COUNTER RACIAL PREJUDICE REFLECTED IN FREEDOM WRITERS MOVIE

This study analyzes the anti-racism in the film Freedom Writers, directed and written by Richard LaGravenese. This study aims to identify anti-racism depicted in the film, describe how anti-racism is reflected in the film, and explain why a character named Erin Gruwell supports anti-racism in the film. This research is a library research. The type of data in this study is text, including narration, dialogue, and monologue. Data collection is done by watching and understanding the film’s storyline which is the object of this research. Qualitative data analysis was applied in this study, carried out in three stages, namely data reduction, data presentation, and conclusion drawing. This study shows that there are two aspects of anti-racism depicted in the film, namely education aspect and togetherness. Second, the anti-racism reflected in the film is illustrated by learning about tolerance for differences. And finally, the reason Erin Gruwell supports anti-racism in her classroom is that she wants to inspire students to learn and have a good view of differences.


ABSTRAK
Penelitian ini menganalisis antirasisme dalam film Freedom Writers yang disutradarai dan ditulis oleh Richard LaGravenese.Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengidentifikasi antirasisme yang digambarkan dalam film, mendeskripsikan bagaimana antirasisme tercermin dalam film, dan menjelaskan mengapa karakter bernama Erin Gruwell mendukung antirasisme dalam film tersebut.Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian kepustakaan.Jenis data dalam penelitian ini adalah teks yang meliputi narasi, dialog, dan monolog.Pengumpulan data dilakukan dengan melihat dan memahami jalan cerita film yang menjadi objek penelitian ini.Analisis data kualitatif diterapkan dalam penelitian ini, dilakukan dalam tiga tahap, yaitu reduksi data, penyajian data, dan penarikan kesimpulan.Penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa ada dua aspek antirasisme yang digambarkan dalam film tersebut, yaitu aspek pendidikan dan kebersamaan.Kedua, sikap antirasisme yang tercermin dalam film tersebut diilustrasikan dengan pembelajaran tentang toleransi terhadap perbedaan.Dan terakhir, alasan Erin Gruwell mendukung "Freedom Writer".In conducting this research, the writer uses a qualitative descriptive method, which is a research method that finds basic answers about racism and the types of racism and explains the effects caused by acts of racism on the characters of the players in the film using a sociological approach.The author also finds three fundamental effects of racism in 5 data based on Allport's (1991) theory, namely Anticuotin, Discrimination, and Physical attack.From all the data provided, it can be found that individual racism appears the most in the film, then followed by Institutional Racism and some of the effects that exist in the film "Freedom Writers."And the difference with what the author wrote in this study lies in the analysis, in this study using a Sociological approach.Then (Yulia Shinta K, 2010) from Diponegoro University Semarang (2020) with the title "Anti-Racism in Erin Gruwell's Character in the Freedom Writers Film by Richard Lagravenese."This study tells about an anti-racist teacher named Erin Gruwell in Long Beach, California as shown in the film "Freedom Writers" directed by Richard LaGravenese.The purpose of this study is to find out Erin Gruwell's anti-racism, analyze Erin's life and environment that made her an antiracist person, and understand her anti-racist effect through pictures and dialogues in the film "Freedom Writers."Social psychology and sociology approaches are also used to analyze Erin's anti-racism.The results show that Erin's anti-racism attitude can be seen from the conflicts that occur in her.In the end, Erin's antiracism effect appeared.This shows that Erin's students in class 203 changed their behavior to be anti-racist.This research is almost the same as what the researcher will write, only the difference is in this study using a social psychology and sociology approach.(Syahri, 2011) from Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University, Jakarta (2011).This researcher uses qualitative and descriptive analysis methods, as well as Rolan Barthes' Semiotics theory.Based on the analysis that has been done, the writer can understand the messages or symbols that exist through dialogue, taking pictures and the actions of the Freedom Writers players.The difference between this research and the research being conducted by the researcher is the approach taken.(Kurniawan, 2011) from University of Muhammadiyah Malang.In this study, researchers the film Freedom Writers which focused on the anti-racism message in each scene.Researchers here use the method of content analysis (content analysis), according to Barelson content analysis is a research technique that is carried out objectively, systematically, and quantitatively describes the media content that is manifest.(Martono, 2010:76).The researchers determined three categorizations to facilitate research, namely: categorization of education, togetherness, and idealism.The data analysis technique used is frequency distribution analysis to know the occurrence of each category.The conclusion of this study found that there are 61 scenes containing anti-racism messages in the film Freedom Writers by Richard Lagravenese.Even though they both use the film with the same title, the difference lies in the research technique.(Fitria, 2013) University of Muhammadiyah Malang with the title, "Racism in American Film Production (Semiotic Analysis in the Freedom Writer Film by Richard LaGravense)."The approach of this research is qualitative with the type of interpretive research intended to interpret signs that contain the meaning of racism contained in the film "Freedom Writer".The object of this research is several scenes that are suspected to contain the meaning of racism.While the unit of analysis in this study includes the language of appearance, shooting techniques, and narrative elements.the results of the analysis of the units of analysis in the film, the researchers finally concluded that the film Freedom Writer as one of the American films that loudly shouted about anti-racism kept a racist ideology behind it.This racist ideology can be seen from the alignment with the White Race group and the discrediting of the Outside White Race group in several elements contained in a film.This alignment appears in the elements of character formation, both main characters, and extra characters.In addition to the characterization elements, alignments with the White Race group are also found in the film's narrative and camera treatment of certain characters.
Through previous studies in the previous paragraph, there are several similarities with this research, including; both the characters studied in the films dealing with anti-racism by the characters and some from the same film.The difference is that some of them identify anti-racism in different films and use different theoretical approaches.

