantly, she helped change the lives of her students by encouraging them to question long-held stereotypes, address their deepest struggles, and ultimately recast their futures. Her students went on to become critical thinkers, individuals with initiative and ambitions, and citizens for change -certainly no simple task for a new or experienced teacher or for anyone working with today’s youth.
Another film technique that helped me understand how altruistic Ms G was, is editing.The unbroken stretch of scene with no edits and the quick cutting, reaction shot, fade and dissolve helped me understand how selfless she was. An example of this is when Ms G sits on the chair alone and she looks really distressed. “Miss G” took not one but two part-time jobs to subsidize the education system and in the process let her marriage slide into divorce.
In the film’s best scene, her husband (dimply Patrick Dempsey from Grey’s Anatomy) argues that her newfound obsession doesn’t transfer to their relationship because “I don’t have any potential. She entered the scene announcing, “I drove the kids home. I don’t want them to take buses. ” She was glad when she arrived home talking about her day at school however she became depressed when she saw her husband packing his bag.
The dissolve technique was employed in this event to show how things changed and moved on quickly over a period of time in Ms Gruwell’s life. Even though she was kind and good-hearted, her husband failed to understand how she had made a big contribution towards the lives of the students.She inspired her class of at-risks students to learn tolerance, apply themselves, and pursue education beyond high school in an interesting manner. She had the courage of teaching students in a manner which intrigued them and built their concentration.
She did not differentiate between her personal and professional life. The editor used all of the above shots to give an artistic effect to the audience and retell the story to its full potential. These techniques made the scene seem tensed and were more disheartening and her marriage ended in divorce.Due to the film technique of editing, it made Ms G look more selfless and reluctant to take any action.
Her risk taking and challenging approach proved effectual because she truly wanted her students to develop and to realize that they have choices that can lead them out of their dysfunctional community. In conclusion, the main character Ms Gruwell has clearly outlined the idea of how all students should be treated equally and the effects of its absence. She was an enthusiastic teacher, determined to help students succeed she was a problem solver and was altruistic.Techniques such as camerawork, costumes, dialogues and editing were employed in the movie to highlight her characteristics more effieciently.
Although Ms Gruwell did not have support of other teachers, she continued to help her students by working as a part-time employer and assisting them with their resources. “Freedom Writers” by Richard LaGravenese has a complex plot portraying Ms Gruwell as a devoted teacher who was willing to sarifice her personal life for her students. Also it educated the audience of common challanges faced by a Freshman Teacher.
