3 Movies Millennial POC Should Watch Once In Their Lifetime
There are plenty of movies out there that are geared to almost every demographic there is: LGBTQ+, Middle Eastern, Indian. You name it, it’s probably out there waiting to be viewed, or waiting to be made. Just like there are movies for all demographics, there are certain movies that millenial POC should specifically watch at least once in their lifetime. Being a millennial POC myself, sometimes it is kind of hard to find a movie that relates specifically to me, so I can only imagine how difficult it is for others, or sometimes there are movies out there that I can’t relate to at all because I’ve never been in that type of predicament before.
When it comes to Millenial POC, it is hard to find movies to relate to as whole because there aren’t many story lines that are made specifically for us, or if they are, they’re greatly exaggerated to fit a certain stereotype.
Although there are more, there are three specific movies that I believe millenial POC should watch, and these movies may be a little hard to watch, so it is best to either watch with someone else, or take a couple deep breaths before watching because they do become intense, and some of these movies are based on true stories, so you can only imagine the raw feeling of what the real characters went through.
Freedom Writers
The movie Freedom Writers is a classic that almost every high school class has watched in English class, and also based on a true story taken place in Long Beach, California. If you know anything about Long Beach, California in the mid 1990s, you would know that there was a huge racial tension that has increased between all demographics due to the Los Angeles riots.
If you haven’t watched Freedom Writers, in it, Hillary Swank plays a teacher, Erin Gruwell, that has been accepted to teach English for at-risk students at Woodrow Wilson High School, where some of the students in the class are actually from rival gangs, so you can already see where that can lead. Hillary Swank has a hard time connecting with her students, and with her trying, it leads to her getting threatened to get shanked and killed more than once, but she doesn’t let that deter her from her goals. Which is to form a connection with her students, and she actually does with the Holocaust, which then includes her inviting Holocaust survivors, even Miep Gies, the woman who helped Anne Frank, and to talk about what they went through and how hard it was being Jewish during WWII.
The point of all of this was to show them that there is still a light at the end of the tunnel, and to persuade the students and tell them that they can be heroes too, regardless of their racial brawls, and to help them realize that they can’t always depend on the ones’s that are the reason they are constantly getting in trouble for, and taking the blame for others that may lead to consequences for themselves.
The biggest part of the movie is when the students are given composition books to act as diaries, and it is because of Erin Gruwell that her students were able to finish school and graduate, as well as attend college with many being the first in their families to do so.
For many millenial POC that live in poverty stricken neighborhoods, or are surrounded by others where they are forced to do things they don’t want to do it is hard for them to see the light at the end of the tunnel and actually persevere and try for a new life because they were told by many, including teachers that they’d never make it, but Erin Gruwell wasn’t that type of person. She didn’t give up on her students, and many young millenial POC need that type of person in their life.
Coach Carter
Coach Carter is a savior to many students, just like Erin Gruwell was to her students. Richmond High School basketball team is undefeated, but all of the students are failing their classes, or living in poverty stricken, gun violence neighbors, so they are given contracts to obey, and if they don’t obey them then they are off the team. The reason being is because he knows that his students have one of two choices with that being crime or sports, and he is hoping that their commitment to their studies and wanting to stay on the team will lead to better options in life.
To many millenial POC, Coach Carter was a person that many wanted in their life because of his goals to to help you, and because he wanted you to succeed in school and outside of school.
Precious
Out of all of the movies listed, Precious is one that many can’t sit through altogether because of the story line. Precious is a story of a 16 year old from Harlem that was verbally and physically abused by her mother, who ended becoming pregnant twice, by her father that sexually assaulted, and who resides in Section 8.
Precious ends up running away from her mother after a physical fight, and sneaks into her classroom with her newborn baby where she is found by one of her teachers that tries to find housing for her, but eventually ends up staying with her.
At the end of the movie, Precious finally severs ties with her mother and planned to complete her GED, and has decided to start a new life with a brighter future for both of her children.
Why Watch These Movies?
As stated earlier, these are the movies that I believe millenial POC should watch. This is simply because of the message behind every single one, and that these are the battles that most deal with every single day without others knowing of, and movies like this help, in some way, get their stories out and heard to help combat these types of situations before they get worse.
The main plot behind each movie is that there is always going to be someone who cares about you and what you do, and that holds more significance for a millenial POC than many realize.