The Notion of Anti-racism
Racism is a belief system or doctrine that holds that the biological differences of the human race determine cultural or individual achievementthat one race is superior and has the right to rule over other races.Some authors use the term racism to refer to a preference for one's ethnic group (ethnocentrism), fear of strangers (xenophobia), rejection of race relations (miscegenation), and generalization towards a particular group of people (stereotype).Racism has been a driving factor for social discrimination, segregation and racial violence, including genocide.Politicians often use racial issues to win votes.The term racist has been used with bad connotations since at least the 1940s, and the identification of a group or person as racist is often controversial.
Racism is related to the concept of race in society.The formation of racism can occur if physical differences are considered an important thing in society.Racism can also arise because of differences in terms of psychology, ideology and economics.Conditions that can lead to racism in society are the existence of several racial groups with different cultures and the institutionalization of inequality in each race that is interconnected with each other.Racism is divided into two, namely monocoque racism and ladder frame racism.Some of the causes of racism are as follows.

a. Socialization in the family
Whatever parents teach their children, will be attached to their children.This means that parents are one of the factors that cause racism to emerge.Of course, this is a chain of hatred that cannot be broken because it continues to be indoctrinated between generations.

b. Government Policy Decision
Generally, the most common cause of racism is government policy decisions, including in Indonesia.This is influenced by the authoritarian leadership of the government.

c. Culture and Customs
The culture and customs of every remote area or nation are certainly different which automatically affects the thoughts, understanding and feelings between groups.
In addition to the cases mentioned above, other causes of racism to emerge are due to economic disparities, gaps in facilities and infrastructure, and excessive love and envy.On the other hand, racism is not just words, beliefs, or actions.It includes everything, especially those that prevent a person from gaining dignity and equality because of their race.Unfortunately, racism is increasingly being carried out openly, even getting worse, especially on social media.
Racism will be revealed from a person's actions and attitudes.However, nowadays racism has entered into systems and institutions which may be difficult to reveal to the public.And, systemic racism began.Actions of systemic racism arise from various causes including: The existence of a legal history that was created with the foundation to benefit certain races.There are institutions with policies that are biased based on race.The maintenance of unresolved systemic injustice and racism, such as insults, harassment, or remarks that offend race.Sometimes racism is not done through violence or intimidation.Calling someone because of their race, or ostracizing a group based on where they come from, can be categorized as acts of racism.

