eusebio This was a moving film and which I familiarized,through Latinos in the Pacific Northwest, and purposely finish acquiring a copy. Quite hidden wisdom about Hispanic-Latinos & Chicanos that their new generations should know. Strongly recommended it for all the Hispanic-Latinos and Chicanos.I once had the opportunity to greet Edward James Olmos at Portland State University and gave me a very good impression. Since the mid-eighties that I follow Mr.Olmos and always amazes his great work as an actor and writer who has mostly been to educate new generations of Hispanic-Latinos. I also wish to thank Michael Peña for his great performance and who did not get a chance to meet but we were at a dinner in December,2015.

mirillustration The writing and dialogue is terrible, and the casting is worse. Alexa Vega (who plays Paula) is half Columbian and half white. English is her first language. They gave her one of those orange fake tans in a sorry attempt to make her look more Hispanic... which is VERY perturbing in a movie that is supposed to be a historical account of racism against Hispanic. I mean really, you couldn't find ONE Mexican actress in LA?? The perpetuation of Hispanic stereotypes is nauseating, not to mention insulting, and the movie plays out in a way that makes it look like the only thing the Hispanic community in LA does is sit around talking about being "chicano."

mlinares I absolutely loved this film. While watching it I admired the work that Paula and the other students did to better their schools. They became role models for me. Afterwards, anger arose in me. Anger that I had to learn about the Chicano movement in a "made for TV" movie. Instead of in my classroom, during a unit focused on the civil rights movement. In our class we learned about the Montgomery bus boycott, about Rosa Parks, and about the Little Rock Integration in Central High. Cesar Chaves was mentioned briefly, if not at all. One of the reasons that the kids walked out was so that classrooms contained Hispanic history and culture. Unfortunately, in the Madison School District, our history has not been incorporated into the course curriculum. Its disappointing to know that the fight is still going and that in many ways its improved but in others it hasn't.

nilda-5 I am a Filipina and Native American woman and I find the movie not 100% accurate in the portrayal of walkouts in Los Angeles. I went to school at Virgil Junior High and Belmont High School, during the 1960s and early 1970s and walkouts occurred yearly instigated by mostly Mexican students, with Asians, Whites, and some Blacks not participating.After the walkouts were over, the Honor Society at Virgil would help remove the graffiti from the outside walls of the buildings at Virgil that were spray painted by the Mexican students during the walkouts. These Honor Society students were mostly of Japanese decent and other Asian minorities.Never was I stopped from speaking my native tongue, Cebuano, and I had heard Spanish, Tagalog, Cebuano, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and other non-English languages spoken without insult or reprisals from the Teachers.Restrooms were never locked for the girls to use! During the 1960s and early 1970s, Filipinos and Mexicans boys would fight nearly every other day, just because of their similarity of their cultures (Spanish surnames, taken over by Spain, etc.). Mexicans, for some reason, like to push around Filipinos, but Filipinos, in general, would not stand for that, and would fight back. The school, in general, would look the other way when this occurred in the eating areas, hallways, and outside the school grounds.What this movie seem to not show, is the hundreds of Asians and White students, who sat down quietly while watching the hundreds of Mexicans (not Central Americans) walk off the school grounds and in essences, ditch school! Mexicans only made up about a third of the school student population at Virgil Junior High and Belmont High school during the 1960s and early 1970s.Asian students, who tended to be first or second generation Americans, tended to filled the Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry and Honor Society Clubs, get scholarships, and be accepted to a variety of prestigious universities throughout the nations. At that time, Algebra, Geometry, and Trigonometry were not required for graduation, and school Couselors moved the bright students (Asians) to these math classes. I remember only 1 or 2 Mexican or Black students in these math classes.I believe Los Angeles school personnel wanted the best for their students, as to study, no be late, not be absent, and to give their best while a student. Racism or bias was never the issue against the Mexicans students. It was just their way of achieving only their goals (ditching?) or they just created this issue by not giving their best in school, when facing competition against fellow Asian and White students!