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Final Film Critique: Light it up, 1998
M.parker
ENG 225: Introduction to Film
Instructor: Jenessa Gerling
January 21, 2013

Final Film Critique

A critic is one who should educate others what the meaning of a film is so viewers can form their own educated opinion about it. Koontz & Jacobs, 2011 states “the local critic should be part of a community discussion, not as the final word on the matter, but merely a starting point” (Koontz & Jacobs, 2011). This critique will discuss the movie Light it up and how this movie is a reflection of problems faced by youth in American society at the turn of the 21st Century.
Light it up takes place in the late 90’s in New York City. The story begins with one of the main characters Ziggy giving the audience a background on each of the other six main characters. After learning of the characters backgrounds the movie is then brought into the present day. Starting out at Lincoln High, which is the school that all of the main characters attend in one way or another. The audience is introduced to the poor condition that the school has been allowed to slip into. Not only is the school in an almost uninhabitable condition, the principle has also hired policemen to be on guard full time during school hours to keep the “peace”. The picture that is painted for the audience in the first five minutes of this film is not a very good one. As a viewer you are shown and made to believe that these kids are low life thugs who are nothing more than a product of their environment.
In the movie you learn a lot about the frustrations the students face daily in their schooling. Not only do they face the normal high school problems of getting good grades, getting homework turned in on time, and deciding who the most popular kid is they have to deal with so much more. Such as: classrooms with leaking ceilings, broken windows, old worn

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