Major Principles of Anti-racism
According to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, Racism is an ideology that contributes to mythical statements about other racial and ethnic groups that demean that group or community.In this case it often happens in social life wherever they are.Even though it is prohibited, there are still some who are racist towards each other.Racism is inseparable from two aspects, namely racial discrimination and racial prejudice.

a. Race Discrimination
The term racial discrimination includes all forms of discriminatory behavior based on race.The form of racial discrimination is evident in the segregation of residences of certain races in big cities in both the West and the East.

b. Race Prejudice
The second aspect of racism is racial prejudice.Prejudice is the root of all forms of racism.Prejudice is a bad view of other individuals or groups of Jpeople by only referring to certain characteristics such as race, religion, occupation, or class.
Discrimination and prejudice are two things that reinforce each other.Prejudice creates a rationalization for discrimination, whereas discrimination often brings threats.In an atmosphere of prejudice and discrimination, there is no place for tolerance and openness.
Racism, in general, can be interpreted as an attack on attitudes, tendencies, statements, and actions that favor or oppose community groups, especially because of racial identity.Acts of racism occur in various areas of social life, such as education, health services, entertainment, and so on.The existence of such racist behavior can cause divisions, both among others and certain groups.
Racism can be fought.However, this requires a commitment from everyone to not commit racism.Understanding the meaning of racism The Big Indonesian Dictionary (KBBI) defines racism as prejudice based on national ancestry, or an understanding that one's race is the superior race.By understanding the meaning of racism, then such actions are not justified.Understanding social inequality Racism fuels inequality and inequality in private and public life.So, being antiracist means understanding and realizing that there is unfair treatment for certain races that should not be repeated.Stop saying "I'm not racist" Everyone has the potential to be racist.Saying "I'm not racist" is a form of self-serving and denying reality.Opposing the idea of racism The next step, everyone needs to oppose every view, belief, to political support that judges the existence of racial inequality.This is a real attitude as anti-racist.
Support anti-racism and educate others Anti-racist ideas must continue to be transmitted so that educating others on racial equality needs to be carried out continuously.

C. RESEARCH METHOD
This study uses qualitative data analysis techniques.This data analysis was carried out in three stages, namely: data reduction, data presentation, and conclusion drawing (Miles and Huberman, 2014).Data reduction is carried out by simplifying the data to suit the needs so that it is easy to get information.Then the presentation of the data, at this stage the data is reduced to make it easier to convey and understand by the readers.The form of data presented in this study is in the form of narrative text.Drawing conclusions obtained from data that has been compiled and grouped so that it can see the results of data that have been reduced and presented to look for relationships, similarities, or differences to reach conclusions as answers to problems.The purpose of this study is to obtain data that will be used in analyzing the topics raised based on the selected issue.Data is the most important tool in research.The form of data in this study is qualitative data.That is in the form of text, including narration, dialogue, and monologue.Researcher used two types of data sources in this study, namely:

Primary Data Source
The primary data source in this research is the film "Freedom Writers (2007)" is an American movie directed and written by Richard LaGravenese.The movie was produced by MTV Films, Jersey Films, and 2S Films, and distributed by Paramount Pictures.This film is the main determinant of the data that can be said to be valid because what is studied by researchers in this study is a film.

