Higher Learning - Film Analysis Essay

The film Higher Learning is a call to action. It is a film that shows people as products of their environment. The film is set on a college campus, a place where most people learn about what they will do in their adult life to try to better the world or simply educate themselves in order to live a better life. However, life on the Columbus campus is not good; it is a battlefield between the races and sexes. I feel it is a bit exaggerated, but it allows people to see some of the issues that go on, on a college campus. The film focuses on three freshman (Malik, Kristen, & Remy) entering college. They enter a less than ideal new world that is filled with tension, anxiety and fear. Although the writer uses stereotypical characters, it

Clark refused and made enemies with Leona Barrett, a woman whose son was one of the 300 expelled from the high school. Many parents accused him of going against their people, and were outraged by his actions. Soon afterwards the next day, Thomas Sams one of the students Clark expelled, begs Clark to let him back into the school. In tears, Sams explains he doesn’t want to be a part of the crime gangs on the street anymore. At first Clark was skeptical, Sams was in trouble multiple of times for smoking crack, but after a dramatic lecture about the harm crack can do to a person he allows Sams back into the school. Under Clark’s heavy hand the school begins to undergo a transformation, the school walls were repainted and behavior of the students at the school were better. Only problem is when Clark made the students take a practice minimum basic skills exam, only 33% passed, the school needed 75% of their students to pass the test to not have the school be put in receivership.

The storyline of the movie takes place between 1992-1995. Beginning with scenes from the 1992 Los Angeles Riots. Hilary Swank plays the role of Erin Gruwell, a new, excited schoolteacher who leaves the safety of her hometown, Newport Beach, to teach at Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach, a formerly high achieving school which has recently had an integration program put in place. Her enthusiasm is quickly challenged when she realizes that her classes are all "at-risk" students, also known as "un-teachable", and not the eager students she was expecting. The students segregate themselves into racial groups in the classroom, fights break out, and eventually most

This movie opened my eyes and help me to gain a sociological perspective into the high schools in America. I was able to notice all of the different norms, values, and types of cultures that make up high school. While teenagers in high school have their own type of culture there are also many subcultures that make up the school. An example of a time in which the audience sees these subcultures is when the

The film mocks the ways that white students adopt black language and culture, makes fun of the ways that whites use black culture to be “cool,” and shows how they fumble in performing it.  But it is not only the white students who are the butt of jokes in the film. Semien takes stock black characters and uses them to humorous effect: the overzealous black activist (Sam), the black girl with blue contacts (Coco), the black man dating a white woman (Troy), and even the black gay guy (Lionel) who “listens to Mumford and Sons and watches Robert Altman,”1 arguably too white in his cultural tastes to fit in at Armstrong-Parker, the black student house. Taking cues from Spike Lee, the writer-director critiques the structural racism that exists in the American university, highlighting the absurdity of everyday life as a “black face in a white

I think this story was told in both a dramatic and non-dramatic way. In the start of the film, it highlighted the wonders of colleges and all the excitement it brings. Then suddenly, it showed the worst thing than can happen on campus, and what most

Clark was able to connect with the audience through emotions of motivation, shame, and embarrassment. Language and imagery are two strategies used by Clark to appeal to listeners emotions. On the first day, Clark had nearly 300 students stand on the stage in the auditorium. This created confusion until Clark began his speech in which he explains “These people have done absolutely nothing. These people are drug dealers and drug users...They have harassed your teachers, and they have intimidated you.” He paints an image of all that is wrong with the school through the students onstage. Then he proceeds to expurgate the students on stage. This generates many emotions that all manage to work in his favor. First, students not expelled feel safe and trust that Mr. Clark will protect them and enhance their school environment. Also, the students on stage are embarrassed and pissed, leaving students off stage motivation to say out of their position. Mr. Clark takes a different approach with the teachers by use of careful diction. Statements such as, “You people(teachers) represent the 70% of our students who just failed the practice exam,” and “I don’t blame them. The failure is yours.” The intense word choice fills the teachers with a sense of hopelessness and shame for failing to prepare the students to face the world. The unkind words spoken by Clark may be upsetting initially, but as it sinks in the teachers gain a sense of motivation and purpose for teaching. Through

