My film is a documentary; I interviewed students in my school about whether or not they thought there was free speech in schools. I interviewed six students; originally my plan was to interview more students, but the students I interviewed provided much more in-depth answers than I expected. Therefore, I ended up needing less interviews.
Freedom of speech is important to me. In fact, this film was made during Banned Books Week. I made a point of trying to make this film without infusing too much of my opinion; the interviews allowed me to use other people’s thoughts. It is a coincidence that all of those interviewed agreed that there is no free speech in schools. I am very thankful to those people.
The song I used in the beginning and ending of the film is important to the film’s message. The song is from the musical Spring Awakening. It describes a school setting where actual opinions are ridiculed. Although our schools today aren’t that harsh (the musical takes place in the 1800s), the message is still one that can be shared and spread today.
Please note: Although the video as posted on Youtube is shown as being 4 minutes and 2 seconds long, those last two seconds are not part of the film. I was unable to trim them off.