Secondary Data Source
The next data sources used to support the strength of the main data sources are documents related to this research and previous studies that have been discussed in the previous chapter.These documents are related to the topic raised in this research or they could be related to the issue used by the researcher in analyzing this research.

a. Kind Of Anti-Racism Displayed In The Movie
Anti-racism is the attitude and action of opposing and rejecting a racist understanding that is considered incompatible with human values.And in the film Freedom Writers, it begins with the riots that occurred in Long Beach because of acts of racism between blacks and whites that caused many victims.And they even fight with each other over trivial matters that make Erin who is still a new teacher confused about what is happening in her class.Bad and racist relationships like this in that year, 1994 were common because they were used to living in their respective groups.And if someone violates their territory then something will happen.For example, there was a fight between Paco and Grant Rice which caused Paco to shoot the wrong way and assign it to Grant Rice as the main suspect and Eva as a witness.In this case the relations between other races in the school are getting heated.Even in class they are suspicious of each other.However, in a short time they finally realized the racism they had done so far and made them aware of racism.The anti-racism they do has two aspects, namely in terms of education and in terms of togetherness.

1) Educational Aspect
In this case, it can be seen from the side of student interaction in the school environment, especially in the classroom environment.Like what happened in class 203 which was so warm after the change.The relationship between Marcus and Ben who initially hated each other because Ben was white in the end they were friends and refused to be racist.

2) Togetherness
With a sense of sympathy for each other makes their friendship stronger and closer like a family.The message really made Miguel's friends feel sympathy and emotion when he read the contents of his diary in front of everyone.Even Erin was touched by the students who turned out to be comfortable in her current class.Because he already has friends and this class is considered a home for him because he can share together in the class.This shows their anti-racism side because they also respect each other and support what is in front of them.
Togetherness and sympathy for each other made them fade the racism they had been doing, replaced with an anti-racism attitude in order to maintain their unity and togetherness to live a comfortable life b.Kind Of Anti-Racism Displayed In The Movie By holding a tour to the museum, the 203th grade students are at least aware of the act of racism that ultimately leaves the victim.They learn many things about past events in the museum.With the guidance of Erin Gruwell as their teacher and person in charge.They see a lot about racism and tolerance for different races.Over a wonderful dinner, they listened to stories from many about the past of the atrocities rooted in racism and its aftermath.This then makes them aware of the badness of the racism they have done so far because their environment has taught them that way from generation to generation.And with the conversation, their minds began to open to not act racism anymore.(01:35:56-01:36:14) The relationship that occurred between Eva and Sindy, who initially became enemies, became friends because of Eva's courage in court by not defending her people and telling the truth in order to save the innocent Grant Rice.Although she was scolded by her people for treason, but she felt what she did was the right thing.And Sindy feels that is what is called justice and she sympathizes with Eva.The tolerance that is formed between the two races is one of the anti-racism actions that have taken place in Long Beach, especially at their school.And with Erin Gruwell's teaching method that is different from the others, it makes them aware of the importance of anti-racism actions in social life as humans live.

Figure 4 .
Figure 4. Movie Scene Andre : Ms. G had a beautiful dinner for us at the hotel where she works.She invited real Holocaust survivors from the museum to meet us.There was Elisabeth Mann.

Dessya Diah Rahmawati, & Titis Setyabudi Counter
Racial Prejudice Reflected in Freedom Writers Movie CaLLs, Volume 8 Nomor 2 Desember 2022 211 P-ISSN 2460-674X | E-ISSN 2549-7707 I was in the worst camp.I was in Auschwitz.And Renee Firestone.When I arrived, my parents were immediately taken away from me.My little sister, who was then 14 years Dessya Diah Rahmawati, & Titis Setyabudi Counter Racial Prejudice Reflected in Freedom Writers Movie CaLLs, Volume 8 Nomor 2 Desember 2022 219 P-ISSN 2460-674X | E-ISSN 2549-7707old.Stayed with me for a little while.And then later on, I was separated from her also.Andre:She lost her whole family at the camps.She came to this country with $4 in her pocket and a newborn baby.I'll never forget these people.Renee : And then she was killed because they didn't want...
There was Elisabeth Mann.Elizabeth: I had my parents, my sister, my two brothers.