Thursday, March 5, 2009

Movie Response One

The four high school students, Luisa, Sidra, Travis, and Kep were all shown to be students with motivation and went beyond a normal teenager at the time to discover what technology had to offer. The ability to use technology, especially computers, benefited each student. However it was still hard to bridge the digital divide for some of the students no matter how much technology was incorporated into their lives. 
Luisa came from an area of low family income and was brought up on gangs. She was motivated enough to take multiple media and technology classes available to her, which helped her stray from the dangers of her neighborhood. But, because she grew up poor she didn't have the resources to purchase her own computer. This forced her to work as much as possible and as a results her grades suffered. She also missed the job at a technology firm. Luisa tried to bridge the digital divide it was too hard, despite being exposed to technology and was one of the few teenagers to pursue this, she was still unable to succeed how she wanted to because of her environment. 
Travis also grew up without money and in a single parent household. Even though he attended CalTech he barely graduated and could not afford to go to college, despite him being a bright student. Being financially deprived is the reason he was not able to go to college. His motivation to pursue a career in technology couldn't be taken to the next level because of this. 
There are multiple factors besides technology that influenced the future of the four high schoolers. It is very unfortunate that hard work and motivation during this time could not take Travis and Luis to the next level. To me it was a given that Sidra would go to a good school because of her family background and upbringing. Also, Kep was the American Dream story so it was favored that he would go to a good school with scholarships. I do believe technology influenced each of the four students, but it is unfortunate that income played a role in their happiness and future, despite being motivated, helpful, and bright students.

1 comment:

  1. I think you made pretty good observations and I agree that it is unfortunate that they were not all able to proceed with their goals right away. However, I think that the additional challenges that they face will ultimately be to their benefit even if they had to slow down in the short-term.

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