| Overall: | A- |
|---|---|
| Violence: | C- |
| Sexual Content: | A |
| Language: | D+ |
| Drugs/Alcohol: | B- |
| Run Time: | 123 |
| Theater Release: | |
| Video Release: | 16 Apr 2007 |
| MPAA Rating: | |
| See Canadian Ratings | |
| How We Determine Our Grades | |
Why Is Freedom Writers Rated PG-13?
Living in gang-run neighborhoods, the students in Ms. Gruwell’s freshman English class (along with the viewers) are exposed to gunfire, drive-by shootings, and domestic abuse as well as the ruthless beatings and bloody murders of friends and family. Teens carry guns to school and fights break out in classrooms and on the grounds. Footage from the Rodney King riots and clippings of the Holocaust are also shown. Adults have alcohol with dinner and one couple drinks during an emotionally upsetting discussion. The script also contains profanities, ethno-cultural slurs and the use of one sexual expletive in a non-sexual context.
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About the Reviewer: Rod Gustafson
Rod Gustafson has worked in various media industries since 1977. He founded Parent Previews in 1993, and today continues to write and broadcast the reviews in newspapers, on radio and (of course) on the Internet. He currently serves as the President of the Alberta Association for Media Awareness, a provincial non-profit society. He also authors a regular column for The Parent's Television Council in Los Angeles. He and his wife Donna have four children.
