In the beginning of the movie, Freedom Writers, we see that gangs are prominent in Los Angeles, and saw many paralles to Dwight Conquergoods documentary, Heart Broken in Half. Although gangs evolved from the time of Conquergood's documentary and the 1990's, and have since evolved from th 1990's to today, gangs still retain significant behaviors. For example, the way gangs communcate to other gangs as well as outsiders has remained the same as well as how they treat other gangs. One major difference we see from Conquergood's documentary is the  intermixing of cultures in gangs, and to the time period of the movie Freedom Writers, when gangs are differentiated by cutures. From the time period the movie is set in, 1992, to now, 2013, gangs have for the most part remained static. Gang communication and establishment are still applicable today, as well as the issue of how to handle the presence of gangs in schools and education. Mrs. Gruwell made the mistake of asking her students to admit if they were in a gang, and if so to  distinguish which one. She quickly corrected herself by apologizing for breaking school policy since they are not allowed to discuss gang affiliation in school. This policy is still in effect today in efforts to avoid any unnecessary conflict in the classroom.