“Freedom Writers” a movie about Erin Gruwell, an American teacher and visionary, is based in America. Erin motivates and shows her class of aggressive and confrontational students that life is not all about gang bangers and death. Erin has to deal with indifference from both her students and the school administration. Erin’s students are encouraged to write, read and have adventures outside school. This allows them to overcome conflict and helps them become more resilient when they face life-threatening challenges.

Marcus is the character I want to concentrate on from Freedom Writers. Marcus is the character I find most touching and heartbreaking. I’m struck by Marcus’s unwavering loyalty. I think this is due to his roots. No mention is made of a father figure, and it’s possible that his only influences were the other kids in his neighborhood. Marcus’ loyalty to his family is evident. I believe that Marcus’ mother was very involved in instilling this idea. He may have been part of gangs in the neighborhood where he lived. This could be why he started affiliating to them. These gangs found the loyalty of his mother to be very appealing, as one of their main goals is to provide protection to your peers.

Marcus’s chronosystem is also important because it marks a crucial stage. His mother clearly opposes gang activity. However, she is well-informed about the subject so that Marcus can begin affiliating to them. Marcus didn’t tell her. It is possible that Marcus was not aware of this. Her son then joins them. Marcus’s chronosystem begins when his mother kicks Marcus out of his house because he is a member of a gang. Marcus hasn’t been able to make connections since then. Marcus is now a solo student who doesn’t seem connected to his gang affiliation. His microsystem has shrunk since his mother kicked it out. He is now reliant on the influence of the gang to which he belonged.

It’s easy for Marcus to claim that he grew up in an exosystem with low functioning functions. He is not able to fully integrate at the school where he attends. A more significant aspect of his system is the inability to access credible youth centers or proper CPS support. Marcus is forced to live in a shack and has only the most basic necessities after his expulsion. Marcus is a teenager but the film still shows him as a minor. Marcus must have somewhere to shelter himself and has no other options. Marcus wouldn’t have been living in that shack if his mother had kicked her out, for whatever reason. If his mother didn’t care for him, Marcus would have been placed in a youth center or the foster system. Marcus’s entire system is dangerously insensitive to the needs minors like himself who are homeless, estranged and heavily influenced gang activity.

My opinion and Marcus’s reliance on real people in similar situations leads me to believe that Marcus’s macrosystem has a problem. Many people who I meet with about schools and underprivileged areas, or the children involved in them, assume that those responsible for these programs are not using resources. We have many government-funded programs that are designed to protect “at-risk” young people. These programs are funded by tax dollars, so people believe that teenagers refuse to receive aid. This is often false. Ignorance is the greatest problem with programs such as these government programs. The program doesn’t have the right outreach resources to reach the people in need, or they don’t even know about these programs. They may not be stupid but this does not mean they have no other priorities. They don’t have to know where to find help. They won’t.

Marcus is one of many teenagers who are denied the help they need and are thus treated differently.

Marcus is a quiet character that lives alone most of the time. His micro- and megasystems are not conducive to his loyal and kind nature. Marcus’s exosystem is lacking in resources. Marcus is fortunate to be able to access great aid systems, but they aren’t well-publicized enough for him or others to know about them.