Sometimes,
you have to be really careful what you wish for...
After
turning the TV off in aid of getting some writing done for the first
time in God only bloody knows how long, I realised that I can be just
as easily, if not more so, distracted by other things on the
internet. The obvious thought is to wish there was a way in which to
disable the internet to all other websites except Blogspot, to give
me the way to make myself focus. Well, seconds later the internet
went down completely, for no apparent reason. Obviously, if I have
posted this then normal service has resumed, but for now, let's work
offline.
After
quitting my full time job, I suddenly have all this time to play with
– it's kind of scary. The preference would be to get another part
time job alongside my current one, and get some writing done in
between, but what has actually happened has been:
*I
took up running, and now go every second morning, or every morning
when I can convince myself to get out of bed,
*I've
rekindled my love for knitting – sad I know, but it's actually
pretty calming and stops me biting my nails,
and
*I've been watching far too many films, and a lot of them I have seen
before. The thing is, I'm not a fan of uncertainty. If I don't know
much about a film, ypu can bet your ass you'll have a hard time
convincing me to watch it, as most of my friends already know.
After
the failure of the blog/novel thing, which failed mainly because I
write in fits and starts as opposed to short well timed bursts, the
intention going forward is just to get into the habit of sitting down
with Craptop and getting something written. Admittedly, film reviews
aren't the most creative thing, but it's about the discipline of
sitting and putting pen to paper or hands to keys.
Anyway,
I'm going to start with Freedom
Writers.
Freedom
Writers is
a documentary film about a young teacher and her first group of
students. It's set in a place called Long Beach in America and
follows the troubles an problems caused by America introducing
integration into their schools. Looking back on it from now, we see
all the reasons why it was done, but seeing this film and the way the
pupils interact with each other at first, it's easy to understand why
many were resistant to the idea, even after it had been enforced.
I
admit that I am always going to have a bias towards this film,
because it shows how the teacher uses writing as a way to get the
kids to open up, to her and to each other. Using novels such as Anne
Frank's Diary she brings them together and shows them what is
happening in their lives within a wider context. At the beginning,
most of these kids had never heard about the Holocaust, they are
members of gangs, and almost every member of the class has been shot
at, and has lost a friend because of gang violence.
Within
a broader field, Freedom
Writers can
be used to help us question our education system, because of the
purpose which it is meant to serve and the way I'm which it works. It
questions whether we really force people to stay in school for the
sake of them getting an education, or if it just becomes a holding
room for them until they reach an age where we can do something else
with them, such as put them into a job or throw them into jail. It
asks what we are teaching people – are we actually giving people
anything which helps them in their lives. Personally, I can't
remember the last time I analysed a poem or used Pythagoras' Theorem,
and when it comes to things like loans and bills and such, I only
have a vague idea of what APR is and what it means for me, and I
can't budget to save my life. Surely, even from a young age, these
are the skills we ought to be instilling into people, not necessarily
in place of the theories currently being taught, but maybe alongside
of?
I
will admit though, my favourite line of the whole film comes from a
discussion between the teacher and two pupils. One student is
explaining to the other how impressed he was by Anne Frank's Diary,
so much so that he got a few more books from the library, about the
lady who hid the Frank family. Of course, this provokes the question
- “You used your library card?” a bright smile on the teacher's
face until the student answers … “Nah.”
The
diaries of the Freedom Writers were published as one book in 1999,
and they helped to change the education system in America, after
spending 4 years with the teacher who brought them together. She also
moved to a new position within a college where some of them chose to
attend.
The
film shows one woman's heart felt determination to make a difference,
and how much of a change she really caused in the lives of the
teenagers. It's inspiring, because it can be seen as such a small
drop in the ocean – it was one class, in one school, in one city in
America, and it didn't change the situation these teens were living,
not really – but they knew someone cared, and they knew they had a
voice. The Freedom Writers class was a start, and it moved onto
something bigger. Kids that wouldn't have graduated became the first
in their family to finish high school, and as I mentioned, some even
went to college. That's massive.
The
fact that it's a true story – okay, maybe parts of it have been
changed for dramatic/cinematic effect or whatever – but the fact
that it came from a true story of what one person actually did makes
me happy every time I watch it, because nothing could stand in her
way.
Also,
having Doctor Dreamy from Grey's Anatomy kind of helps. Every film
needs some eye candy...
