I randomly caught the film a while ago at one of the early evening slots on Film4. It was a perfectly watchable film until I reached the end and discovered it's based on reality. Then it became an inspiring and brilliant film. Hilary Swank plays Erin Gruwell, the young white middle-class teacher assigned to teach the no-hope children who society has given up on.
Watching the film, I found it a little ridiculous. The woman wore pearls for goodness sake! Pearls! In an inner-city school with violent, abusive and aggressive teenagers. As if! Then I saw a photo of the real Erin Gruwell and discovered that in the making of the film, the costume team actually raided Erin's wardrobe! :) So yeah - the woman did wear pearls. Really.
In the film, Gruwell (or Miss G as the kids call her) offers hope to a bunch of teenagers by giving them diaries to write in and getting them to read books like The Diary of Anne Frank and The Color Purple. These diaries are what later get compiled into the book that will be known as The Freedom Writers Diary.
I, of course, got the book after seeing the film. And the entries are even more horrific. These teens open up about abuse, drugs, illness and violence in such a brave and honest way that it is intoxicating! But what makes the book absolutely incredible is that not one of them is moaning. It is honest and real and brutal and not at all cheesy. They are simply trying to make something positive out of a very negative childhood and are trying to spread a message of tolerance to others and that there are alternatives to violence and something worth living for besides drugs - yourself!
It's not all happy endings though (this is real life after all!) but the overwhelming success of Gruwell's influence is phenomenal as many of these "no-hopers" ended up being the first in their families to graduate and many went to university.
The film is good but has been done before - Dangerous Minds, Take the Lead (also a true story) and others - but the book is something else entirely. It takes what they learn in the classroom and spreads to all corners of the globe.
An inspiring, heart-wrenching read that should be made compulsory in all secondary schools across the world!
LE xx
Film - 3.5/5 FOBLES
Book - 5/5 FOBLES
This week, the fab people at Chance for Autism (@ChanceForAutism) pulled off a great eye-opening and fun day with the help of the lovely Gizzi Erskine and Scott Mills among others. Their aim? To prove that Autistic people are not useless, that they have something to offer the world and can be valuable employees.
This caught my attention because I work with many Autistic children but sadly these children are at the other end of the Autistic spectrum and employment for them is not really a possibility. But there is something they could use - understanding. I have lost count of the number of times I have received stares and judgemental looks from passers by when we take the kids out for trips and I realise that it comes from a total lack of understanding of what Autism is. Ignorance - in this instance - is not bliss!
And it made me realise that before I worked with these children, I was exactly the same. I didn't know a thing about Autism because I had never needed to. And then I read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon and my perspective on Autism and Asbergers was transformed. Its genius is that it is still fiction. The plot is entirely made up, but brilliantly written by Haddon from the perspective of a young boy with Aspergers Syndrome. By exploring the world through his eyes, the reader is forced to see what he endures, how society treats him and how his mind works. It really is a book that everyone needs to read at some point in their life - and the sooner the better.
Here are my top books that have altered my perspective:
- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon
- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee - arguably started the idea that a book written from the child's perspective offers a naive but pure and innocent view on society. Deals beautifully with the civil rights issues in America where blacks were considered lesser citizens.
- The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne - once again explores the horror of Nazi Germany and the Holocaust through the eyes of a young German boy who doesn't really understand what is happening. Gripping from start to finish. Absolutely brilliant.
- Freedom Writers - For a non-fiction book, the honesty of the class in their entries is mind blowing. Very courageous and admirable stuff. Brings positivity out of an otherwise bleak situation.
So take a look at life from a different perspective and see what you think.
As always - enjoy! :)
LE xx
5/5