A way this movie can relate to this class would be the diversity issues of race, and gender. In my Cultural Diversity class we learn a lot about diversity in race and gender and what causes it to take place which can lead to your values of families back then. Values were completely different years back. If you’re taught what is right is to have slaves and it’s all you ever see then people will follow along. Because, if you don’t follow along with the values of ones close to you sometimes it could of lead to death, judgement from family and friends, or even becoming a slave yourself as punishment. Values are described as the deep subjective ideals and standards by which members of a culture judge their personal actions and those of others(Page

Some approaches and strategies that I picked up from the movie is that students may classify themselves under a certain stereo type and they each have their own clique. In the movie, they realized they each belonged to a certain clique, but in the end, they found out they have a lot more in common they realized. Another approach, I witnessed in the movie is that the principal did classify them as the stereo type he thought they were, however at the end of the film we see changes within the characters. Each of them may also had different norms about them, but were able to succeed and accomplish

To be completely honest I had a really hard time understanding the full meaning of the film. Once we stated talking as a class I started putting the pieces together and understanding why different scenes were the way they were. During the class discussion someone mentioned that the

When I saw this video I found out that I have the same problems that they had when they went to the college. It was difficult in the beginning, but I work out some of my problems like how they did it. some of the words in this video I didn’t understand it. Any how I like what they are seeing because it sounds that they are toking to me. In the short film "Reading Between the Lives" shows the participation in school or college students. The film may have been useful, but I simply felt depressed by the film. Also Based on the film, Chabot College students are victims. Chabot teachers are unskilled. A question they asked was " why are your grades bad?", and the students reply was either they did not understand the text or the teacher gave no structured form of the assignments given, so the students do not understand how the teacher wants the work done. a long time ago I had a teacher who confused me, for example she would give assignment and the next day she would have forgotten all about the assignment, but she did not teach us about the material needed for the homework assignment.

The movie opens with footage of the 1994 Los Angeles riots, then transitions to the childhood of the narrator of the film, a Mexican-American girl named Eva. It shows how racism and gang violence has shaped her life, with her father being arrested for a crime he didn’t commit and being shot at and beat up among the various examples. We then meet Erin Gruwell, an enthusiastic young teacher, whose class is comprised of Eva and other “at risk” teens. Gruwell has difficulty getting through to her students, who self-segregate into racial groups within the classroom. Many students stop attending class when she forces them

As shown in the middle of the movie, the students have intense resentment and bitterness toward each other every day mainly because they went through a traumatized experience and grew up in an awful environment. Many of them suffered unimaginably from their tragic past in which shaped who they are, and the way interact with others. In my opinion, I think in order to understand their pain and find ways to wipe away their hatred, we could try by putting ourselves in their shoes and see the world through their perspectives.

The film revolves around racism in American society. Sam wins an election of head of one of the houses in Winchester University but tension rises between black students and white students in the school. Sam is a witty production major student who beat her ex-boyfriend in the elections. On the other hand, Coco is jealous of her as she wants to become part of reality TV show and Sam is in-between her dream. The situation of racism in the university is exposed in the national media when a certain group of white students throw a party with black-face theme and black students appear to confront.

Erin Gruwell has earned a job teaching English for the first time, and her co-workers opinions on the students she will be teaching are extremely low. The school had applied an integration program a couple years prior, which caused much disdain among the teaching staff. However, despite remaining her positive outlook, she realizes she has a lot more to handle among her students because of their constant violent means and hatred for each other. The majority of the students are affiliated with gangs and have extremely challenging lives at home. When a controversial death threatens to tear the class apart, a simple game with a not so simple message from Ms. Gruwell is able to bring them back together. Discovering that many of the students shared important situations in common was the key to getting along with one another. The class also bonds over their research over the Holocaust, in which they care so much about the topic that they successfully