| This paper outlines a project designed to investigate concepts of race, representation and pedagogy through the use of the school film Freedom Writers. During this project, my intention is to set up the concept of "representation" and race by having preservice teachers analyze selected readings by Stuart Hall (1980) and Henry Giroux (1997), view films such as Dangerous Minds and Freedom Writers, and then review and analyze the users' comments on Internet Movie Database. The analysis of the comments are completed using Hall's (1980) theory of reading, which attributes three kinds of readings: "preferred," "negotiated," and "oppositional" readings. My goal with this project is to engage preservice teachers in critical discussions of race and representation within the classroom. Ultimately, I hope to encourage preservice teachers to think critically about popular culture messages and representations and how these messages affect their role in the classroom. |
